LGBTQ activists in Myanmar join protests against military coup

 

LGBTQ activists in Myanmar have joined the growing protest movement against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her democratically elected government.

Min Khant Zin, a drag queen who works at a gay bar in Yangon, the country’s largest city, told the Blade that he and his friends received a lot of media attention after they decided to participate in the protests while in drag. Khant Zin, who identifies as queer, added this decision was deliberate.

“Most of the openly gay people in Myanmar are makeup artists and cross-dressers. They do not stand out in the crowds when they wear female costumes, but someone with drag costumes will,” said Khant Zin. “This is my intention.”

“We want people around the world to know about the LGBT community’s contributions for the fight for democracy,” added Khant Zin.

Saw Zin Maung Soe is an LGBTQ activist who founded CAN Myanmar, a civil rights organization that is based in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.

Maung Soe told the Blade that around 100 members — gay men and lesbians from different socio-economic backgrounds, gender queer people, straight allies, doctors and engineers — participated in a protest that took place in Mandalay on Feb. 8. Maung Soe said some of them were part of a group of protesters against whom the police used water canons and rubber bullets.

“We have to be cautious because we look different and are easily noticeable,” Maung Soe told the Blade. “We are worried we might be targeted by the police forces and counter protesters.”

“We are all coming to the protests to support the greater cause,” added Maung Soe.

Khant Sithu, a Burmese college student in New York who identifies themselves as LGBTQ, is among those who have gathered in front of the U.N. to protest the coup.

“Regardless if you are gay or straight, we all vote for the political parties we like,” Sithu told the Blade. “People in Myanmar have overwhelmingly voted for Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party. Now, the military dislikes the situation and detain the civilian leaders.”