Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific 186 187 CASE STUDY: RESPONDING TO DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT In 2013, the Bandhu Social Welfare Society worked closely with the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (JAMAKON) to initiate a telephone legal help service. JAMAKON has developed a manual for gender and sexual minorities, explaining its role and work on sexual orientation and gender identity issues, and encouraging people to file complaints if they face discrimination.186 In January 2015, JAMAKON succeeded in securing legal redress for Sohel Rana, a transgender woman who had been terminated from her job at the Bangladesh Medical Studies and Research Institute in May 2013 because of her gender identity. Following JAMAKON’s finding of unlawful dismissal, Sohel Rana was compensated for lost salary and reinstated to her former position.187 In 2015, the Government of Bangladesh unveiled a series of special measures for hijras, including jobs as traffic police officers and loans for members of the community. However, implementation of the job quota scheme has been ineffective and heavily criticised. Hijras were required to take physical medical tests and disqualified if they were deemed ‘biologically male’.188 3.4. CRIMINALISATION In many parts of Asia, including Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines, public nuisance, vagrancy or related laws have been used to harass transgender women arbitrarily. In addition, in Indonesia and Malaysia, religious police have authority under religious laws to arrest transgender people under similar provisions.189 Further, in Malaysia, arrests can also be made under state-level shari’a laws that only apply to Muslims. The Cambodia Center for Human Rights has documented police extortion of transgender people under the authority of the Village and Commune Safety Policy 2011. There is no guidance for law enforcers or the public about appropriate use of this executive edict from the Ministry of Interior.190 Transgender women who have sex with men may still be detained and prosecuted under laws criminalising homosexuality, even though they identify as women. In countries where sex work is criminalised, transgender women are frequently targeted under these provisions. Laws prohibiting cross-dressing still exist in some countries in the Asia Pacific region. Some have provisions against ‘female impersonation’ and a minority also prohibit ‘male impersonation’, including in some states in Malaysia. In other parts of the region there have been recent successes in challenging such laws. In the Pacific, Samoa repealed its cross-dressing provision in March 2013.191 In November 2014, the Court of Appeal of Malaysia declared that cross-dressing provisions in the shari’a law of Negeri Sembilan state were unconstitutional.192 The civil society group Justice for Sisters had argued that the provision violated six articles of Malaysia’s Constitution, relating to freedom of expression, 186 See www.nhrc.org.bd/PDF/NHRC%20Manual%20(English)%20(1).pdf. 187 See www.asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/ourwork/democratic-governance-and-peacebuilding/successstories/ engaging-with-national-human-rights-institutions-key-to-advancin.html. 188 See html. 189 Human Rights Watch, “I’m Scared to Be a Woman”: Human Rights Abuses Against Transgender People in Malaysia, 2014. 190 UNDP and USAID, Being LGBT in Asia: Cambodia Country Report, 2014. 191 Crimes Ordinance Act, s. 58N. 192 Syariah Criminal (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 1992, s. 66. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/2/bangladesh-hijras-angry-over-gender-testing-for-government-positions. Chapter 3: Being transgender in Asia and the Pacific | 53