Violence and prejudice in 2023: a year of hurdles for Asia's women and gender minorities

Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, women and gender minorities have continued to encounter threats to their safety and restrictions on their rights this year.

The alarming outbreaks of violence across the region, in particular, have underscored the unique challenges faced by women and girls during times of conflict.

Unfortunately, the progress towards advancing the rights of queer communities faltered in the past year, as several countries failed to implement laws that would provide stronger protections for gender minorities.

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As 2023 draws to a close, This Week in Asia reflects on its coverage of the hurdles faced by women and gender minorities in the region:

Nearly six years after the Myanmar military's sweeping attacks against its Rohingya Muslim community, Rohingya refugees continue to face the perils of statelessness.

A surge of violence in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which houses almost a million Rohingyas, has left women at increased risk of becoming victims of abuse and trafficking.

Those who try to escape the deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh, often fall prey to smuggling networks, risking rape and death in the process.

A report also found that underage Rohingya girls, desperate to find better lives outside refugee camps, are turning to arranged marriages in Malaysia. However, this desperate choice exposes them to new horrors, such as abuse and exploitation.

Singapore eased its stringent egg-freezing rules, enabling women aged 21 to 37 to go through the procedure. The move came shortly after the city state recorded its lowest-ever total fertility rate of 1.05 last year.

However, the policy is still not fully inclusive, as unmarried women are still unable to freeze their eggs. This is in contrast with other Asian societies, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, which do grant single women this right.

As the world celebrated Pride Month in June, This Week in Asia spoke to LGBTQ folk in Muslim-majority countries who held muted gatherings to evade the scrutiny of religious hardliners and opportunistic politicians who have historically targeted them.

Queer Malaysians and activists said the community faced increasing scrutiny and discrimination under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government, despite his reputation as a progressive politician.

Homosexuality remains a crime in Malaysia, and surveys have shown large swathes of the population are against same-sex marriage.

In May, there were government raids on the offices of Swatch, with authorities claiming their pro-LGBTQ line would be harmful to morality in the country.

And in July, British pop-rock band The 1975 made headlines after being banned in Malaysia after its lead singer shared a kiss with his male bandmate on stage during a performance.

More recently in November, a plan to establish a US$86,000 rehabilitation centre in Johor state for "deviant" people in same-sex relations also came under fire, with rights groups saying the proposal was "not backed by evidence".

In India, LGBTQ activists were dismayed after the Supreme Court declined to legalise same-sex marriages, despite making a landmark ruling five years ago to scrap a colonial-era ban on gay sex.

While campaigners in India told This Week in Asia they were deeply disappointed with the decision, they said the court's acknowledgement that India had a duty to protect LGBTQ folk from discrimination was a silver lining.

New Zealand's former prime minister Jacinda Ardern left office in January after six years of holding the top job in the country. Her leadership and unique brand of politics served as an inspiration for women leaders everywhere, despite the unprecedented levels of abuse she faced during her tenure.

In Indonesia, experts highlighted that misogyny was still a pervasive issue in the country's politics when the wife of President Joko Widodo was subjected to allegations of masterminding her son's vice-presidential candidacy.

Iriana Widodo, like many of the country's first ladies, often faced the brunt of the criticism over their husbands' missteps, according to observers.

Conversations were also sparked across the region about the lack of representation of women in parliament.

India passed a long-pending bill in September to ensure a third of lawmakers in the country would be women. But questions were raised about whether the move would really be implemented, or remain an empty gesture.

Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed a record-equalling five women to his 20-strong cabinet, but was still well short of the 30 per cent women target set two decades ago.

The ongoing Israel-Gaza war has highlighted the unique challenges faced by women and children in conflict zones.

Advocacy groups warned that more than 19,000 pregnant women fleeing northern Gaza could miscarry or die without access to facilities to safely give birth or receive prenatal care.

In Afghanistan, where women and girls are still facing increased isolation and restriction under Taliban rule since its return in 2021, UN Women found increased levels of suicide and suicidal ideation.

Reports say that the Taliban government has used its own interpretation of Islam to erode women's rights, including bans on education and work.

Amid the sectarian violence that engulfed the northeastern state of Manipur in India, videos shared online showed brutal attacks being inflicted on women.

The outcry prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to condemn the alleged sexual assaults being faced by "daughters of Manipur".

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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