LBT Organization in Kyrgyzstan

Labrys blog has moved

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:12:56 GMT

You can now find it at http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com

press conference about brochure on homosexuality in Kyrgyzstan

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:08:00 GMT

On 8 October “Labrys” presented the brochure on homosexuality in Kyrgyzstan written for the first time in Kyrgyz language. The target audience was the Kyrgyz society in general, which, we thought, needed undistorted and clear information about homo and bisexuals, homophobia and discrimination. We also addressed the situation of homo and bisexuals in the rural areas of the country, where it is much harder for LGB to simply live, let alone to express themselves freely or to do as they please. Homosexuality-unfriendly traditions and religious dogmatism are especially strong in areas outside of the “liberal” capital, which forces LGB people there to suppress themselves in fear for their safety.

The press conference lasted for about thirty minutes, during which we managed to summarize the content of the brochure and to answer questions of journalists. Majority of them were information-oriented and neutral in nature, although there were a couple of journalists that insisted upon being passively aggressive. They asserted that the right of homosexuals for free expression of their selves was an offence to them. In other words – protecting rights of homosexual minority was, according to them, an infringement upon rights of the heterosexual majority, which felt morally insulted by the very presence of homosexuals in their vicinity.

The most interesting bit about the press-conference, however, came a little later – after everything was said and done and recorded. The news items that were produced from the information presented at the press-conference were all conveniently controversial, almost edited out of their original meaning. The main broadcasting channel in the Bishkek area, NTS, for example, focused on the theoretical assumption about the possibility of presence of people with homosexual behavior in the Kyrgyz parliament. This unassuming assumption, in the version of NTS, was turned into a confident statement – possibly with an aim at riling up the audience. Afterwards, NTS editors put a news item about Muslims and the holy Ramadan – an attempt at juxtaposing two opposing social views on liberties and rights of individuals. In addition to these news items, there were reports on websites of information agencies. While the agency journalists used the information given in the press-release correctly, the responses of internet readers were more than outraging. Some anonymous readers proposed that gays and lesbians should be dismembered for being unlike them, while others limited themselves by simply insulting the homosexual community.

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR LGBT PEOPLE IN KYRGYZSTAN

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:02:17 GMT

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR LGBT PEOPLE IN KYRGYZSTAN
In the fall of 2006, Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan and SHARP
commissioned qualitative research on the opportunities and
barriers to health care access for LGBT persons in Kyrgyzstan.
The report, "Access to Health Care for LGBT People in
Kyrgyzstan," explores possibilities for increasing LGBT access to
health services; maps current NGOs working on LGBT health and
human rights issues; highlights Kyrgyzstan's obligations to
provide health care to LGBT persons in accordance with
international standards and laws; and articulates recommendations
for the development of non-discriminatory health systems and
services to improve LGBT health access. English and Russian
versions of the report will be available in October at:
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/sharp/articles_publications/sub_listing

‘It’s a sin for me to sit next to you but I do that out of tolerance.’

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:31:41 GMT

Today we had a meeting with UNFPA consultants (read: sexual and reproductive health) about youth policy in Kyrgyzstan. ‘Labrys’ works mostly with young LBT people, therefore, we match the youth policy criteria, though we are not directly involved in formulating it at an official level. It was bit tough relating our issues of concern to more general youth issues. Yet mid-way through the discussion we finally figured out that actually the issues that lesbian and bisexual women are dealing with are very similar to those of other young women. These are sexual assault, unemployment, sexist attitudes among men towards them, family pressure to get married, pressure from society to conform with the uniform model of being passed from natal family to husband’s family. The consultants had a lot of questions to ask and the meeting lasted for almost three hours.

The participants of the meeting came from very different backgrounds. From a civil servant to an activist religious Muslim woman wearing a head scarf. At first we were bit quiet and tested the grounds. But once we started speaking we felt that things that we said somehow bothered some of the participants. They listened quietly until Alex (transgender component coordinator) asked whether the new textbook on healthy lifestyles included information about homosexuality. There we got a response which gave a title to this entry. It started off from ‘I have to say this, I can’t stand it anymore’ and continued with ‘you speak about human rights but what about the rights of four million Muslims in this country for whom homosexuality is illegal and a sin. It’s a sin for me to sit next to you but I do that out of tolerance.’ Then another participant asked, ‘What’s there to learn about homosexuality for young boys and girls?’. At this point the consultants noted that Kyrgyzstan as they are looking at it is a very diverse country and it would be interesting to know how different identities are coexisting within this very complex society and that they are looking at Kyrgyz society from human rights point of view with respect to differences.

Overall, it was a good way to present our ideas and issues of concern, yet we realized that we need more preparation to fit within the local mild acceptance of violence, discrimination and certain practices as a norm. It felt as if we challenged the activists too much by our mere presence.

summer 'Labrys' news

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:38:50 GMT

As the end of official summer season is approaching, we can assure you that the actual summer weather does not seem to leave Bishkek. It is still +30 degrees and sunny.

This summer turned out to be quite hectic for 'Labrys'. We continued the process of restructuring, had a change in staff and leadership. Labrys staff presented at a roundtable of key importance, attended five different types of educational activities and established new important contacts.

More detailed information will be posted in the days to come.

response from the ombudsman's office about transgender documents change query

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:20:56 GMT

Translation of the letter that one FTM from 'Labrys' received in response to his query about the possibilities to change documents.

Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic

194 Moskovskaya St., Bishkek, 720010

July 17, 2007

No. 35-13/2936

Ms. A. XXXX (name taken out for confidentiality reasons)

Apt. 52, Bldg. 30

Vostok-5

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Dear XXXX,

Having reviewed your appeal, we inform you of the following.

As a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, regardless of your sexual orientation, you have the right to acquire and to amend a passport or any other personal identity document in the interest of protecting and manifesting your rights and freedoms on the territory of the republic and beyond its borders. However, you do not have the right to change your surname or name to one of the opposite sex when acquiring or amending a passport.

There is no law in Kyrgyzstan that governs the issuing and amending of a passport for people of nontraditional sexual orientations who have evinced a desire to change their surname or name to that of the opposite sex.

The absence of an established procedure testifies that sex-change operations are not performed in Kyrgyzstan.

On the grounds mentioned above, we recommend that you first undergo a sex-change operation in a country where such operations are performed. Then, having received a corresponding medical certificate showing the change of sex, you have the right to submit an application to the authorized passport agency of the Kyrgyz Republic to acquire (amend) a new passport with an amended surname and name of the opposite sex.

In addition, according to the first clause of Article 28 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, "Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic have the right to work freely, to manage their own working capabilities, to choose [their] profession and line of work, and to [enjoy] security and safe and hygienic working conditions, as well as the right to compensation for labor and to social security no lower than the minimum living wage established by law."

Accordingly, as a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, you have the right to enjoy such constitutional rights regardless of your sexual identity or orientation.

If you encounter obstacles in obtaining work, you have the right to appeal to us for assistance.

Respectfully Yours,

T. Koshokov

Deputy Ombudsman

brochure updated versions in Russian and Kyrgyz

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:45:39 GMT

Please, find the texts here. They are about 2 mb and will take some time to download.
Kyrgyz
Russian

Yet another homophobic article

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:56:19 GMT

This is a translation of an article from Vecherniy Bishkek published on 6 July 2007. 'Labrys' and two other organizations wrote open letters to the editor about the article. Texts in Russian coming soon.
Special thanks to K for translation.

The Joys of Gay Brotherhood and Film

Kyrgyz homosexuals will soon become the heroes of a documentary film that a Polish human rights activist intends to make in Bishkek. In her opinion, the republic's gays are able to live in peace and freedom, and she believes that our society demonstrates a high level of tolerance towards homosexual love.

A Gay Oasis in a Desert of Straight People

Gay people in Kyrgyzstan are united in an organization that boasts the romantic name Oasis and that receives financial support from a fairly large number of international organizations, including the Global Fund. For some reason, sponsors from Holland seem to be particularly concerned with the development of gay communities. Oasis maintains resource centers in Osh and in Kara-Balta, and the gay movement is growing and expanding – seed groups have also sprouted in Issyk-Kul and Jalalabad.

Homosexual men gather in the center of the Kyrgyz capital, in two nightclubs where women are not welcome. Not out of antipathy towards the female sex, but just to keep the ladies from becoming upset at the sight of a whole horde of attractive men who are, in a very particular sense, completely useless. This sometimes provokes an entirely disproportionate reaction.

Particularly despairing ladies have been known to throw themselves, fists flying, at the "traitors," causing actual physical harm, and to pull out clumps of hair from carefully styled hairdos. Male "naturals" (straight people, which is how gays refer to those who adhere to a traditional sexual orientation), incensed by a gay pair embracing, can also fly off the handle.

In order to avoid any displays of sexual extremism, our homosexuals, like those around the world, prefer to hang out with and relax in a very narrow circle.

After visiting a few such gatherings, Vecherka correspondents have reported to our readers several peculiarities of gay fiestas. At first glance, the spectacle is dumbfounding (especially when men began to passionately kiss each other), but you get used to it. Homosexuals dance well, especially those pretending to be women. I still can't forget one fellow from Osh – what a luxurious lady named Madina with a silicone chest he made! In general, everyone was very much like people everywhere, and it even began to strike me as incomprehensible that such an uproar should be made about these gays.

After each such article, the newspaper's editors were inundated with indignant phone calls. One true Muslim called down the immediate wrath of heaven upon our poor heads for purportedly propagandizing homosexuality, and we had to spend a long time explaining that there was no propaganda involved, that it was simply a statement of fact taken from real life and an entirely unambiguous study of an unorthodox phenomenon.

These are the kind of genetic jokes that Mother Nature plays on us, and no one is immune to them. An extra chromosome crawls out of left field, and it's game over. Whether you're a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, or just a nudist, you're in the same boat with everyone else: off to the gay community with you.

A Measure of Democracy

Experts maintain that up to ten percent of any ethnic group is "condemned" to being gay. Several years ago, an international group called BOS ("A Quick Evaluation of the Situation") came up with an estimate of 35,000 homosexuals in Kyrgyzstan.

"Such a figure is entirely possible," said Vladimir Tyupin, the leader of Oasis. "Although as of today only 7,950 people are registered with our organization."

When asked where all the others are, Mr. Tyupin said, "Underground. Not every gay person can openly admit their orientation, since strong social prejudice is still very much alive. Closeted gays aren't to be envied – they are obliged to enter into traditional marriages, and then they suffer with their wives while feeling intensely dissatisfied. This leads to neuroses, nervous breakdowns, illnesses, etc. Our organization is intended to provide 'our' people with social and psychological help and to supply them with informative literature, condoms, etc."

No matter which way you look at it, the civilized world considers society's attitude towards sexual minorities one of the measures of democracy. Vladimir Tyupin confirms that in our country, everything is normal so far. The police don't especially target gays for harassment, people aren't fired for showing signs of being gay, nobody throws stones on the street, and the law criminalizing homosexuality has long since disappeared. And that all shows us in a good light. In Uzbekistan, for example, such a law is still on the books, and it is occasionally applied, although mostly to intimidate political enemies. In fact, a well-known journalist in Tashkent who was attempting to criticize the Karimov regime was charged with sodomy and jailed.

And anyway, our gays don't stick out very much. Their hairstyles and outfits are remarkably modest: no leather pants, dog collars, chains, or brightly-painted lips and eyes. An untrained straight person would be hard pressed to immediately tell if they were looking at a gay person. For example, I just recently discovered that part of Bishkek's Prospekt Erkindik, from the Russian Drama Theater to Toktogul Street, is a gay cruising ground. We walked up and down the street for two hours, but we couldn't pick a single person out of the loitering crowd as being definitely gay. They themselves, however, know each other instantly: they claim it's by a particular look in the eye that only initiates pick up on.

Parades Aren't Our Style

When the whole commotion surrounding the gay parade happened in Moscow and Luzhkov said that what he considers to be a profane outrage would take place in the capital only over his dead body, correspondents from the foreign press attempted to prod Oasis into a repeat of the incident in Russia: would there be a massive gay parade in Bishkek? Why aren't Kyrgyz gays taking to the streets? In reply, the head of Oasis patiently explained that our gays don't feel the need for such demonstrations, which are always either about pursuing political goals or wasting large sums of money that somebody donated. Here, he said, there are neither such political goals waiting to be reached nor such donations waiting to be spent.

A certain balance has been achieved in Bishkek between the straight community and sexual minorities, and it is not in anyone's interest to rock the boat.

There are some problems that are more pressing than others. According to the most recent voluntary study, the number of homosexuals known to Oasis to be infected with syphilis has grown to 26 people (there used to be 9). But that's not too bad, since syphilis can now be treated with a single tablet. The worst problem is the appearance of the first case of HIV infection. Gays run a higher risk of catching AIDS than any other social group, and the appearance of even a single case is already a serious danger signal.

In general, one has to wonder just who the Polish journalist is going to find to photograph in "gay" Bishkek, much less capture on videotape.

Details

Incidentally, "informational" literature of this sort is liable to throw any prude for a loop. The bright brochures are liberally sprinkled with photographs showing passionate gay lovers in elegant poses. With bait like that, any paragraph is an easy read, whether it's about sexually-transmitted diseases (information that straight people should memorize as well) or about safe sex (only with condoms – another universal survival law). The only thing not for a general audience is advice such as "how to find new colors in the game of love." Homosexual sex is a very specific affair that comes equipped with an entirely different class of "techniques" with names that fail to resonate in the straight ear: rimming, fisting, fellatio. But once you really try to understand it and begin to wrap your head around all information in the brochures, you finally just want to say, in a general's baritone, "well, I never – you lot are full of surprises!"

Olga Dyadyuchenko

Mirror Blog

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:54:56 GMT

From July 2007 this blog will be slowly transferring to http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com for technical convenience. You will also be able to access more features and edit content of the blog entries as well as see some of 'Labrys' publications and videos online. We are devoted to expanding our online presence.

Alex Mamytov from 'Labrys' is on his way to a training on video advocacy organized by WITNESS (http://www.witness.org/), we hope to increase the use of more multimedia options in our work.

more tech information

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:04:40 GMT

As we are learning new media technical things, we are adding more and more small technical things to become reader-friendly.
The little icon below gives information about how many hits this blog receives.

Labrys Brochure about homosexuality in Kyrgyzstan is out

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:24:48 GMT

A brochure in Russian and Kyrgyz languages talking about homosexuality in general and the lives of homosexual and bisexual people in Kyrgyzstan.

If you would like to receive a copy of brochure, please, write to kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com

Electronic copy is available here : http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com/files/2007/07/brochure.pdf

Labrys videos on YouTube

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:00:06 GMT

As we are learning to use internet and all the goodies available in it, we are making Labrys more new media-friendly. Watch our videos on YouTube.

'Labrys' uniting lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Kyrgyzstan.

Labrys activities on video

Labrys working

April - May - June news in Russian

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:49:32 GMT

From this issue and on we will be trying to have our information in both Russian and English due to numerous requests from the readers to do so.

Хотим поделиться с Вами последними новостями о работе организации.

1. Новые сотрудники и журнал. Поменялся состав сотрудников. Над журналом теперь работают Галя С. и Аида. Очень советуем посмотреть на продукт. Будете приятно удивлены. Журнал есть в офисе и на дискотеках. Его также можно получить по почте, если вы вышлете нам свой адрес kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com Айжан исполняет обязанности офис-менеджера в проекте СОС.

2. Демократические преобразования в Лабрисе. Наконец-то началась подготовка к переходу "Лабриса" на систему общее собрание - правление-президент (председатель)-исполнительный директор-сотрудники. Во-первых, теперь можно вступать в члены и членкини "Лабриса". И это дает Вам полное право участия в процессе принятия решений в "Лабрисе" (то есть, например, если Вы недовольны каким-то аспектом работы организации, Вы можете поднять этот вопрос на обсуждение среди членкинь общего собрания и принять меры). Общее собрание выбирает правление организации, которому поручает принимать самые важные решения. Правление выбирает директора, который или которая воплощает в жизнь. Сотрудники подчиняются директору и выполняют решения правления и общего собрания.

3. Шелтер продолжает работу до середины августа.

4. Визит СОС. В конце мая приезжали консультанты из СОС оценивать прогресс организации, особо довольны не были, но хвалили за некоторые моменты.

5. Тренинг по продвижению прав. На тренинг в середине мая приезжали активисты их других стран проекта СОС на тренинг по продвижению прав и лоббированию. Две организации из Украины (Женская Сеть (Киев) и Ассоциация Геев и Лесбиянок "ЛИГА" (Николаев)), Гендерное Развитие (Баку) из Азербайджана, Фонд "Инклюзив" из Грузии, "Мы за гражданское общество!" из Армении и Гендер-Док-М из Молдовы. Некоторые из Вас также имели возможность поговорить с Максимом Анмегикяном из Ilga-Europe на дискотеке.

6. Обучение сотрудников. Сотрудники "Лабриса" посетили семинары по «Улучшение практик финансового управления и администрирования НПО, развивающих программы в области ВИЧ/СПИД», организованных НПО "АнтиСПИД" и по финансовому учету от ХИВОСа. Работаем над улучшением наших финансовых систем.

7. Новая инициативная группа. "Лабрис" рекомендовал на финансирование в проект СОС организацию "Спейс" (Талас). Ребята работают с геями и МСМ (мужчины имеющие секс с мужчинами). Налаживаем коммуникацию и сотрудничество.

8. Семинары в Швеции. Сотрудники организации провели семинар о трансгендерах и презентации ЛГБТ-ситуации в Кыргызстане для шведских коллег в городах Гетеборг и Остерсунд.

9. Конференция ОБСЕ. "Лабрис" участвовал в конференции ОБСЕ по борьбе с дискриминацией и поощрению взаимного уважения и понимания. На этой конференции была обсуждена возможность включения дискриминации, основанной на сексуальной ориентации, гендерной идентичности и гендерного самовыражения как отдельной категории в анти-дискриминационной работе ОБСЕ. Организация "Лабрис" принимала участие в сборе подписей и сама подписала декларацию, направленную на включение нашей тематики в работу ОБСЕ.

В сборе подписей принимали участие в Бухаресте - Алекс Мамытов, в Бишкеке - Аида и Алексей, в Гетеборге - Анна Кирей.

Алекс Мамытов встретился с омбудсменом Казахстана и послом Кыргызстана в ОБСЕ по вопросам смены документов для транссексуалов. На данный момент "Лабрис" продвигает идею смены документов сразу после установления диагноза "транссексуализм". Такой указ уже принят в Казахстане.

10. Брошюра о гомосексуальности при поддержке фонда ASTRAEA готовится к выпуску. Это будет первая брошюра, рассказывающая о реалиях жизни гомо и бисексуальных людей в Кыргызстане.

vacancies in Labrys

Wed, 30 May 2007 19:02:17 GMT

1. Vacancy: Transgender component Coordinator

Location: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Place: Lesbian, Bisexual Women’s and Transgender Organization “Labrys”

Deadline: 15 June 2007

Work period: 1 July – 31 December 2007 (with possibility of extension)

Work load: 20 hours a week

A young NGO working with lesbian and bisexual women and transgender people (LBT) in Kyrgyzstan is looking for an open-minded and flexible person to work as a part-time research assistant within ‘Elf’ project. “Labrys” has been officially working since January 2005. Its activities include working with general public on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity and empowerment of LBT community in Bishkek through providing a safe meeting place, publishing a journal, organizing events and trainings for LBT. The project sponsored by Dutch donor HIVOS.

The transgender component of ‘Elf’ project is aimed at providing information on transitioning within post-Soviet context to transgender people and lobbying for transgender rights in Kyrgyzstan.

Profile:

University Degree in Social Sciences (preferred)
Experience in lobbying and advocacy
Experience of working with vulnerable groups and open-mindedness
Excellent communication skills
Ability to manage multiple tasks and crisis situations, work over-time
Working knowledge of Russian and English preferred

Responsibilities:

Coordinates activities within transgender component (translation of materials, publishing of materials, publication of a brochure on gender identity, advocacy)
Communicates with Ministry of Health and various human rights organizations and state bodies about ensuring the possibility of healthy transitioning in Kyrgyzstan
Maintains communication with transgender people in Kyrgyzstan and abroad
Provides consultation and information on transitioning to transgender people in Kyrgyzstan and abroad via email and in person

Women and transgender people are encouraged to apply.

To apply:

send a cover letter highlighting your experience and your CV to kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com with “Transgender Component Coordinator” in the subject line

Vacancy: Research assistant

Location: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Place: Lesbian, Bisexual Women’s and Transgender Organization “Labrys”

Deadline: 15 June

Work period: 16 July – 16 September 2007

Work load: 20 hours a week

The research component of ‘Elf’ project is aimed to examine the situation of LBT people in Bishkek by using in-depth interviews and observations.

Profile:

University Degree in Social Sciences (sociology preferred but not necessary)
2 years of experience of working with research projects in Kyrgyzstan or conducting an individual research project
Experience of working with vulnerable groups and open-mindedness
Training in qualitative research methods and data analysis
Excellent interviewing skills
Ability to manage multiple tasks and crisis situations, work over-time

Responsibilities:

Assists research coordinator in designing the study
Conducts in-depth interviews with LBT community members
Transcribes the interviews
Assists the research coordinator in producing research report

Women and transgender people are encouraged to apply.

To apply:

send a cover letter highlighting your experience and your CV to kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com with “Research Assistant” in the subject line

Labrys Restructuring, News and Links

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:52:57 GMT

Restructuring.
As 'Labrys' is proceeding with its work and getting more and more training on organizational development, we decided to restructure the organization to make its work more logical and goal-oriented.
Under the new structure there are two executive positions - Chair and Executive Director. The work of organization is structured around two main programs:

Working with LBT (and maybe Asian gay men in the future)
Information component
Support and consolidation component
Psycho-social component
Sexual Health component

Working with society
PR
Advocacy

Each program has specific components and each component has a staff person responsible for it. The new structure should enable the staff to have a feeling of ownership in the organization.

Preparation for 17 May and project progress news.

Publications. Right now 'Labrys' team is busy with preparing publications for the 17 May (brochure about homosexuality) and putting together a new journal issue. Other issues are available upon request from Jika jikabz@yahoo.com who is responsible for LBT community information and the journal. We would need your postal address to send the journals. If you are on our list and have not received the journals, please, contact Vika Kartseva ('Labrys' Chair) at vikkar.z@mail.ru or kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com

Training. PRECIS Project with COC-Netherlands and partner organizations in the former Soviet Union has been actively involving all the staff members in different types of training. On 20-24 May Kyrgyzstan is hosting the advocacy training in the framework of this project. ILGA-Europe (www.ilga-europe.org ) is co-organizing this event.

Annual report. There was a visit from HIVOS to 'Labrys' in March and one of its outcomes is putting together an annual report about 'Labrys' work in 2006 which will be available by 30 April.

Lobbying for gender marker change. 'Labrys' has taken commitment to further lobby the possibilities of changing the gender marker and name legally for transsexuals in Kyrgyzstan. As of now we are preparing a strategy for advocating through medical institutions. The way through political means would be very difficult as Kyrgyzstan is going through yet another political turmoil. Our transitioning hero (it's been one year since he received the diagnosis) has been to different courts and spoke to different judges. One advise to him was to go abroad to get a surgery (phalloplasty) that would make him a 'real man' (as judges defined man as somebody with a penis). The judges' comments remain without written refusals, therefore, we cannot challenge them in court. One written document that we have is refusal to take up a court case due to not presenting a medical form of 'proper format' (which does not exist).
As of now we are hoping to discuss the issue with medical professionals and hold seminars for them with medics from Kazakhstan present (for the legislation on changing gender marker in Kazakhstan see http://www.pfc.org.uk/files/Kazakhstan.pdf).

Cooperation with transgender activists in Russia.
'Labrys' has been in touch with Yaroslav who runs www.mucho-dyke.narod.ru website (one of the best FtM information sites in Russian language) and Agneta www.transsexuals.ru . We plan to spread our transgender information materials through these online networks.

Articles about presentation of LGBT Situation in Kyrgyzstan (in Swedish)

Amnesty International: http://www2.amnesty.se/ap.nsf/webbreportage/0A8C6EA631ECBE02C12572BB002807E4?opendocument
RFSL (Swedish National LGBT Organization) Newsletterhttp://konline.rfsl.se/oois?id=55&article_id=104097

Friendly event 'Queer Easter':
www.queereaster.net

Also listen to broadcast of an interview about transgender situation in Kyrgyzstan:
www.transgenderradio.de There will be two broadcasts on 6 May at 13:00 (German time) and 20 May at 13:00.

some of the updated research results and the new 'Labrys' Logo

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:26:28 GMT

Since January 2007 'Labrys' has a new logo developed by Galina Sokolova, one of the staff members.
There were two options discussed and this one was chosen:

We are working on analyzing the obtained research results from the survey.

Methods:

Structured interview-questionnaire
Administered by six different interviewers of different identities and from different ethnic groups
Data collection July 2006 – January 2007
94 questionnaires collected, 9 incomplete
Main themes: demographics, income, health, sexual practices and STI/HIV awareness, coming out, main needs and concerns, access to Labrys services

Selected findings:
58% identify as lesbians
32% earn below 100 USD per month
43% assessed their health condition as satisfactory
17% do not smoke
51% of the smokers want to quit
9% drink alcohol 3 to 5 times per week
34% tried drugs usually marijuana
23% had forced sexual contacts (lOut of these 80% had forced sexual contact with a man)
35% believe that their sexual orientation or gender identity create problems for them in society
55% named relations with family and relatives as their main concern
8% would want to change their sexual orientation or gender identity
28% tried to change their sexual orientation or gender identity
For 56% their families tried to force them to change by persuading, sending to psychologist or psychiatrist

One of the lesbian women forced to get married

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 18:45:42 GMT

One of the Kyrgyz lesbian women aged 28 is going to follow her parents' demand to get married in March. Her girlfriend came to 'Labrys' with this story, the couple is planning to continue seeing each other but secretly. The 'bride's' parents are aware of their daughter's sexual orientation and that she has a partner. The couple had to separate officially. The parents chose the future husband for their daughter because she was of the age, not married and without children. It would be a shame for the family if she disagreed.

Update on different activities

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:43:32 GMT

January activities.
During the January weeks 'Labrys' has been doing its usual activities: there was a disco and trainings along with preparing the issue number 8 of journal.

Journal by post.
Issue number 7 is out and sent out to partner organizations and individuals, if you have not received it but would like to, please, send your postal address to kyrgyzlabrys@yahoo.com .

Email news.
Also we have been collecting emails of the people who would like to receive 'Labrys' news and information by email, we have about twenty emails so far. If you would like to be included in the email list, let us know. The emails with news will come approximately once in two weeks.

Transgender.
There was a trans* support group meeting where a decision was made that 'Labrys' can provide medical support only for those transsexuals who have obtained an official diagnosis of 'transsexualism'. Also one of the transbois had a hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus) and is now working on a court case to be officially able to change documents. The case, unfortunately, will be an individual court case and not a precedent.

Research data.
We have finished data collection from the needs assessment part of the research project, as of now there were 94 interviews made,
9 respondents either stopped half way through the interview, we are waiting for emailed quesstionnaires from two respondents.

Translation of older 'Labrys ' journal articles into English.
Translations of articles in issues of 'Labrys' 1 and 2 are now available in English, thank you to Human Rights Watch for translation.