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News and Events => Political and Legal News => Topic started by: suzifrommd on March 19, 2016, 12:14:01 PM

Title: The brutal reality transgender women face under Myanmar's 'darkness law'
Post by: suzifrommd on March 19, 2016, 12:14:01 PM
The brutal reality transgender women face under Myanmar's 'darkness law'

By Joshua Carroll
3/19/16

http://mashable.com/2016/03/19/trans-women-myanmar/

The "darkness law" gives police sweeping powers to arrest anyone they deem to be acting suspiciously.

The law, a section of the Police Act enacted under British rule, carries a maximum sentence of three months and has been used across the country in recent years as part of a crackdown on the country's LGBT community. Myanmar's transition from a military dictatorship to a quasi democracy has emboldened LGBT people to begin openly calling for equality. But as the trans community has become more visible, police have been targeting them with the kind of violence and persecution associated with the dark days of junta rule.