Sadly the four trans women in Seremban, Malaysia lost their bid in the High Court yesterday to have Section 66 of the Syariah Criminal (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment declared unconstitutional.

Two of the women currently face charges in court under this law which criminalises their dress as “cross-dressing”, though they self-identify and live as women. They could be imprisoned for up to six months if convicted.

You can send messages of support to the four women via justiceforsisters@gmail.com

I’m also trying to organise for international organisations to co-sign a statement that Seksualiti Merdeka and some other Malaysian NGOs are putting out about the ruling. If you’re involved with an organisation that would like to co-sign, please let me know and I’ll send you a copy of the statement once it’s finished. Alternatively it would be hugely appreciated if you would like to write your own support statement. As this case relates to Sharia law, I think it will be particularly helpful to have messages of support from Islamic organisations.

You can find more information about the court case and the way trans
women have been harrassed and violated under this law here:
http://justiceforsisters.wordpress.com/