Sexual orientation and gender identity minorities in transition: LGBT rights and activism in Myanmar

Grounded in ongoing fieldwork inside Myanmar and amongst exiled Burmese communities, this article provides the first detailed account of the legal and human rights status of sexual orientation and gender identity minorities in Myanmar, with a focus on the abuses that they suffer. It also examines how Burmese activists overcame repressive laws to form an indigenous LGBT rights movement that has flourished since the start of the country’s recent political transition. The research thus sheds light not only on future challenges for LGBT rights activism, but also on the broader political mobilization of human rights in a changing Myanmar. The research also has implications for states during democratic transition.The first author was funded by the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, National University of Singapore, and the second author was funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award