| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 17-Feb-03 08:49 PM
(Sorry about pasting the whole article.)
Men Who Have Sex with Men Speak up
By Ramyata Limbu
KATHMANDU, Feb 7 (IPS) - In a slinky back sari and a miniscule string blouse, Kumar glid across the packed conference room in four-inch heels, as numerous heads turn.
The 18-year-old tossed back long, black tresses and bats a luxuriant pair of false eyelashes, before addressing the first Nepal National Consultation Meeting for Male Reproductive and Sexual Health held here Feb. 1.
''I normally don't dress up in public,'' says Kumar, one of 60 or 70 men, ages ranging from 15 to 60, who gathered in the Nepali capital to identify gaps in sexual health interventions for males having sex with males (MSMs) in Nepal.
''But self-realisation is extremely important as well as awareness and education on sexual orientation, health and behaviour,'' Kumar adds.
In the language of the subcontinent, Kumar, who used to dance in a local nightclub before opting to study hotel management, is a 'meti', a self-defined feminised male who has sex with men, and uses his feminine behaviour in public spaces to attract men for sex.
'Metis' are the most vulnerable and high-risk group of homosexuals as they have multiple 'ta' partners, men who have sex with other men or women.
''Evidence from research in South Asia clearly shows that the process of stigmatisation and thus vulnerability arise from concepts of masculinity in these cultures, which lead to marginalisation, social exclusion, and abuse of the most vulnerable of MSM - those with feminised identities,'' explains Shivananda Khan, executive director of the Naz Foundation International.
The foundation has been involved in providing technical, financial, and institutional support to MSM collectives across South Asia since 1996 and has assisted in the development of some 27 such projects that between them have reached over 500,000 MSM.
''Studies in Kathmandu as well as anecdotal evidence from other urban areas in Nepal, clearly indicate that there are significant numbers of 'metis' across the country,'' says Sunil Babu Pant, founder and director of the Blue Diamond Society, the only self-help, community-based organisation that provides sexual health promotion services in Kathmandu for 'metis' and their partners.
The society, through outreach workers like Kumar, provides counseling, education and support to MSMs, drop-in services, clinical referrals.
Working across 18 sites in Kathmandu during a nine-month study in 2002, the organisation has so far reached some 7,000 MSMs, 3,000 'metis' and the remainder 'tas'. During the survey, 3,000 were referred for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
''MSMs are an extremely vulnerable group as male-to-male transmission of STI /HIV may be largely undetected because of relatively low levels of testing, the invisibility and denial of male-to-male sex, the levels of shame experienced by those involved in male-to- male sex and also the lack of sensitivity, awareness and knowledge of the medical profession in this regard which makes access problematic,'' stresses Pant, who struggled to found the society in 2001.
Till about a few years ago, Nepalis, even those in the medical profession, were awkward and uncomfortable discussing problems of men who have sex with men and their rights.
''It's a historic moment that we've reached the stage where we can gather and talk about the needs and sexual health rights of MSMs without squirming. Everyone is entitled to live a safe life with dignity,'' says Dr Bala Krisha Subedi, acting director of Nepal's National Centre for AIDS and STD Control.
''While it's crucial to have a better appreciation of factors like size estimation and risk behaviour among MSMs, it's important that what was once a hidden domain is now recognised and is being addressed in national policy,'' agrees Dr James Ross, country director of Family Health International.
Despite the chill at this time of the year, 'metis', 'tas', and 'dohoris' (a label given by 'metis' to other homosexuals whose public behaviour is normatively masculine) from urban areas around Nepal, many of them dressed in drag, turned up to discuss strategies need to meet their sexual health needs at last week's conference.
These, they hope, will enable effective networking, and to explore human rights and social justice issues regarding MSMs and advocate ways to address stigma and discrimination - including changing laws discriminatory to homosexuals.
''It's a curse in many ways,'' says dusky-skinned Sharmila, who turned up with his partner after hearing about the meeting through the local network of MSMs ''From the outside, you're male. But every instinct cries out that you're female.''
Since as long as she remembers, Sharmila has been dancing and singing to celebrate the births of babies and other auspicious occasions in Kathmandu's homes.
Others like 24-year-old Alex, the only son of three children, has been fighting off increasing parental pressure to get married. ''Tying the knot and making some girl's life miserable is not a solution. But my parents don't understand. Once, I told them half-seriously, find me a boy and I'll get married,'' he recalls. ''They were aghast.''
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