India's police response to LGBT activists cries for mercy “Stop us if you can.”

According to the Human Rights Watch there is a crisis in India's Girinagar neighborhood of Bangalore. GLBT activists are being detained without being allowed to rest, access to food, water or the use of bathrooms. GLBT activists are being verbally, physically and sexually assaulted by police.

On October 20, 2008, police arrested five hijras (working-class, male-to-female, transgender people), detained representatives of a nongovernmental organization trying to negotiate their release, and subsequently attacked a group of peaceful demonstrators protesting the arrests. A total of 42 people were detained. The negotiators later informed Human Rights Watch that police officials told them higher-level authorities had ordered a campaign to arrest hijras on serious charges.

The response by police is "Stop us if you can"

We will stop you.
Girinagar Police Station phone 6721016

bangalore police stations

Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations
235 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 490-9660/9661/9662/9663/9664/9665
Telefax: (212) 490-9656/9658
E-mail: india@un.int, indiaun@prodigy.net

Soulforce at Southwestern Baptist - a conversation

By Kelli Busey
planetransgender
Monday Oct. 27, 2008

Ft. Worth Texas, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was the home to the latest in Soulforce's string of religious university stops in the deep south. It was a conversation that some locally doubted would ever happen and although the local media was not allowed inside Channel 11 TV filmed from the outdoors.



According to Anna Kirey, Soulforce stop coordinator, her religious activism was ignited by the changes she partook in with the collapse of the Soviet Union. While a student in her native Kyrgyzstan just speaking up was dangerous to her and her partner and this made her all the more dedicated to liberty and justice.



According the the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary press release "The one-hour dialogue was cordial and kind spirited as the two parties discussed their opposing viewpoints about faith and sexuality.."