News and Opinions

Update on Orchard Towers Homicide

Written by sayoni on . Posted in LGBT News & Politics

In a further development of the story we published on the orchard towers “hate crime”, the remaining three assailants, the ones who started the assault on the victim Suhaimi, have been sentenced by a district judge.

Greater role, so trio get jail

Trio in the dock had each either punched or kicked victim on the head

Teo Xuanwei

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ALL six friends were involved in the brawl outside an Orchard Towers pub last November, but a district judge ruled yesterday that three of them had played greater roles in the fatal assault.

For that, a district judge sentenced Mr Muhammad Sufian Zainal, 21, and Mr Helmi Abdul Rahim, 20, each to four years' jail and six strokes of the cane. Mr Ahmad Nur Helmy Ahmad Hamdan, 20, was given four-and-a-half years in jail and eight strokes of the cane.

Good News and Bad News: Obama In, Equal Rights Out

Written by sayoni on . Posted in LGBT News & Politics

It is good news and bad news today – in the good news, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.

In the bad news, three states – Arizona, California and Florida, have voted to pass a constitutional amendment that defines “marriage as being between a man and a woman” only.

 

The most upsetting of these setbacks, was in the state of California, where Proposition 8 was defeated by a margin of 4% [with 95% of precints reporting in]. At the time of publication, it does not look likely that Proposition 8 will be defeated, and hence, we have to accept the cold hard reality that one of the largest, and supposedly liberal states in America has decided that people like us do not deserve equal rights. [Click here for updates]

Now, readers are inclined to ask: how is this related to us? We do not live in America, for this to really affect us. However, this is likely to have repercussions in both America and abroad, in the march towards progress. After the court case that allowed same-sex couples to get married, this step backwards is a big blow to equal rights. Even though domestic partnerships are still allowed, they are not the same as marriage, and does not confer many of the important rights that come with marriage.

Here’s us hoping that in the years to come, the constitutional amendment will be overturned, though it is so much harder to do.

Sayoni Queer Women Survey 2008 Report (Singapore)

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

 

Sayoni proudly presents Sayoni Queer Women Survey 2008 Report (Singapore) – administered on lesbian, queer, bisexual and transgendered women living in Singapore.

Abstract

Objectives:

1.To gain some perspective on the actual needs of queer women, and what we can do about them

2.To provide free and accessible information to researchers, and act as a starting point for further research into the field

3.To ameliorate the dire lack of information on queer women in Singapore. Currently, there is no proper understanding of how the women�s queer community functions, other than biased and disjointed personal views.

The survey is broken down into five main aspects. Questions in each category are stream-lined and standardised for easy answering, by presenting most of the questions as rating questions where possible.

1. Introduction

General background.

2. Family, Friends and Work

Questions on how out the respondent is in their various social circles, how this group has reacted to the information, and the respondent�s intention to come out to that particular group.

3. Personal

Questions on a personal level relating to sexual orientation. Probes how the respondents come to realise their sexuality, different aspects of personal identity, and how their sexuality has affected them. Also includes information on relationships of respondents.

4. Financial

Questions to ascertain the financial status of queer women as a community – on income, occupation and industry, housing and car ownership.

5. Feedback on Sayoni and the community

Take note that the answers to these questions with the exception of two, are not presented in this report as they are meant for internal feedback.

This survey was not carried out with a null hypothesis in mind, and much of the information contained in this report is� processed descriptive statistics. Where possible, averages and trends have been pre-computed, and presented along with a broad analysis of the data. This� year, the data is presented in a much more visual format, as opposed to raw numbers in the
pilot run of 2006.

In the report of 2006, the data was broken down across Age, Ethnicity and Religion, as it is believed that these three different aspects affect the average queer woman in her views and social situation with respect to her sexuality. This year, due to the significant changes in methodology and presentation, we have decided to omit the comparison by Ethnicity and� Religion, as the representation for minority ethnic groups is not high enough to allow accurate comparisons.

Hate Crime in Singapore

Written by sayoni on . Posted in LGBT News & Politics

This news was reported in the Straits Times.

3 others in Orchard Towers brawl will be sentenced Nov 6
By Sujin Thomas

BIRTHDAY party celebrations at an Orchard Towers pub last November turned ugly when six men ended up beating another to death.

After he was assaulted in the early hours of Nov 23, Suhaimi Sulong, 37, was taken unconscious to the Singapore General Hospital.

He died an hour later from head and neck injuries.

Yesterday, three of his attackers – Muhammad Ridhwan Mohd Roslan, 20, Ho Ching Boon, 17, and Lai Chee Kuen, 17 – were sent to the reformative training centre.

New Release: I can’t think straight!

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Entertainment

here! Films and Regent Releasing proudly presents:
I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT trailer & poster premiered on Cinematical!
Please click here to view.

An exuberant, touching romantic comedy about clashing of the two worlds and cultures. Tala, a London-based Palestinian, prepares for her elaborate wedding in Jordan when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who turns her world upside down.

I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT stars Lisa Ray (WATER, KILL KILL FASTER FASTER), Sheetal Sheth (ABCD, THE WORLD UNSEEN), Rez Kempton (THE MYSTIC MASSEUR) and Nina Wadia (EASTEBDERS). The film was adapted from the writers and directors, Shamim Sarif (THE WORLD UNSEEN) best-selling novel and produced by Hanan Kattan (THE WORLD UNSEEN). I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT was written, directed, financed and produced almost entirely by women – an Enlightenment Productions film.

I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT opens in theaters on Friday, November 21, 2008

View trailer.

Download the poster

Press materials

Website for I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT

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