Next month, Myanmar’s first openly gay candidate will contest the country’s general election in what could be a watershed moment for LGBTQI rights in the socially conservative Southeast Asian nation.As with many other former British colonies throughout Asia, homosexuality remains criminalised in Myanmar by way of archaic laws that are remnants of colonial rule.
At the core of these laws is section 377 of the Penal Code which makes “unnatural sex” a criminal offence that is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, although the law is not strictly enforced.“Although section 377 does not specifically mention same sex relations, it is assumed that homosexuality falls under the broad definition of ‘unnatural sex’ and the police have used it.