{"id":10855,"date":"2018-08-31T13:07:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T07:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=10855"},"modified":"2018-08-31T13:07:18","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T07:22:18","slug":"myanmars-lgbti-welcome-first-community-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/myanmars-lgbti-welcome-first-community-cafe\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar’s LGBTI welcome first community cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu (Pahichan) August 31 – Myanmar\u00a0last month opened what could well be the country\u2019s first LGBTI cafe, named\u00a0My Place<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Well-known actress\u00a0Khine Hnin Wai<\/a>\u00a0and her partner Junior Dennis set up the cafe in the country\u2019s commercial hub, Yangon.<\/p>\n

\u2018I want them [LGBTI] to feel warm, relaxed, and equal when they come to My Place.\u2019 said Junior Dennis.<\/p>\n

Homosexual sex is illegal in Myanmar under article 377 of the colonial-era penal code, although it is rarely enforced.<\/p>\n

LGBTI people in Myanmar do, however, face widespread stigma and discrimination.<\/p>\n

Local LGBTI people and allies have welcomed the community space.<\/p>\n

Facebook users reviewing the cafe described it as \u2018friendly,\u2019 \u2018warm,\u2019 \u2018welcoming.\u2019 One said that it \u2018empowered\u2019 the local LGBTI community.<\/p>\n

\u2018Why not Myanmar?\u2019<\/h2>\n

Junior Dennis explained that neighboring China and Thailand have many LGBTI venues. \u2018Why not Myanmar?\u2019 the owner asked.<\/p>\n

No one will look down on people at My Place, said Junior Dennis.<\/p>\n

\u2018[Customers] are all equal to any other human beings and have all the rights of human society,\u2019 the owner said.<\/p>\n

The couple adorned the cafe\u2019s walls with photos of LGBTI celebrities including Sam Smith, Kristen Stewart, and Ellen DeGeneres.<\/p>\n

The cafe sells rainbow accessories including shirts and flags and offers leaflets and advice LGBTI issues.<\/p>\n

It serves up local coffee and Thai food with half of profits going to a charity founded by Khine Hnin Wai.<\/p>\n

\"Myanmar's<\/p>\n

Myanmar\u2019s first LGBTI cafe in commercial hub, Yangon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

HlaMyat Tun of local\u00a0LGBTI group Colors Rainbow<\/a>\u00a0welcomed the new space for the community.<\/p>\n

But, the activist, said: \u2018Importantly, existing spaces should also be non-discriminatory.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018We need more safe spaces in daily life, such as schools, home, and workplaces,\u2019 he told Gay Star News.<\/p>\n

\u2018People look down [on LGBTI] for no concrete reason and start discriminating by isolating them from the society,\u2019 he explained.<\/p>\n

In January,\u00a0thousands attended Myanmar\u2019s first public LGBTI pride party<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last month,\u00a0Myanmar actor and model\u00a0Okkar Min Maung<\/a>\u00a0(also known as Ye Htoo Win) sent shockwaves through society when he publicly came out as gay.<\/p>\n

\u2018I am who I am, I love who I love. I won\u2019t give up,\u2019 he said in a video that went viral.<\/p>\n

Copy :\u00a0www.gaystarnews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu (Pahichan) August 31 – Myanmar\u00a0last month opened what could well be the country\u2019s first LGBTI cafe, named\u00a0My Place.
\nWell-known actress\u00a0Khine Hnin Wai\u00a0and her partner Junior Dennis set up the cafe in the country\u2019s commercial hub, Yangon.
\n\u2018I want them [LGBTI] to feel warm, relaxed, and equal when they come to My Place.\u2019 said Junior Dennis.
\nHomosexual sex is illegal in Myanmar under article 377 of the colonial-era penal code, although it is rarely enforced.
\nLGBTI people in Myanmar do, however, face widespread stigma and discrimination.
\nLocal LGBTI people and allies have welcomed the community …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":10856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,621,490,11],"tags":[502],"class_list":["post-10855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-issue","category-news","category-slider","category-world","tag-lgbti"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10857,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10855\/revisions\/10857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}