Gender Issues: An Obsession for Monogamous Individuals - Antigender Movements Networking Everywhere
Read the original article in Finnish here.
The rise of the anti-gender movement is forging new alliances in world politics. Russia and China are connecting traditional values to the very existence of the nation.
At the end of July, Russia organized a summit with African countries in St Petersburg. Putin's ally, Patriarch Kirill of the Orthodox Church, delivered a speech on the opening day emphasizing the common moral ground between Russia and Africa, centered around respect for tradition, family values, and the union of man and woman. He accused the "West" of moral relativism, tolerance of everything, and destroying the traditional family.
In his speech, Kirill linked the West's degradation to its colonial past and claimed that the majority of African countries oppose same-sex unions despite "enormous pressure." He stated, "The secret of our friendship is that Russia has never seen the African continent as a land to be exploited or colonized. Russia has never spoken of African countries in an arrogant and dominant way."
In reality, the meeting was overshadowed by a tense atmosphere. Only 17 African leaders attended, and Putin's support was limited. Many countries depend on grain imports from Ukraine.
When common ground was lacking, leaders turned to shared values. President Vladimir Putin addressed the audience, expressing Russia's search for a kindred spirit in African leaders with its emphasis on "traditional values." This, coupled with the colonialism card, united them against a common adversary—the perceived arrogance of the West imposing liberal values.
Across the globe, discussions on traditional family or values are increasing, often accompanied by hostility towards sexual and gender minorities, justifying discriminatory laws or violence. Populist and religious groups, despite differing ideologies, find a common enemy in what they term "gender ideology."
The term "gender" denotes sex as a social construction and individual identity, distinct from biological categorization (sex). Its widespread use began in the 1990s, notably at the Beijing Conference on Women's Rights in 1995. The opposition to gender ideology encompasses a diverse range of groups opposing gender and sexual diversity, minority rights, and, in some cases, abortion, women's and girls' rights, or sex education.
Anti-gender movements exploit political climates globally, with various organizations channeling funds where conditions are favorable. In Africa, fundamentalist Christians from the West support campaigns and policies that may be inconceivable in their home countries.
Kenya serves as an example, where an anti-gender movement backed by international support is pushing for a bill punishing homosexuality and making life challenging for gender and sexual minorities. Uganda passed one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws last year, with some of the rhetoric resembling that in Kenya.
Anti-gender movements, seemingly paradoxically, receive funding from unexpected sources. While Russia positions itself against the West, Western anti-gender organizations receive significant funding from Russian entities.
Emil Edenborg, Associate Professor of Gender Studies at Stockholm University, explains that authoritarian or populist leaders find traditional values convenient and useful in filling ideological vacuums. Traditional values become part of Russia's state identity, justifying actions like the invasion of Ukraine.
The LSE researchers argue that antigender movements are not merely surface-level phenomena associated with right-wing populism. They are fundamental issues shaping populist governments globally, affecting decision-making and elections in various countries.
Anti-gender movements not only impact national laws but also influence international politics and agreements. For instance, Russia forms alliances in UN votes based on anti-gender views, affecting decisions like the UN Human Rights Council's 2014 "family protection" decision.
Sometimes hatred towards LGBTIQ minorities is the only thing that unites the different sides of a divided society. This is the case in Malaysia.
"The Islamic administration and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship have almost nothing in common. LGBTIQ people seem to be the only thing that the two religions in my country agree on," says Henry Koh, Executive Director of ILGA Asia.
ILGA Asia is an umbrella organization that supports local LGBTIQ organizations, striving to change attitudes and legislation. Henry Koh has for example worked for creating a network of lawyers to help trans people. ILGA Asia has campaigned against common problems in several countries, such as violent conversion therapies. When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the organization helped evacuate the country's LGBTIQ people and provided humanitarian aid.
Malaysia is not conducive for sexual and gender minorities. Homosexuality can result in a 20-year prison sentence, queer people are harassed and discriminated against everywhere: in public spaces, healthcare, education, recruitment. A local special phenomenon is the religious divide. In addition to federal laws, Sharia laws are in use in Malaysia. Often the raids are carried out by the Islamic police, who are only interested in the decency of Muslims.
Malaysia has not always been so conservative. The turnaround happened in the 1980s. The center-right ruling coalition Barisan Nasional was afraid of losing to the Islamic party and decided that the best way to win the election was to make the state constitutionally Islamic and extend religion to state administration.
Anti-gender forces in Malaysia have many levels of connections with the rest of the world. Christian movements receive money from US ultra conservatives. The administration is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), which holds together in the UN votes. OIC, on the other hand, surprisingly has connections even with Christian fundamentalists: it has cooperated with, for example, Family Watch International (https://www.oic-oci.org/topic/?t_id=37354&t_ref=25844&lan=en)
China is extending its economic power around the world, including Malaysia. Numerous infrastructure projects are financed by the state-owned China Communications Construction Company. The countries' economic connection is linked to a common narrative about the protection of "traditional values" and the fight against foreign influences.
“This narrative is a good excuse for a country like us to stand together. It often works against LGBTIQ communities, because the rights of queer people are allegedly imported from the West. In many former colonies, organizations and activists strive to strengthen their own cultural heritage and dismantle global power structures," says Henry Koh. In Asian countries, these decolonization movements have awakened to think about the origins of legislation oppressing minorities, and in many traditional cultures, trans people have been recognized as community members.
In response to British colonial rule, countries were left with laws like 377 prohibiting "unnatural sexual intercourse." While Singapore and India have repealed the law, Malaysia still enforces it. Koh emphasizes the need to decolonize, stating, "We want to say to our hypocritical leaders that we must decolonize ourselves. The laws they still use to punish queer people are not laws they created but remnants of the British Empire."
Anti-gender movements impact not only national laws but also international politics and agreements. Emil Edenborg notes that new alliances have formed in UN votes based on anti-gender views, with Russia forming blocs in the UN Human Rights Council with countries with which it has no historical connection. These alliances affect decisions like the UN Human Rights Council's 2014 "family protection" decision, where Russia blocked an addition proposed by Uruguay to consider the diversity of families.
In 2016, the UN Human Rights Council established the task of a special advisor to prevent discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Although the mandate has been renewed annually, anti-gender organizations have actively lobbied against its renewal.
Emil Edenborg highlights that anti-gender movements are about gender and sexuality, but they are also broader anti-democratic coalitions shaping politics in many ways. Gender and sexuality are strongly connected to security policy, with Russia linking them to the existence of the entire nation. The war in Ukraine is justified by the protection of traditional values, and rainbow organizations have been designated as foreign agents and pushed out of Russia.
NATO acknowledges gender equality as one of its goals, with a staff working group established to address rainbow perspectives. During Donald Trump's presidency, Russia gained supporters from the American and European far-right, and the war in Ukraine reduced Russia's appeal. However, the situation could change with Trump's potential re-election or a shift in power within the Republican Party.
"Situations live all the time, dynamics are never permanent," says Edenborg.
