A forum on gender-based violence was held on Friday at Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies in Bangkok, Thailand, as part of a National Day of Outrage organized by supporters of slain transgender Jennifer Laude.
“It was a small gathering of international students and guests — three Filipinos, one Finnish, two Americans, one Kiwi, two Burmese, one English, and two Thais, one of whom was a monk,” says organizer Bruce Amoroto.
The group watched both Netherlands-based Filipina activist Sass Sasot’s 2010 speech at the United Nations and US-based Filipino Geena Rocero’s 2014 talk on TED.com. Both speeches are about transgenderism.
“Around 10:30am, as we paused for a break, our important guest arrived: Minerva Munoz is a transgender Pinay now based here in Bangkok. Minerva played Queen Raquela and for the next 75 minutes, Minerva shared her and her friends experiences growing up trans in Cebu and then moving to Bangkok for work,” says Amoroto.
“This, I think, was the best part of the day. Minerva was nervous at first but eventually, and with the kindness of one female participant bringing her water, she relaxed and more aspects of her and trans Pinay life were shared. The audience was very keen. There were a few glitches with technology but it didn’t really matter as the attendees were eager to know more about her life,” adds Amoroto.
Photo: Bruce Amoroto
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