Malaysia’s anti-gay training camp on “masculine behavior†for Muslim teenaged boys who were perceived as “effeminate” by their own teachers has been declared illegal by a Malaysian Minister. The four-day camp, an attempt to stop them from becoming gay, is currently operating with 66 boys who enlisted “voluntarily,” according to reports.
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, claims the anti-gay training camp violates Malaysia’s own “Child Act,” according to a report by the BBC.
As The New Civil Rights Movement reported Tuesday, the anti-gay training, officially called a “self-development course,†is a combination of religious, physical, and motivational training, according to Razali Daud, the state’s education director.
The training camp for the Muslim teenaged boys who were perceived as “effeminate,” is designed to “guide them back to the right path in life before they reach a point of no return,†Razali told the Associated Press. “Such effeminate behavior is unnatural and will affect their studies and their future,†he claims.
“It is not an overnight cure,†Razali added. “We can’t force the boys to change, but we want them to know what their choices are in life. Some effeminate boys end up as a transvestite or a homosexual, but we want to do our best to limit this.”
UNICEF points to Malaysia’s Child Act and claims that, “[c]hild protection is a priority for the Government of Malaysia,” adding that “[a]buse, neglect, abandonment or exposing a child to physical and/or emotional injuries is punishable under this law.”
Malaysia has a population of 27.5 million, and its landmass is slightly larger than the state of New Mexico.
(image via Wikimedia)