Vietnam: LGBTQ+ Pride in the Time of Coronavirus
The gay former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir said, “It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.” Sigurðardóttir’s message, delivered while defending LGBTQ+ rights at a 2014 Pride festival, would certainly have been welcomed by LGBTQ+ communities as far away as Vietnam, a country that still, like much of Asia, hasn’t fully advanced LGBTQ+ rights as yet.
It has been over a year since columnist Thoi Nguyen’s article “The Fight for LGBT Rights in Vietnam Still Has a Long Way To Go” was published in The Diplomat and it is fair to say that prejudice, discrimination, and stigma against the LGBTQ+ community still looms large, despite the ongoing efforts of local activists.
Hugh Bohane
