Colleges Must End Using Anti-Gay Books in 60-days
The LGBT community in Albania has scored another victory, this time involving textbooks at the university level, according to a statement from Altin Hazizaj, pictured at the microphone, a leader with the Pink Embassy/LGBT Pro Albania coalition. From Tirana, Hazizaj shared the good news received over the Christmas holiday:
The office of the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination (CPD) notified us on December 24 on its decision regarding university texts which discriminate openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Albania.
On November 7th, PINK Embassy/LGBT Pro Albania submitted a complaint to the CPD asking the removal from market of all texts which discriminate against the LGBT community and the update of all academic texts where same-sex relations and identities are discussed, including here the two texts used by the Faculties of Medicine and Law of all Universities in Albania.
In its decision, the CPD found that the text “Legal Medicine”, published in Tirana 2007, on page 140 listed homosexuality along with “sexual perversions most commonly encountered” such as fetishism, exhibitionism, sadomasochism, zoophiles and necrophilia . . .
The CPD has clarified in its decision that “such definitions which include homosexuality in the group of sexual perversions make for an inadequate definition, non scientific and discriminatory because of sexual orientation and gender identity. Introducing students with such concepts, creates wrong perceptions on this group and affects the education of students as future lawyers and doctors.”
The Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination has decided that the content of the book “Legal Medicine” is discriminatory; that the authors who have produced this discriminatory material should modify the text and if that is not possible should remove the book from the market and libraries of all institutions within 60 days . . .
Hearty congratulations to the activists in the Pink Embassy/LGBT Pro Albania coalition for persuading a government agency to take against vile and incorrect statements about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in college textbooks.
BTW, I checked out the CPD's web site and read on its English-language page that the commission came into existence after the Albanian Assembly passed a law protecting citizens from discrimination. Sexual orientation is listed among the reasons for which discrimination in the Balkan nation will not be tolerated.
Keep up the great work, LGBT people of Albania!
No comments:
Post a Comment