Gender and sexual diversities are historically the human realities: Time to bring communities together – IDAHOBIT 2025

From Uganda to the United States of America, to Britain, globally there are immense pressure, rollbacks, and attacks on the fundamental human rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals. In particular, attacks are directed towards trans people as legislation and public opinion seek to reinforce the binary and restrictive definitions of sex and gender that are divorced from the realities of our lives, and humanity’s collective histories. 

MenEngage Alliance, together with its members from across 92 countries around the world, express our ongoing solidarity and stand with LGBTIQA+ individuals and movements against the crackdown and isolation they are bound to face at individual, societal, institution and state levels. We take the opportunity to call on all those standing for human rights to join us, in our belief that ending transphobia and queerphobia is a core imperative of human dignity, gender justice, of decolonisation, and rights. We believe that gender and sexual diversities have historically been widespread and common throughout human existence, everyday occurrences that were socially acceptable in various societies across the globe. The current gender binary order and gender hierarchies and ideologies are inherited from the colonisers. We call on everyone to join us and take steps towards liberation and decolonisation; to center care and breathe in freely in the vast expansiveness of the lived realities of our histories, our lives. 

We take this moment to acknowledge and cherish the long standing visionary leadership and inspirations of feminist, decolonial, and LGBTQI+ movements that have supported us in having a better understanding of and our accountability to these movements. From actors from Eswatini to Sri Lanka to India to Kenya to Canada, we continue to be inspired and nourished by the commitment, advocacy, and love around us for fundamental human rights of LGBTQI+ people and communities. One of our key priorities, since the inception of the Alliance, has been the intersectional and transformative work with men and boys to stand for and advocate for equality and justice for people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identities, expressions and sexual characteristics. 

On this day we would like to recall the heartbreaking situation Alish, a 23-year old khawaja sira (trans person), had to face in 2016. She was accused of her own death as she bled to death within a 1,750-bed hospital from gunshot wounds because she was refused treatment from both the male and female patient wards. The irony was the fact that this incident is from a country where transgender people have legal recognition from the State.

MenEngage Alliance, the largest global network focusing on transforming patriarchal masculinities and working with men and boys to advocate for women’s rights, LGBTIQA+ rights and climate justice, stands in solidarity with LGBTIQA+ individual’s fundamental human rights to have dignity and life free of any forms of discrimination, stigma, oppression and violence. In a world where patriarchy grants undue power and unearned privileges to men and boys, particularly those in politics, media, religion, and beyond, we take this moment to call on all men and boys to step up and use their sphere of influence to dismantle patriarchy, and queerphobia as a cornerstone of patriarchy. 

We strongly believe in the capabilities of men and boys to critically understand, reject and overcome dominant, controlling, restrictive, and harmful definitions of manhood. We also believe that men and boys, as human beings, have inherent human characteristics of  compassion, empathy, care and affection, as well as always longing for peace and coexistence. We call upon all men and boys to step up, not only as allies, but as beneficiaries and agents of change to challenge these narrow, restrictive, and harmful ways of being a man. 

Globally in these moments of pushback, crackdown on LGBTQI+ rights, and isolation we must remind ourselves that our struggles are intertwined. It is the same system of patriarchy and colonisation that kills queer and trans people, that normalises the murder of cisgendered women and girls too. So much so that in 2023, just in one year, every 10 minutes one woman or girl was killed. 

From the Caribbean, to Canada, to South and East Asia, fundamental human rights are being challenged and governments actively suppress individuals’ rights to love freely and express their identities authentically, joyfully. We bring our collective hopes and aspirations from our leaders like Sam who shares his story of self-discovery and advocacy, offering insight into the power of breaking free from restrictive gendered norms and expectations in ways that are freeing and affirming. 

MenEngage Alliance reaffirms its resolution to continue taking collective actions, following the leadership of its LGBTQI+ members, and in partnership with other feminist movements, to transform harmful social norms that privilege cis-gender and heterosexual identities through working with men, boys, and people of all genders to challenge homophobia and heteronormativity.

About IDAHOBIT 

The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is observed annually on May 17th. This day was established in 2004 to commemorate the decades of advocacy and mobilisation that eventually led the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. It serves as a global moment to raise awareness about the ongoing fight for LGBTQI rights and to celebrate sexual and gender diversity that has always existed within our communities. 

Statement by MenEngage Global Secretariat.

Cover image by Chilean queer artist Sofía Miranda Van den Bosch.