Lithuanian lesbians send handwritten postcards to every MP
Gay, bisexual and trans women in Lithuania have written postcards to all the country’s MPs with the slogan, “Let’s speak”.
The female contingent of Lithuania’s LGBT population is severely under-represented, according to the country’s gay rights association Lithuania Gay League.
LGL’s on-going project Empowering LBT Women saw a group of volunteers send postcards to every member of the Lithuanian Parliament last week. The project is designed to promote dialogue and promote the population’s visibility at a national level.
The direction for gay rights is uncertain in the European country. Earlier this year, legislators were considering a draft law which would alter the Code of Administrative Offences in order to punish those found to be “promoting” homosexuality with a fine of between €580 and €2900.
In 2006, Lithuania amended the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information. According to the current legislation, “propaganda of homosexuality and bisexuality” has a damaging effect on minors.
Information on homosexuality and bisexuality should, it states, be banned from schools and any other places where it can be accessed by young people.
Lithuania has a ban on same-sex marriages and no provision for civil partnerships, but gays and lesbians are allowed to serve openly in the military.
