Spotlight: Queer Courage and Quiet Power Across Asia and the Pacific

In much of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, civic space remains a fraught and often hostile terrain for individuals of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC). Colonial-era laws linger, bolstered by conservative religious interpretations and entrenched patriarchal norms. For LGBTQIA+ individuals, this reality often translates into persistent marginalisation and outright danger.

Yet in these very spaces, queer activists are not just surviving, they are reshaping the civic landscape.

From climate justice to labour rights, youth mobilisation to death penalty abolition, LGBTQIA+ individuals are contributing to causes that extend far beyond the LGBTQIA+ rights agenda. Often, their work is not recognised as “queer activism”, and in many cases, that’s by necessity. What remains largely invisible are the emotional, intellectual, and community-building labours these individuals invest in wider civil society. In other words, their strategies, their resilience, and their quiet revolutions.

Innovation for Change- East Asia launched Shimmering Lights in Shadows: Queer Activists in Non-Queer Spaces. The project, supported by the Australian Government and Kaleidoscope Trust, documents the experiences of queer activists in Brunei, Fiji, Malaysia, and Singapore through their own words. These interviews, focus group discussions, and social media interactions, seek to amplify their voices, celebrate their contributions, and advocate for more inclusive practices across civil society.

At the heart of the project lies the Synthesis Report, which draws out common themes from across the four country studies. Among the most striking is the way queer activists choose, often at great risk, to make themselves visible. That visibility is in itself a form of activism.

“When queer activists feel safe and empowered to openly carry out the work or live out their passions through their advocacies, they become visible doing the good that they do. Visibility becomes a signal to other silenced or marginalised queer individuals and communities to bring their full selves to work or to wherever they need to be, to do as they pursue.”

— Marissa de Guzman

Visibility is not only an act of defiance, it’s also an invitation. This project highlights four stories of activism across borders:

• In The Unwavering Rainbow Warriors of Malaysia, author Pang Khee Teik paints a vivid picture of queer activists navigating a society marked by legal repression and deep-rooted cultural taboos. Their work spans rural development, women’s rights, queer refugee support, and more.
• Navigaytion highlights the complex terrain queer activists must navigate in Singapore’s tightly regulated civic space. Despite recent legal wins, such as the repeal of Section 377A, structural conservatism persists.
• Kuro Roi’s Partial Visibility delves into the lives of queer Bruneians who must constantly manage risk — from code-switching to complete invisibility. Their contributions to youth empowerment, environmental action, and sexual health remain largely unrecognised, yet quietly transformative.
• While in Fiji’s Queer Activists in Search of True Allies, author Jasbant Kaur documents the disconnect between legal progress and lived reality. Despite constitutional protections, queer activists still contend with exclusion, burnout, and workplace discrimination.

These reports collectively illuminate not just the courage of LGBTQIA+ activists, but the fact that civil society cannot be truly inclusive without them. Shimmering Lights in Shadows is more than a research project, it is a reminder: that in the fight for justice, queer voices are not peripheral. They are essential.

Find out more about Innovation for Change- East Asia by visiting their website.

Editorial Note

The language used throughout this article aims to balance consistency with respect for our partners’ self-identification. While Kaleidoscope Trust generally uses the term ‘LGBTI+,’ we have preserved the original terminology used by Innovation for Change- East Asia in this article. We believe this approach acknowledges and respects the diverse ways in which individuals and groups describe themselves, helping to ensure authenticity and cultural sensitivity in the representation the global community.