RANGOON —The only son in his family,
Maung Maung Oo was forced to marry when he was  24 years old. By then he
had been carrying on a sexual relationship with a man for four years û which he
continued even after his marriage.

For
the next 14 years, Oo led a double life. But in 2005, he finally decided to be
true to himself: He left his wife and three children for his male partner.

“My
wife was so shocked when she learned of my affair with a man,” says Oo. ”But I
can't change how I feel though I have the body of a man.”

Oo,
however, is still living a life in the shadows. Although he and his partner are
now living together, their relationship remains a secret to most people. “My
partner does not want people to know we are living together as a  couple,”
Oo explains. ”He wants to pretend that we are brothers.”

According
to Ko Aye, who conducted a pioneering study on men who have sex with men (MSM)
in Burma
in 2003, stigma remains against people like Oo in this Southeast Asian country
of 48 million people. Yet while he says there is “not a very serious or strong
reaction” against MSM, many MSM themselves apparently think there is a need to
keep their ”true identity” secret.

This
has complicated efforts to limit, if not stop, the spread of HIV among MSM in
the country. According to official data, HIV prevalence among MSM in Burma was 29.3
percent as of 2008, or 42 times higher than the national adult prevalence rate.

Men
who have sex with men include both those who may not identify themselves as
homosexual, and those who do and include those in sex work as well. Estimates
by the Department of Health and the World Health Organisation put the MSM
population in Burma,
as of 2007, at 280,000.

Aye
says that the stigma against MSM in general stems from “religious principle or
traditional beliefs.”  This has led to people like well known make-up
artist Soe Soe to believe that having relationships with men could not possibly
be called “fortunate.”

“We
end up in this kind of life because of karma in the past,” Soe Soe told IPS.
“This is not what we choose to be.”

It
is a viewpoint that persists despite Aye's observation of an improvement in the
public attitude toward MSM. Thanks to the “development of information
technology,” Aye says, “people usually accept it” nowadays.

“For
example,” he says, “students may know a teacher is gay, but they accept him as
a teacher.”

There
are also several prominent members of the entertainment and fashion sectors who
are gay, whether they are out in the open or not, but enjoy public acclaim and
respect.

Yet,
for sure, it has not helped to reassure many that the government continues to
portray homosexuality as “evil” or at the very least deserving of public scorn.

Just
in February, the prominent ‘Bi-Weekly
Eleven Journal' ran an article quoting supposed medical experts as
saying that homosexuality could lead to mental illness and sexual crimes.

Section
377 of the Penal Code also prohibits homosexuality, with penalties ranging from
10 years to life, plus fines. (A travel advisory by the British government says
that in June 2007, an “EU national” was sentenced to seven years in prison in Burma for
“committing homosexual acts.”)

As
a result, many MSM would rather keep their sexual preferences—and obviously
their sexual lives—tightly under wraps. Chances are, too, they are reticent in
seeking treatment even if they suspect that they already have HIV.

Soe
Soe, for instance, says that he does not even ”dare to join an MSM network.”

In
truth, despite the official condemnation of homosexuality, there are dozens of
local MSM networks in major cities such as Rangoon
and Mandalay,
with local community-based organizations providing these with information and
counseling services.

One
of these networks is called ‘Golden Queen', which has as members 45 MSM,
including several who are living with HIV.

Unlike
Soe Soe, Myo Tun, a sex worker who has an entirely male clientele, apparently
thought nothing of becoming one of Golden Queen's members. He says, ”Whether
society accepts us or not, we have already ended up in this life.”

“We
need to raise awareness among our fellow (MSM) as we are at high risk for HIV
infection,” he adds. ”We often face problems of condom tearing. That could
spread HIV easily.”

Maung
Maung Oo now knows this all too well. Two years ago, he discovered that an
illness his partner was suffering from was actually one that comes with having
AIDS. Not long after, he found out that he himself had it as well.

Unlike
many other MSM in Burma,
however, Oo and his partner did not hesitate in seeking treatment. They have
since been regularly receiving anti-retroviral treatment from an international
non-government organization.

by
Mon Mon Myat / IPS Writer

Irrawaddy: HIV Infection on the Rise Among
Men Who Have Sex with Men