Transgender's speech in Armenian parliament provokes resonance in social networks

A speech delivered by transgender Lilit Martirosyan in the Armenian parliament at the hearings on human rights provoked an ambiguous reaction from users of social networks.

On April 5, the Armenian parliament held public hearings on the theme "National Agenda of Human Rights UN Monitoring".

Lilit Martirosyan, the chair of the public organization "Party of Law", was among the speakers.

"I, a transgender woman, appeal to you from the tribune of the National Assembly of Armenia, and I ask you to perceive me as a generalized character," stated Lilit Martirosyan.

She drew the audience' attention "to the problem of sexual minorities and noted that until 2018, there were 283 cases of violence against members of the LGBT community."

The speech of the transgender woman from the parliament's tribune provoked different reactions in social networks. Some users criticized the organizers of the public hearings, who allowed Lilit Martirosyan to go to the tribune in the parliament, while others, on the contrary, spoke in defence of the rights of minorities.

Facebook user Lilit Lalayan believes that people should accept the fact that the society is multi-layered and there is a place for everyone, regardless of gender, preferences, sexual orientation, skin colour, appearance, and beliefs.

In his turn, user Gevorg Achemyan states "he does not want his children to live next to those who promote such a system of values."

Narek Mantashyan believes that an MP who invited the transgender woman to speak in the parliament should be punished.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 7, 2019 at 04:45 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.