Asian asexual spectrum ambassadors attend ANOAQA symposium

Asian A-Spec (asexual and aromantic spectrums) ambassadors are attending the ANOAQA symposium, which will coincide with Asexuality Awareness Week, held every October to fight misconceptions about Asexuality and Aec. 

It is estimated that 1% of the world's population is asexual. It is the most marginal orientation in the world. 

Asexuals have endured worldwide erasure for a long time. The movement of asexual visibility started in the last decade in America, led by AVEN, with various educational programmes on A-Spectrums. 

However, Asia is far behind in this global movement. Most countries in Asia do not know that there is an orientation called asexual. Rather people of that orientation are considered disabled, impotent, or frigid. They are mistreated and sometimes subjected to corrective rape, including marital rape. Many suffer from depression.

The goals of the ANOAQA symposium are to bring asexual and aromantic issues to light and collaborate to combat them in the future. 

It has been convened by Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin, director of ACE queer art gallery, Epiphania Visual. 

In the asexuality awareness campaign, a few years ago Bangladesh lagged far behind in South Asia, however, from 2020 Epiphania Visual incorporated this campaign into its initiatives. 

Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin, who is also an asexual activist, started ANOAQA, the short form of Asian Network of Asexual Queer Network, for the development purposes of the situation of asexuals in Asia.

ANOAQA is an online platform. It is initially a three-year (2020-2023) initiative under this world's first asexual queer gallery, who hosted the first Asian symposium in 2020. 

The Asian Network of ACE Queer Activists usually arranges various webinars, annual symposium, conduct surveys, collects anthology about the lives and memories of the members and inspire each country in ACE research. 

It also archives of information related to asexuality in Asian countries. 

Every year in October, on their anniversary, they announce an ambassador from each member country. 

Till now 12 Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore have expressed their solidarity and are participating on the board as an active part.

Due to Covid 19, this year's symposium will be limited to online and will be broadcast simultaneously on Epiphania's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.