International Women’s Day: three Hong Kong activists on supporting and empowering the women around them

There are countless ways to celebrate womanhood. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the Post spoke to three Hong Kong women who support and empower the women around them, and honour their own womanhood.

Sakura Lam, 38, was born biologically male and made the transition to become a woman five years ago. She now works as a social worker at Gender Empowerment, a local NGO that helps transgender people who are in transition. Kanie Siu, 54, is the chief executive officer of Plan International Hong Kong, a global humanitarian and child-centred development organisation. Bau Chung, 37, a certified sex therapist and social worker, has been working on women’s issues for 13 years.

Becoming a trans woman was a dream come true for Lam, as is getting to work as a transgender activist. Her journey has not been an easy one, but it has not been as bad as the journeys that others she has met have taken.

“There are many awkward moments in life,” she says. “For example, when a trans woman goes to a job interview, sometimes the employer [might] question why a female had gone to a boys’ school, and question the authenticity of the résumé.

“You can transition from being a male to female, but you can’t erase your past of being born male. And that’s something not quite so easy to explain in a job interview. It’s common to see people give trans women funny looks when they use female toilets. It happened to me before. At worst, some trans women are banned from using female facilities.

“Sometimes we are even asked to present our identity cards to prove our gender. Can you imagine something as simple as going to the toilet can be so problematic, not to mention humiliating? Unfortunately, that’s the everyday reality of life for many of us.”