Belarus refuses entry to transgender activist Alok

Alok Vaid-Menon, an Indian American performance artist, poet and LGBTQ rights activist was refused entry into Belarus where she was expected to give a lecture on the topics of gender non-conformity and femininity.

The Belarusian organizer Vika Biran who is also a co-founder of the Make OUT project wrote on Facebook that Belarusian border guards cited Article 30 in the Law on Legal Status of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons to justify the entry ban. Under this article, entry can be banned in the cases when a foreigner's visit can confront with the national security of the Republic of Belarus, public order, protection of morality, population's health, the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Alok describes herself as a gender nonbinary person and uses 'we' to refer to herself. The activist was invited to share her experience of discrimination, street violence and how to live with a systemic trauma.