LGBT Rights in Hungary

Post By: Alex Brask
Location: Budapest, Day 11

Our morning started with a meeting at the Central European University (CEU) to meet with PHD students and the leaders of the gender studies program at the university. There were four panel members who were all very intelligent and passionate about gender issues and equality. Three of them are politically active and participate in activism. Our main discussion revolved around their fields of study and what try have concluded in their dissertations. All of the questions they are asking are very similar to the gender questions we have in the states. What interested me the most was our discussion about how parliament and politics play a role in equal rights for homosexuals in Hungary. The current Conservative party in office has made it difficult for homosexuals in Hungary. At the same time the liberal parties have not made very much headway in parliament and currently are vastly outnumbered. It seems that no party wants to take sides with the gay community because of potential backlash from voters. This was interesting because in the US it seems that supporting gays and equal rights for homosexuals has been popular and worked out for the left. The students concluded that there is much work left to do in Hungary to get equal rights for people and that there are complications with the EU that also come into play. Nonetheless the conversations we had were excellent and I think everyone learned a lot about each other's countries and cultures. After the meeting it was nice to get a chance to walk around Budapest and relax in the parks.