"By ignoring the issues that marginalised communities have, we're not representing the voices of the minorities" - Ellen Murray
LONDON, Jan 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Northern Ireland will have its first openly transgender politician if Ellen Murray, a 22-year-old youth worker from West Belfast, wins a seat in elections to the British province's assembly in May.
It is important that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are represented by politicians open about their sexual orientation, Murray told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone on Wednesday.
"Having public figures and people who are representing marginalised communities and LGBT people openly in politics can only help to bring public support for LGBT rights," she said.
Murray, a Green Party member, said she supported extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland, which remains the only part of the United Kingdom that does not recognise it.
Better protection for LGBT people, especially pupils and teachers, more progressive gender recognition legislation, and changing restrictive abortion laws are also high on her agenda, Murray said in a phone interview.
"I would love to see really strong protective measures and rights-based law being introduced in Northern Ireland to facilitate young LGBT people," said Murray, whose social justice work has been focusing on young LGBT people.
She said she hoped that having an openly transgender person in the assembly would help those 'many' members who oppose equal rights to better understand and address the problems facing LGBT people.
"Recognising the diversity and marginalisation of political candidates amongst others helps to put into context where they're coming from and helps to put into context why they might be valuable in legislatures or in public life," she said.
"By ignoring the issues that marginalised communities have, we're not representing the voices of the minorities."
(Reporting by Magdalena Mis, editing by Tim Pearce.; Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
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