Tag: gay indonesia

Young Indonesian lesbians struggle with the pressure to marry

Many lesbians in Indonesia feel the pressure to marry, and like many others in less accepting societies around the world, many consider marrying a gay man, but is it a way to solve their marriage problems? Kate Walton, who works for a national women’s organisation in Jakarta, explores the issue. In Indonesia, where same-sex marriage… Read more »

Recorded abuses against LGBT ‘the tip of the iceberg’

Forum LGBT Indonesia, a coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, has recorded 47 cases of abuse against gay individuals across the country over the last year, a figure it says is only the tip of the iceberg. The coalition said on Tuesday that it had collected and studied 47 reports of violence… Read more »

Newspapers blast ‘Dark Ages’ laws in Indonesian province of Aceh

New Islamic Sharia laws in Indonesian province of Aceh propose flogging gay people and making it illegal for women passengers to straddle a motorbike Editorials in The Jakarta Post and The Bangkok Post have slammed authorities in the Indonesian province of Aceh for introducing new Islamic Sharia laws that include flogging gay people and banning… Read more »

Indonesian Islamic extremists shut down trans festival

FPI forces closure of Festival Waria Berbudaya (Cultural Transgender Festival) in Jakarta, but denies violence Indonesian Islamic extremist group FPI (Front Pembela Islam, the Islamic Defenders Front) forced the closure of a festival for transgender rights in Jakarta on Monday. A witness reported that the members of the FPI wore helmets and brought sticks to… Read more »

Gay rights activist rejected as Indonesian human rights commissioner

After months of tests Dede Oetomo is not one of the 13 applicants chosen by MPs to serve on Indonesia’s human rights commission An Indonesian gay rights activist who has been waiting for months to hear if he will be accepted to serve on the national human rights commission has found out that he didn’t… Read more »

The ASEAN declaration – Good news or bad news?

We now know what the draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration will say. Is it good news or bad news for LGBTI? Douglas Sanders looks at the issues. First the bad news. We are not named. In the anti-discrimination provisions there is no reference to “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” or “gender expression.” Perhaps we don’t… Read more »

My Name is not ‘waria’: Tiara Tiar Bahtiar

Fridae’s Ng Yi-Sheng speaks with transgender writer, entertainer and activist Tiara Tiar Bahtiar, who had recently launched a book of anecdotes, poems and photographs of local transgender culture, about growing up and how the Bugis people traditionally believe that humans can be grouped into five different gender categories. It’s tough to be a woman today,… Read more »

The warias of Indonesia in disaster risk reduction: the case of the 2010 Mt Merapi eruption in Indonesia

This field note draws upon the concepts of vulnerability, marginalisation, and capacity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to face natural hazards. As a case study, this paper highlights the response of warias, members of the LGBT community in Indonesia, during the 2010 Mt Merapi eruption. Through key informant interviews and observation of… Read more »

New Regional Community Youth Leader And Policy Briefing Paper Announced

(Bangkok)   The Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) has been a leader in mobilising attention and action to promote the health and human rights of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people since 2007. Today, APCOM reaffirms its commitment to working with young MSM and transgender people by supporting… Read more »

The Universal Periodic Review and LGBTI rights : Indonesia

Indonesia – Yuli Rustinawati, but most of her friends call her Ye, is one of the founders and chairpersons of Arus Pelangi, a national LGBT organization in Indonesia, and one of the national leaders of Forum LGBTIQ Indonesia. She holds a degree in economics and has been a member of the Indonesian Legal Aid and… Read more »

Thousands scream for hate at anti-LGBT rally in Malaysia

Thousands of protestors, including students, gathered for an anti-LGBT rally outside Kuala Lumpur on Saturday Thousands, including hundreds of students, gathered at an anti-LGBT rally outside Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, witnessing speeches clamouring for intolerance of sexual minorities in Malaysia. Several NGOs met to express their dissatisfaction with tentative calls for LGBT rights in the… Read more »

LGBT film released in Indonesia

Sanubari Jakarta features ten tales of LGBT life in Indonesia Sanubari Jakarta (‘Jakarta Deep Down’), a collection of stories about LGBT lives in the capital of Indonesia, was released in cinemas yesterday. The film was made by a collective of ten directors with support from the Kresna Duta Foundation (an independent film funders), LGBT center… Read more »

Gay, transgender activists still in contention for Komnas HAM role

Indonesian gay activist Dede Oetomo and transgender Yulianus “Mami Yuli” Rettoblaut are both still in the running for National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) leader position. Both names are among the 120 selected applicants that the selection committee announced in a press conference on Wednesday. “The selection team considers both of them to be… Read more »

Sex workers educated through training

Everybody dreams of having a secure and respectable job. Especially for women who need to support their families, but the hardships they face may drive them into prostitution. Being a prostitute, however, does not mean they have no right to proper healthcare and welfare. With this in mind, Kusiyah, a peer educator with Kenanga Indah… Read more »

Indonesia bans international gay advocacy website

Several Internet service providers and mobile phone operators in Indonesia have banned the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) website for containing “pornography.” Are any LGBT websites banned in your country? Anyone trying to access the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) website in Indonesia is likely to encounter the following… Read more »

Anwar under fire for suggesting review of gay laws

Kuala Lumpur – Days after being acquitted of a sodomy charge, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim continued to come under fire from his detractors, this time for appearing to support gay rights. Pro-government newspapers slammed Mr Anwar on Sunday for suggesting that Malaysia’s strict laws on sodomy and oral sex be reviewed, saying this could lead… Read more »

Can you be gay and Muslim?

Insisting that same-sex relations are actually compatible with religious beliefs would almost certainly challenge mainstream perspectives. Within the context of Indonesia, as the country with the largest Islamic population, you cannot be a gay or lesbian, for example, and a good Muslim at the same time because most Islamic teaching bans same-sex practices. I do… Read more »

Gay and transgender struggle for acceptance in Indonesia

The BBC highlights the challenges faced by gays, bisexuals and transgenders in Indonesia as a growing number of radical Muslim groups are actively campaigning against them. The BBC reported on June 19, 2010: In the corner, instead of a urinal, there is a female toilet, hidden by a modest wall designed to discourage peeping toms.… Read more »

Being gay is a state of limbo

In 2002 the Indonesian Government granted legal autonomy to Aceh, allowing the province to institute Islamic Sharia law, a framework that explicitly punishes homosexual acts. It was subsequently reported that 52 regions across the islands of Sumatra and Java adopted laws prohibiting homosexuality, including the city of Palembang in South Sumatra where punishment includes jail… Read more »