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| The participants addressed eight demands, which include tolerance, diversity and health rights for women, eliminating violence against women, protecting the living environment and female workers, improving the representation of women in the political scene and eliminating discrimination and violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities. |
The country of 260 million is in the grip of a moral panic, with critics saying the vulnerable LGBT minority is being used as a political punching bag in the run-up to 2019 elections.
Hardline rhetoric and a string of arrests have raised fears among the community.
"There could be more persecution and we're scared that the public might become vigilantes," said Ahmad, who agreed to speak to AFP using a pseudonym.
The 29-year-old, from a small town in the province of West Sumatra, said family and friends in the tight-knit area have long been aware of his sexual orientation.
But he said the public mood was turning increasingly ugly and he was now confronted with deepening hostility.
"People look at me wherever I go these days. Some avoid me," said Ahmad of his non-traditional masculine image.
"Now when I go to withdraw money from the ATM, for example, there are people staring at me. It never used to be this bad."
Indonesia's LGBT community has always been vilified as immoral.
But the recent police crackdown -- including authorities hosing down a group of transgender women in what they called a "mandatory bath" -- comes against the backdrop of a recent lurch toward religious conservatism.
The shift, led by increasingly powerful hardliners, has dented Indonesia's reputation for moderate Islam.
Last week, thousands of anti-LGBT demonstrators marched outside the capital Jakarta, as some local politicians called for carte blanche to detain and "rehabilitate" members of the minority.
Several mosques in West Java were recently urged by the local government to conduct sermons on the dangers of homosexuality.
And Indonesia's biggest Muslim organisation -- the 80-million-member Nahdlatul Ulama -- has called for a clampdown on same-sex relations.
'Cynical political gain'
Concerns have been aggravated by president Joko Widodo selecting a conservative cleric, known for his disparaging views of the gay community and other minorities, as his running mate for next year's elections.
A poll this year showed nearly 90 percent of Indonesians felt "threatened" by the LGBT community, while a 2013 Pew survey said 72 percent of Indonesian Muslims supported replacing the secular code with Islamic law, which bans gay sex.
"(The elections) could mean an uptick in politicians scapegoating... people for cynical political gain," said Human Rights Watch researcher Kyle Knight.
"The verbal threats politicians issue can quickly metastasise into physical attacks."
Police arrested at least 300 suspected LGBT people last year -- a record -- mostly under an anti-pornography law as homosexuality and gay sex are legal in Indonesia.
This month, 10 people described as "suspected lesbians" were arrested in West Sumatra, following the detention of another eight lesbians and transgender people in October.
"This situation is alarming as the hateful abuses by law enforcement bodies... are seen as a normal practice by many people," said Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director.
'Eradicate LGBT'
Officials are unfazed by the criticism.
"We're being consistent in our efforts to eradicate LGBT (behaviour) because it's very destructive," said West Sumatra deputy governor Nasrul Abit, adding that thousands of people were having "deviant sex" in the region.
Parliament is considering a move to criminalise sex outside marriage -- including gay couples -- while the health ministry previously announced plans to release a medical guide classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder.
The UN human rights chief and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have criticised the proposed legal overhaul.
Authorities have also taken aim at social media, arresting two men for links to a LGBT community Facebook page.
Google in January pulled one of the world's largest gay dating apps from the Indonesian version of its online store in response to government demands.
'This is wrong'
The latest crackdown can be traced back to 2016 when Indonesia's higher education minister Mohamad Nasir called for LGBT student groups to be banned from universities, and the defence minister criticised gay and trans rights activism, Human Rights Watch said.
Since then, police have raided nightclubs, saunas, hair salons, hotels and even private homes in pursuit of LGBT people.
Gay people have been publicly flogged in Aceh under the province's Islamic legal code.
Local police there made global headlines when they arrested a dozen transgender people and publicly humiliated them by chopping off their long hair and forcing them to wear men's clothes.
But there are few hopes that Widodo or other senior officials vying for re-election will protect a widely hated minority, said HRW researcher Andreas Harsono.
"We need leaders who have the courage to say this is wrong."
More from the Jakarta Post on this HERE. Thanks to Pierric for suggesting this topic.
Talking about LGBT in Indonesia is something taboo or we can call it unpleasant or inappropriate to be discuss in a public place due to Indonesian people that is mostly religious and this ‘group’ of people is minority. On the other hand, in this early 2010, LGBT in Indonesia is becoming so popular and some people can accept what is happening to minority of people that is doing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Gay and lesbian means that, people with the same gender do sexual intercourse while, bisexual and transgender is mostly changing their gender like when a man change their gender to a woman. I agree when a lot of people is demonstrating to erase the immoral LGBT community so that the young Indonesian future generation won’t be target by them. LGBT is happening also because of reason. Mostly they are from an uneducated family, or they must do it for fulfilling their family needs.
ReplyDeleteAgga wrote: "LGBT is happening also because of reason. Mostly they are from an uneducated family, or they must do it for fulfilling their family needs."
DeleteI'd be interested to see what evidence you have (i.e. what you heard or read) seen that supports these assertions.
AS you know lately the LGBT have been gaining much popularity. It was never famous in indonesia but haave recently brn recognised by Indonesian people and the rest of the world. It was already discussed in other western countries but it just became an issue which is heavily discussed in indonesia starting from 2010. Most western countries responded with open arms towards the LGBT community but not for Indonesia. Indonesia welomed the LGBT with hatred and had zero tolerance towards the LGBT community. I think it is a good thing as i also dislike the LGBT with all honesty. I just do not like homosexuality, transgenders,gays and bisexuals. I hate all of them but specifically gays and transgenders. Gays are people of the same gender specifically man having affection towards each other and deven physical affection while Trasngenders are people who dislike their own gender and decides to do operation to alter their gender.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest i have no hatred towards lesbians because it is none of my business. But for gays and trasngenders i am just disgusted. I do not really have a problem with the LGBT community unless they start doing public affection. I think that it is not appropiate. I say so not only because it is disgusting but also because it can corrupt the minds of children who are still like a blank sheet of paper waiting to be painted. If those children was to see public affection of gays or lesbians than it will make them think that affection towards the same gender is something tolerable. I think that Indonesians have a ngeative view towards the LGBt community for religious reasons. I say so because i believe that the majority of Indonesians take religion very seriouly. No religioon ever stated that thre actions of LGBT is good and it is even considered as a taboo. Therefore Indonesians dislikes LGBT community.
DeleteJosh wrote: "It was already discussed in other western countries but it just became an issue which is heavily discussed in indonesia starting from 2010."
DeleteWhy do you say "starting from 2010"?
I am probably one of those people who would rather not to give any comment whenever a discussion about the LGBT issue in Indonesia comes up. In my view, it is a very complex topic for all indonesian to discuss and to a have a solution for it. Indonesia is very rooted with its traditional values which are considered vital to be applied to the people’s daily life. In addition, Indonesia, as a nation with the majority of Muslims, indirectly put forward Islamic values more as well. Hence, islamic values also take a big part in regulations and politics in order to actualize less riot among the Muslims as the majority of the society. This may not give the right answer for the minority. That is what i meant by the complexity of such issue. However, if we look back to the basic ideology of the nation, tolerance and justice are truly the main value that should be applied in the people’s daily life. Perhaps, if people start to realize and remember this basic ideology, the problem wouldn’t be that difficult at all.
ReplyDeleteSalsa wrote: "If we look back to the basic ideology of the nation, tolerance and justice are truly the main value that should be applied in the people’s daily life. Perhaps, if people start to realize and remember this basic ideology, the problem wouldn’t be that difficult at all."
ReplyDeleteAre there situations in your everyday life - where you are surrounded by various and differing groups of people - where you WOULD and WOULD NOT express this opinion?
Violence towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people is increasing in many parts of Indonesia. The case regarding the targeted of 12 allegedly transgender people in Aceh is another case of attacks on people who are perceived or identify as LGBT in Indonesia. The incident happened During a raid on beauty salons carried out on the 27th of January, they were forced to strip their shirts off and have their hair cut in public. They were also put in detention and forced to engage in physical exercises and voice trainings with the stated purpose of making them more “macho”. Why this abuse has increased recently and what needs to be done to solve it. Religious traditionalism and political agendas stand in the way of a social-cultural process that needs to take place so that people may work out their own views towards the role of this community in society. Law enforcement is urgently needed to stop people from becoming victims of disrespectful behaviour and even violence, so that debate in the country may evolve in a civilised manner.
ReplyDeleteTalking about LGBT in Indonesia is like playing around a campfire while holding a glass full of gasoline. It is a really sensitive matter and people always bring religions into the discussion. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Based on religion views, I admit that LGBT is considered as taboo, but religion doesn’t tell people to discriminate them. Indonesian people need to realize that we are so diverse and we need to respect each other. Nowadays LGBT has become even more popular now just in other country but also here in Indonesia. Personally, I don’t have any hatred towards LGBT. I believe that it is their life and we shouldn’t meddle into someone’s life. I also realize that LGBT people are more open minded than most people since they are the minority and they are pressured with critics and violence. We shouldn’t put value on people based on whether they are attracted to opposite gender or not.
ReplyDeleteThis here is one of the issues that’s so interesting to talk about, but we would better off not expressing our opinion in order to avoid false accusation and the likes. As a country filled with muslim as it’s majority, Indonesia indirectly follows Islamic law in constructing it’s country law to favour the majority. In Islam, LGBT is considered an act of taboo if I’m not mistaken due to the fact that God create us In pairs of man and women. So LGBT in itself contradicts God’s law that are written in the holy Qur’an. The unrest felt by the muslims here is understandable because if we let LGBT be, they might influence more and more people to follow their ways. But, the wrong act here is condemning and disregarding everything about those LGBT people. The police arrest that lead to physical abuse shows the disregard of human rights. LGBT or not, these people are human, and should be treated indifferently. But again, these kinds of argument may lead others to accuse me of Pro-LGBT, which may lead to discrimination and such. I’m not supporting them, but then again I’m not a fan of such treatments being given to them.
ReplyDeleteLGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. First, i want to say that we live in Indonesia, which is very different with some western country, which i don't have to mention it, it's totally, different. My sister, who study in a western country, said that LGBT is legal, and as an asian person, you have to adapt to this culture if you want to go there. Because you will be bullied if you discriminate them. Different from Indonesia, people who do LGBT are the one who get bully. Personaly, i don't like LGBT. Yes, i hate those peiple who do LGBT. Many people in instagram said that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. I agree with that. I very very disagree with the idea of LGBT. But, i also disagree with the idea of doing physical abuse to the LGBT people. First of all, if you dislike them, just keep it for your heart. There are already some strict rules in the cluntry, which are build to stop LGBT. So, actually people don't have to do a thing to stop this or even try to create trauma on LGBT people. Let the rule punish them. Maybe people said that love doesn't differentiate gender. Well, that is true. I'm not denying that for a second. But, you don't have to married with the same gender. Love doesn't differentiate gender for me is like, love as a friend. Not as a mate. So, as a person, i really disagree with LGBT. It must be stopped. But, society doesn't have to do some physical abuse to them. Let the official do the thing.
ReplyDeleteLGBT is not a new thing in this ‘freedom era’. There are some people who agrees and disagrees to the issue. From the religious side, there are numerous arguments on why LGBT is against the teachings of God and why it should be banned. From the political side, the issue has become more and more alarming everyday as LGBT is a very vulnerable target of political gain. In my opinion, to be able to address the problem correctly, officials should position themselves in the LGBT side and non-LGBT side beforehand. They should do this in order to make regulations that will be righteous for both sides. As a human, we are allowed to have our own opinion and stances towards issues. However, let’s not forget that the LGBT is also human and they have their own rights to act. I think we should be open-minded when seeing the LGBT as they are human too.
ReplyDeleteTalking about LGBT, I really do not know how to respond to this. I mean LGBT is not compatible with the value that I hold but at the same time I do not like the idea of persecuting people just because they are different from me. Violence never solve anything. I think there should be a communication between the religious and the LGBT people to know each other and trying to find some middle ground between them. Maybe the religious could ask how they could turn into LGBT people because I believe that there was some point that caused them to reject heterosexuality. Maybe it is because sexual abuse or trauma that happened in the past. The LGBT could also ask to the religious about how sexuality should be according to the holy scriptures and maybe it will help them to understand their condition as well. I think that is how religion should be which is to guide people.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the unknown creates fear. The problem in Indonesia is that people are very conventional and are really sticking to their religious teachings. Not that it's a bad thing to believe in your beliefs but when your belief affects someone else, then there will be a problem. Honestly, LGBT can be scary for those who are uninformed and very narrow minded, they think it's a contagious disease. LGBT people should be free to do anything everybody else would be able to do. When your belief tells you to attack people, how about you put yourself in their shoes? How would these people feel if the LGBT community threatens people based on their religious beliefs? In the outside world LGBT has been widely accepted and even legalized, where as the countries that have this problem with LGBT community basically have the same background: developing countries, strong religious majority, and narrow minded people.
ReplyDeleteDifferent from other countries, LGBT in Indonesia did not get a positive feedback from the government. As we all know, countries like US, Australia, Germany, etc. They legalized the LGBT movement and I personally think that this should be maintained illegal in Indonesia. I personally do not have any problem with the LGBT movement, as long as they do not bother me or disturb me, I am all good with them. But, if we think it from a different perspective, this LGBT movement is very dangerous towards little kids who do not know much and are in the phase of “experiencing everything”. As their movement is in a huge scale, they might give impacts. On the other hand, I pity those who receive physical abuse. They did not get to choose whether they want to be LGBT or not, they are born that way, giving physical abuse does not help. It is better to express your disagreement on this movement by other ways and not doing physical abuse.
ReplyDeleteLGBT isn’t a matter that can be properly discussed in most Asian countries including Indonesia. I’m sure that no religion allows homosexual marriage, and Asian cultures tend to be traditional which sometimes can’t adapt to global changes. Even though LGBT is considered taboo, it is socially and morally unethical for people to discriminate them. Just consider that LGBT is a faith, people of different faiths are very well have to respect them, just like having different religions. My previous high school friends are mostly very much against LGBT, but I just can’t agree somehow, it just doesn’t respect those people to have their own faith, different from other countries outside of Asia which have lots of people supporting LGBT rights. Indonesia neither claims to be a religious country nor a secular country, Pancasila is the country’s ideology. Interestingly, Indonesia only allows five different religions to be practiced, so it would be difficult to have a religion other than these five in Indonesia. This explains why LGBT rights isn’t something easy to be discussed in Indonesia as religious practices are common in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteLGBT community has become bigger and bigger, especially after United States of America
ReplyDeletelegalized same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-
state same-sex marriage licenses in the case Obergefell v. Hodge in June 26, 2015. Well, for me,
I do not hate LGBT’s couples as long as they do not disturb us. Because I know that it is not their
want to be a LGBT, just because it is their destiny and identity. So in my opinion, we should not
blame them for what they are, and just not disturb them. Well, I do not actually support them,
because I just don’t want to, but, I am okay with them. Seing this article, is actually sadden me,
because I am pretty sure that gay people are feeling left out, discriminate and just left out from
the world. In my opinion, they should not supposed to feel that way.
Abstain is the position that I would take as the discourses of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender as a very knotty topic made of many actors that convolute the polemic. Indonesian’s conservative majority created a climate in which LGBT is a taboo topic to be discussed; hence, the oppression of LGBT matters to be resolved. Any running parties’ position in the government is fragile by the pressure of the international community, the constitution in effect, and the people; both the supporters and the opposites. Even the most prominent expositors of the government and non-government sides will have difficulties to communicate the available options to express the LGBT movements’ aspirations to the wider audience due to the lack of social sympathy, willing to understand, and conservatism to traditional values and religion. The government’s sex classification system already hardens social justice to the LGBT community; acknowledging only two sexes, therefore, the allowance of austere social treatments by the order.
ReplyDeleteI would also add in regards to my position towards LGBT; I prefer to choose to abstain when I asked if I support or rejects the idea. Because I think the position if I said “No”, it will neglect the rights of people if I said “Yes”, it contradicts with my religion. However, I will not neglect the sexual orientation of LGBT people; it is their absolute right to do so. I am more than happy to see and contribute to providing a referendum concerning their rights lawfully to be recognised for who they feel they are. I support the making dispositions of a constitution of classification system outside the traditional “Male” or “Female” in virtue of the existing order of sexes within the legal area. I reject the austere, hector, and aggressive treatments to LGBT community, it is unjustifiable, and a harsh objection to an existing phenomenon.
DeleteFrom what I read in the previous comments, the LGBT rights seems to be a difficult topic in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, everyone should have the same rights no matter what their sexual orientation is. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender shouldn’t be an issue, and everyone should be able to love whoever they want or be who they are without having to give any justification to anyone.
But, while reading this article I was shocked about the persecutions and humiliations received by LGBT people; no one should receive that kind of treatment, even more when they did nothing wrong. I was also surprised to learn that 90% of the population felt “threatened” by the LGBT community as I don’t understand what can be feared. I think that nothing bad can result from supporting the LGBT community, on the opposite I believe that it could help a lot of people to accept themselves.
Yes, i am agree with your point where we should not ever treat those LGBT people badly. The feeling of being threatened by other people will only resulting negative things; either depression that comes from the exilement or the feeling of insecurity about their ownselves. In the other hand, if we fully support LGBT people fully, like what United Stated of America did, it will make big chaos and distrust to government especially Indonesians community who do not have tolerance about these kind of acceptance for LGBT people. If those people who decline LGBT legalization just a small amount, we can easily socialize and aspiring our opinions in public platform for them to understand; but unfortunately, it is not the case for Indonesia. Therefore, i think the best middle solution is to not showing full support like what America did, but the shape of support that a lot of people in Indonesia may still accept it, that kind of support is maintaining our arms wide open whenever they need some help especially counseling and attitude to not judging them.
DeleteAfter United States od America legalized same sex marriage, i started to think about the impact to all countries arround the world especially my home country, Indonesia. It is suddenly become hot topic in all news and mostly at social media. In fact, a lot of my highschool friends were starting to open their identity as gay people (my highschool is all male student). They were not ashamed anymore and created this “gay group” which was viral at my school at that time. Luckily, my highchool students were very open minded because of the highschool’s cultures and education that make us that way. At the end of the day, we still accepted who they are but at the same time still talking to them with wide open arms, opening gates to become straight again. I think it is a very good example i can give as a hope for Indonesian community in the future, not giving hard sanctions but more to counseling those people especially those who have trauma in the past.
ReplyDeleteLGBT community in Indonesia always been a hard and controversial subject in Indonesia. This is mainly because most Indonesian people are Muslim and in Islam it is prohibited to be homosexual or bisexual. This lead to many problem in Indonesia especially how society in Indonesia sees LGBT community in general. Since many western country legalize same sex marriages, there are pressure from society to not follow the same step mainly from Muslim citizen and organization. To be honest I don’t know many things about this case and I find myself confuse. I do believe that every people have right as human in Indonesia regardless of their race and believe, but as a Muslim myself I do not agree same sex marriages. I think the government should create their stances either they support or against LGBT community and create law based on it, either way the country will change a lot in the future.
ReplyDeleteIn several countries outside Indonesia, LGBT is a common thing in society. Even some countries have legalized homosexuality by setting a number of legal rules. This rule is made to realize the value of freedom in life. But in some countries, especially countries dominated by Islam, it prohibits all types of homosexual activities such as LGBT. This is because in Islam, LGBT is a very prohibited thing. Based on the Qur'an, saying that "(We have also sent the Prophet) Lut (to his people). (Remember) when he said to them:" Why are you doing a very despicable act, which no one has ever done (in this world) before you? ”Until now, there is no law that coordinates LGBT in Indonesia. In some provinces with sharia law clearly prohibit LGBT with a whip punishment. With this situation, certain rules are needed to protect LGBT rights. Based on the fifth Pancasila, justice is the right of all Indonesian citizens regardless of their status and background.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very common thing for a progressive country to get through a denial phase: a condition when there are a lot of people rejecting the idea being proposed. US, Colombia, and others have been through this situation before the countries uphold LGBT rights for their citizen. One thing should be discussed: whether it is okay for Indonesia to legalize and sustain LGBT’s right. Indonesia has been known as a plural and heterogeneous country where diversity enhances unity, not separate nor destroy this nation. Sexual orientation should not hinder our harmony but enables us to focus on improving the potential of each individual, share ideas and thoughts for the sake of the development of our nation. If there is a crime, in coincidence being done by a lesbian, then it is ok to punish her with a sanction that has no correlation to her sexual background. If LGBT does not harm the other layers of the society, then just let them live happily; feeling the same treatment and equal protection given to all citizen of the nation.
ReplyDeleteI think since we’re living in Indonesia, the topic about LGBT becomes really sensitive or even considered as taboo, especially when people trying to view it from the religion’s point of view or even the tradition’s point of view. Despite that facts, I want to say that I personally have nothing against LGBT. In my opinion, love is love, it’s not limited by gender, age, race and other variables. I always thought that LGBT is considered as a psychological abnormality (I don’t know if its a mental disorder or just a sexual orientation abnormality). I believe that there must be something that happened in a person’s life that drives him or her to become a LGBT, maybe a trauma, or maybe it happened naturally. I think I can tolerate with that, I mean, it’s not their fault they become LGBT. The thing that I can not tolerate is when people are not being honest with their true selves.
ReplyDeleteThat statement goes generally though, but since our topic is LGBT, I’m going to talk about LGBT people specifically. There’s lot of LGBT people who deny the fact that they’re LGBTs, mostly the transgenders.Some of them even create a fake background of themself just to cover the fact that they’re transgender. I mean, why though ? I understand that in Indonesia, there’s still a lot of small minded people that can not accept LGBT as part as their society. There are indeed a lot of LGBT people being judged, excluded, or even harassed by the public. But still, I don’t think that those thing will stop you from being honest about yourself. Why bother having an expensive and painful transgender surgery at the first place if at the end, you still can’t be honest about who you truly are ? People should love themselves and be honest about who they are. Lying and creating fake alibi will not make the people accept you, instead, people will look down on you.
DeleteLesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender. Talking about this topic is never ending problem in Indonesia and also kind of waste of time because come on, remember the majority. The majority who spread across Nusantara are hardly accepted this concept. They think that this kind of act and movement are against God’s will. But we have to keep in mind that Indonesia is not a country who owned by the majority (ideally). This means that, in this democratic country, people can voice and make a movement as they want as long as it’s not breaking the law. And what I mean by the law, is that the law that is already written and accepted by the congress and the founding father of this beloved country. I agree that its not easy to accept something that contrary from our principles and our faith. I also having a hard time imagining something that’s a bit unusual, but this is the world as it is right now. I don’t know whether the majority if the people will eventually accept this kind of alteration because I don’t have a plan to live in this country for the rest of my life. But I can tell you that, you always have to satisfy the majority; its either you move to a better place or you live discriminated even though you’re accepted by the law. I just hope that some day, there’s a person who can give us win/win solution. God bless Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteLGBT is pretty much a taboo topic to talk about here in Indonesia. It is sensitive because people have different thoughts and opinions towards this topic. Some will agree to it and some will disagree to it to a degree that they would ban them or even suppress them from their life. The problem is that in fact, there are a lot of people that has this LGBT soul in their life and could not resist from revealing their true identity. In my opinion, I personally think it is right to define and stand for your own true self and not being another complete person that you are not supposed to be. I am neither a fan of LGBT people nor am I supporting them, but at the same time I don’t despise them too. All that aside, we need to keep in mind that they are all human too and have the same rights as every other human being. The LGBT community should not be discriminated from life and treated well.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this is a very pressing issue that needs to be discussed by all Indonesians. People in Indonesia looks at the LGBT community in disgust and they do not treat them as the humans and the Indonesian citizens they are. There are a few arguments and ways of thinking that supports the way Indonesian citizens treat them. First and foremost, Indonesia is an extremely religious country; we have the largest Muslim population in the world. In said religion, LGBT or homosexuality is highly forbidden. People in Indonesia always likes to discriminate against others that disobey the moral law of religion, and this is solid proof that the discrimination exists. Another possible argument as to why the LGBT community is hated so much can possibly relate to fear. In certain parts of Indonesia, people sometimes cross-dress to express their inner voice. However, some of these cross-dressers are fairly aggressive and might decide to poke or even molest people.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are a number of reasons why people might dislike the LGBT community in Indonesia, it is still not a proper excuse to exclude them from society and even strip them of their basic human rights. People in the LGBT community might be different than most of us, yet we are all still Indonesian and we all believe in the acceptance of others regardless of their orientation or background. People in the LGBT community are exiled in response to their sexual orientation and it, in my opinion, is a truly disgusting thing. You can’t push someone away because of who they are or who they express themselves as. We are all human. We are all imperfect in a way. God created each and every one of us for a purpose. Religion and religious figures are always telling us that homosexuality is the work of the devil. Although their habits and views towards life are different than ours, if we discriminate them and drive them into madness because of who they are; we, my friends, are no different from the devil spoken in our religions.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of LGBT is widely considered as a taboo topic in Indonesia. One of the main reasons that such thing happens is due to Islam being the major religion consisting of more than 85% of Indonesia’s population. It is clearly stated in the holy book in the Islam religion (Al-Qur’an) that same-sex marriage is forbidden. Personally, I have faith in Islamic laws and Islamic values as my family is from quite a religious background. However, I am willing to listen to the pros and cons of these kinds of topics and I believed everyone should be too despite their religious backgrounds. Setting my religion aside, I am still against same-sex marriages to be legalized in Indonesia. Even though some people argued that it is their right to choose whom to marry, from what gender, etc. I believed that the legalization of Gay marriage will encourage people to achieve freedom without thinking about the effects of their actions towards other people, especially their families. If the adults are considering LGBT as “normal”, the new generation will also perceive LGBT as normal and they will be more likely to be LGBT themselves. One of the reason that this is risky is based on research LGBT couples are far more likely to get infected by sex-related disease.
ReplyDeleteThis is a debate that has taken place in various countries. Speaking in a historical context, we can know that the attempt to legalize LGBT is actually a planned and systematic movement. The narrative of this movement is closely tied to the political movement. In some countries, LGBT groups even enter as one of the political forces. In the west, a number of liberal parties have a legalization mission against LGBT. LGBT has a political agenda. Because their efforts to legalize same-sex marriage are indeed in the spaces of power. Therefore, it is only natural that LGBT people then have an affiliation with presidential candidates, governor candidates, or certain party forces. Mentioned, most people say lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups are ordinary citizens who have the same right to life. and live in Indonesia. Half of Indonesia's population also encourages the government to protect the community.
ReplyDeleteSince we are living in Indonesia talking about LGBT is really a rare thing to talk about or may be considered a taboo thing in Indonesia. This doesn’t just happen in a sudden, because I know that there is always a trigger that create this taboo thing and I think it’s because Indonesia’s major religion is Islam and in Islam they strictly prohibit homosexuality, but I think it is not just Islam but other religion may have that rule too. But if we are a bit open minded I think we shouldn’t ban or restrict them to have a homosexuality relationship, what I think we should do now is follow those other countries that legalize LGBT and let them have their own freedom and of course we know that LGBT are ban with a reason and one of It is because homosexual relationship can result in diseases such as HIV and AIDS and I think if we let them have that kind of relationship soon they will get those diseases and die anyway so it would be a lesson learned for other LGBT couples.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, we have to treat LGBT with respect and equal rights,They have every right to live normally and every right to love. Its shocking how our society reacts to someone being sexually different form themselves. They state it as being ‘abnormal’ but in this world no one has authority to state any sexuality as normal or abnormal. Just because the majority of people find themselves attracted to their opposite sex doesn’t prove that its normal. One thing normal for us might not be normal for others. So for me it just goes like that. And its truly heartbreaking how these people are treated so differently from others. So many of them are compelled to hide their feelings and put on a mask of being straight. The first thing that can truly bring in a difference is the law; Government has a great authority to support such things. Some countries do favour same sex marriage while the others don’t. The second one is compassion; If every single human tend to relate to others’ emotions then maybe something good can happen.
ReplyDeleteI believe everyone should be equal by law and no one should have the legitimacy to take someone rights away.
ReplyDeleteBeing LGBT is something natural and normal that have always existed from the beginning of human history and something that can be observed in the animal kingdom as well, we can take the example of the roman empire where gay sex was as normal as heterosexual one; or to take a more Indonesian example with the Bugis people of Sulawesi who recognise five gender: male, female, a male who identify as female, a female who identify as a male and neutral gender, this supporting the LGBT movement.
I personally believe that the hate toward LGBT movement is support by political party, to play on people fear and hate in order to gain vote and be elected, this political game can be found through history, a government who stigmatize a minority to win election, it can religious (the Jews during the Nazism) or an ethnicity (Mexican today in the United States) or even a sexuality, the goal is to blame a minority for the issue of a country and stereotype close to dehumanization to make it ok in public eyes to blame them.
As a part of the LGBT community, I would be glad to talk with anybody who would like to, and explain my point of view.
I think the topic of LGBT is considered somewhat of a taboo in not only Indonesia but almost all of the southeast Asian countries. Since most of the population in Indonesia are muslims it's not really that big of a surprise as to why they actively oppose the practices of the LGBT community. It is already deeply ingrained in the minds of the people that all of the things that the LGBT community stands for is a mental illness and an act of sin, you can see these examples in how the older generations react to the presence of a gay person or a transgender. I for one don't really see what the fuss is all about, for me I think that people can live however they want and as long as it doesn't bother me or my life I really don't care, a male is attracted to another male and it's not my problem then go ahead, you want to do a surgery to change your sex organ and it doesn't involve me then by all means knock yourselves out.
ReplyDeleteThe phenomena around the LGBT(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community is one that has been very much talked about by the Indonesian society. But the topic itself has a very controversial meaning in Indonesia. As the country is by far the largest Muslim majority country in the world, not to forget that there are many other religions that reside within the large archipelago.With this large population there are also different outlooks and perspectives on it. Such as the conservative outlook and the progressive outlook. Personally I prefer not to comment on the choice of sexuality as it is a personal choice. But looking on the multiple effects that it has on our society, it does start to concern me. For me it would be wise to start socializing and regulating the LGBTQ community. With this action being taken it would prevent the spread of the LGBTQ community while also provides time for the government to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteLGBT in Indonesia is still an issue that everyone avoids. Because most of Indonesians are Muslims, LGBT is still quite sensitive topic to talk about. I remember reading this quote from twitter that said "Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just be quiet?" and I totally agree with that quote. I mean like, it is none of your business. It is up to them whether they want to be a LGBT or not. In Indonesia, people tend to mind other people business. This is so annoying and disgusting. No wonder there are so many gossip accounts such as "Lambe Turah", "Lambe Nyinyir", and many other accounts that exists to spread news about celebrities and influencers. And what is more surprising is the fact that millions of users are following these accounts. The owner of the account actually gets some money by talking about others. In my opinion this kind of habit is still hard to fix for Indonesians.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a homophobic and against every ideas regarding to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT). Well, this is due to a personal reason I experienced few years ago. However, as time passed by and I’ve met more people than I used to meet before, I consider myself now in a stage where I am able to open up more space in my mind to accept the existence of these people (LGBT). Now, three new terms (Q, I, A) were added as part of the LGBT. Q stands for queer / questioning, ‘I’ for intersex, and ‘A’ for asexual. Actually these 7 words are representing are indication that clearly shows a difference between people with normal sex orientation and those who don’t. In Indonesia, it is hard to accept LGBT-QIA because these practices are against the religion laws, what I mean is all the religions acknowledged by the country. But, what I believe, each of those religion teaches us to be kind and nice to other people too regardless of their background. Why can’t they leave LGBT-QIA alone with their beliefs? Or if they want to ‘try’ to spread their religious beliefs, then they should do it in a good manner and without speeches that indicate hatred.
ReplyDeleteGrowing in a somewhat small city, in a muslim family, and a muslim community I was bound to at least once hear that being a LGBT is bad and a sin in the eyes of religion. And to be honest, because of that I grew up hating them. But, when I was in highschool I starting to questioned whether what they did deserves so much hate. Just to put to perspective, some of my classmates even said that they would love to kill them. Yes, those statement may be in a joking manner, but from just that I can see well that the hatred towards the LGBT community is real. because of that, I started a ton of research regarding LGBT, and what they actually are like. But, the thing that actually made me fully realized that they are just as normal as you and me was when I realized that a close friend of mine was actually bisexual , and just from what I could see in school she was not different from anyone else. Since that moment I completely stopped hating on the LGBT community.
ReplyDeleteWhile the all-encompassing term “LGBT” is commonly used among organisations and academics in Indonesia, the focus of most local advocacy and research is on people we might consider to be gay men and transgender women. Lesbian women, bisexuals, and transgender individuals who were assigned female at birth are often ignored and invisible in discussions of LGBT people, even though they may also experience as much discrimination as gay men and transgender people assigned male at birth.
ReplyDeleteWaria is the third gender term used in Indonesia to describe transgender women, or people assigned male at birth whose gender identity and/or expression are female. The term comes from a portmanteau, or blending of wanita (female) and pria (male). Waria appear to be the most prevalent and the most visible nonbinary gender group in Indonesia. Gay men and waria are the most commonly visible and recognized communities amongst Indonesians. Most people’s knowledge of out and visible gay men and waria come from those who occupy prominent positions of high society, the creative arts, and entertainment.
Despite all that, in Indonesia, being a sexual or gender minority increases the risk of being abused and tortured. Even though human rights protections exist in Indonesia’s Constitution that protect all kinds of minorities, such laws are frequently ignored in favor of individual values and beliefs against LGBT people.
None of us like being oppressed, and I believe so they are. Although, it will be hard to accept the existence of the LGBT community for certain people, even for people like me who’ve grown in a family who believe deeply in tolerance and diversity, we still deeply hard to accept due to the fact that it still goes against the norms and values we believed. But I personally believe that as long as they don’t affect us personally, they have the rights to be living free out of pressure. Perhaps, this has been said before by the other student in their comment within this blog, I agree that it is taboo to talk about this topic based on several religious beliefs, and this has become the most common thing happen across the Indonesian society due to the fact that Indonesia is still widely religious. Therefore, looking back at Indonesia’s background, this community’s voice might be heard, but to accept their position will be hard for most of the society.
ReplyDeleteLGBT in Indonesia is one of the problem that the society have decided to encounter in the past few years. Our society consider it as a problem in these years, but for me, it’s not quite a problem for LGBT. LGBT stands out for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender. Why it is not a big problem for me? I consider it as their right, their freedom of living. As long as they don’t disturb me or doesn’t harm me, I’ll just let them be like that. Sometimes I feel gross looking at them making out in public as it’s not a common thing for me to see. Society in Indonesia is against it as it’s against the norm and morality of an Indonesian, which are mostly religious and culture-oriented. So many people even persecute them in public, and this is not what I like about Indonesians. In Aceh for example, they persecuted the LGBTs in the public for humiliation and to make them regret for what they’ve done. They said that is what the sharia law told them. In my opinion, I don’t have any idea about what to do with LGBT communities in Indonesia, but as I said, if they tried to disturb my life, I don’t have any excuse to give them some lessons.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article above I realized that this LGBT community is a controversial subject and a hard subject to talk about and discuss it. I think LGBT is still a sensitive subject is because most of Indonesians are Muslims. In Islamic religion, homosexual and bisexual is not allowed and the ones who are would be punish in the afterlife. Because Indonesia is mostly populated with Muslims, the LGBT community is not easy to be accepted in the society. Being a Muslim, it is heartbreaking for me to see so many people are mistreated just because of their sexuality. I understand that it is not allowed in Islam but that does not mean we have to distance ourselves from them. I believe that everyone has the right to love anybody they want. I think that it is unfair that homosexuals and bisexuals are not accepted in Indonesia’s society just because they are different from most people. I believe in equality.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that the LGBT community in Indonesia has little to no respect from other Indonesians. Maybe they think that it’s a taboo. Maybe they think that its going against the norms and values of this country. Maybe they think that they’re sick. Maybe they think that they have lost their senses. But despite what other people think, they are still human and everyone has their own rights. Even though people that are in the LGBT community has different values and different opinions than us, it still doesn’t give us the right to disrespect or discriminate them. Again, they are still human. In my opinion, people should just let them be, leave them alone. Anyways, they are not in the LGBT community just do disturb other people and make them uncomfortable. They are in the LGBT community because it is for themselves, they are thinking about their own feelings, values and about what they think is right for them.
ReplyDeleteThe people in the LGBT community has the rights to love just like us who aren’t part of that community. On the other hand, Lots of Indonesians has negative views towards the LGBT community because of religions. Indonesia is an Islamic country and the people can be considered as religious and traditonal. This may be the cause of them having a negative view on the LGBT community. I think all religions are against the existence of the community and that’s why many Indonesians are also against it. They believe that we have to respect what God already gave us and we can only be attracted to the opposite sex. While in this case, gay people are men attracted to men, lesbians are women attracted to women, bisexuals are people who are attracted to BOTH genders and transgenders are people who change their gender to the opposite. And according to most Indonesians, that’s going against the values and beliefs of religions and traditions.
ReplyDeleteActually if we are talking about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) or now LGBTQQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Queer) movements are considered as a pretty new thing in Indonesia. Knowing Indonesia as a nation that majority of the people that devoted themselves to one religion. And for all this time there are no cases like LGBT nowadays and it become the norm here in Indonesia so it is hard for the people to accept this sudden changes in the norm applied. Not to confuse you guys, I am the guy which pretty open about this things, even I joined one of their movement women’ s march a year ago to battle for their rights. Although it is go againts what I believed based on my religious teachings, however it is their own right to have such orientation about themselves I will not go against them nor prohibit them to do such thing.
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