Author(s):
Dian Maya Safitri
Type:
Photograph
Department:
School of Public Policy
Exhibit no:
2
A group of Indonesian Muslim transgenders perform congregational prayer, lead by an Islamic teacher. My fieldwork was conducted among the most marginalized community in Indonesia, where the available professional options for transgenders are prostitution and street musicians. And when it comes to communal prayer, mosques only provide prayer rooms separated by either males or females.
To accommodate their religious needs for communal prayers, (moderate) Islamic sermons and learning the holy Quran, these transgenders established an Islamic school specific for their community, without resistance from their moderate Muslim neighbourhood.
Acknowledgements: Pesantren Waria Al-Fattah Senin-Kamis Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada University