Islamic boarding school is a shelter for transvestites in Indonesia

News24xx.com -  Only at Al-Fatah Islamic boarding school, transvestites in Indonesia can feel safe. At the pesantren located in Yogyakarta, they can make peace with God and not be seen as sinners because they are transgender.

ShintaRatri, the caretaker of the Indonesian boarding school, confirmed the pronunciation of the lodge members when saying "there is only one God" in Arabic. 

Shortly after that, they also prepared to pray. Nothing was strange, besides the congregation gathered in densely populated settlements in The Kotagede, Yogyakarta, are all transgender women.

It is not easy to openly become transgender, when there are so many rejections that urge them to hide their identity.

Human rights activists say the presence of hardline Islamic groups has triggered the erosion of tolerant attitudes that have been present in the community against transvestites - an abbreviation for "women" and "men".

Ratri, who is currently 56 years old and her fellow transvestites witnessed this intimidation directly in 2016, when the Islamic Jihad Front group (FJI) demanded the closure of the Al-Fatah Wariapesantren.

Yuri Shara (51) described how a group of men in white robes and skullcap acted "aggressively" when they visited the pesantren after Friday prayers.

"I feel angry because my freedom, especially my freedom of religion, was violated," said Shara who was left behind at the pesantren. move to follow his friends to pray.