IDEALS

BALI, (Aug. 13, 2009) IPS/GIN – Kartini Slemeh and other
transgenders in Malaysia fear that their movement to end stigma and
discrimination is misunderstood.

“There has been so much confusion going around transgenders. We
are not MSMs [men who have sex with men] and don’t lump us under
the transvestite [category either] because we have different
needs,” declared Slemeh at the 9th International Conference on AIDS
in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) here.

Slemeh heads a transgender support program in Malaysia that works
under the Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) – an informal
alliance of sex workers and organisations active in 40 countries.

Slemeh and other transgenders from the region said their cause was
being taken for granted by many due to lack of knowledge and
indifference.

A transgender identifies oneself with another gender other than
what the person is biologically born into. Transgenders may
identify themselves as homosexuals, transvestites or transsexuals
- but some consider conventional sexual orientation labels
inapplicable or inadequate for them.

“It’s a very complex thing trying to describe what a transgender
is because it goes way beyond mere appearances or sexual
preference,” Yuni Shara, who heads Kebaya, a non-government
organisation based in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, told IPS.

Shara said that societal structures make it very difficult for
transgenders to be accepted in society. “For instance, I have a
difficult time deciding whether to join male or female
worshippers.”

Stigma and discrimination for a transgender starts at an early age,
said Luluk Surahman. “The lack of knowledge and information about
reproductive health are compounded by confusion about one’s
sexuality, resulting in the individual often being ostracised
within the community,” said Surahman.

According to Surahman, there are about 4,500 transgenders in
Jakarta and some 1,500 of them are under 25 years old. “Often they
are undereducated, have no adequate skills to support themselves,
which is one of the reasons why they turn to sex work,” Surahman
explained.

The lack of support systems and awareness among transgenders has
contributed to the rise of HIV/AIDS cases. “Almost 40 percent of
transgenders in Jakarta are already infected,” added Surahman.

Zhao Jian’gang of the Yunnan-based Alliance of Chinese Transgenders
disclosed that about 200 transgenders engage in sex work in the
southwestern province. Like their counterparts in Jakarta, most of
them have low educational background and move frequently from place
to place.

Misconceptions about their clients and the low use of condoms even
with their partners make their behaviour at high risk for HIV/AIDS.

Subject to arbitrary arrests and ridicule even by the media – which
sensationalise their cases – transgenders often experience abuse.

“A friend of mine who got breast implants was arrested because of
sex work. They cut off her hair at the detention and rehabilitation
centre and placed her with male prisoners,” he said.

People Like Us (PLUS) representative Utpal Chakraborty talked about
the darker and more dangerous side of being a transgender in India.

“Transgenders live under threat of rape and other forms of abuse.
Many join the ‘hijra’, the eunuch community, and undergo illegal,
secret and crude castration operations,” said Chakraborty, whose
organisation works for the “promotion, protection and advancement”
of young men’s health and rights. He said that 30 percent of those
who undergo such operations die.

Support groups like Kebaya believe that even if it is a slow
process, doors are opening for dialogue not only within the
transgender community, but also in the wider population.

“Apart from family meetings, we conduct regular dialogues once a
month with the local community and also with religious leaders,”
said Shara.

Surahman and fellow advocates have also started getting in touch
with religious leaders and explaining to them the facts about
transgenders. Although complete acceptance may be a long time in
coming, she realises that baby steps are better than nothing.

“We’ve also tried to lobby for the basic rights of the transgender
in the parliament. Everything is still in the process and we don’t
see any clear result as of yet,” she said. “But we’re not about to
stop pursuing this.”

Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles that advocacy groups face right
now is how to change the mindset of transgenders themselves.

“We often ask them about their concerns and dreams and oftentimes
they would tell us their dreams, such as having a big house, a
handsome boyfriend or even to be able to start a salon. No one said
anything about wanting to know more HIV/AIDS, for instance,” said
Surahman.

Experts say it is important that skills and educational programmes
fit the needs of the transgender community and, in the process,
elevate their economic status and protect them from human rights
violations.

The most important thing, of course, is for them to feel empowered
and accepted by society.

“We are really advocating for full inclusion of our own gender
identity within the present societal framework,” agreed Zhao.

*TerraViva at ICAAP 09 (http://www.ipsterraviva.asia)