Indonesia’s Transsexual Muslims (Documentary)

Published on Aug 7, 2012 by vice
Indonesian transsexuals, or Warias, still feel the urge to practice Islam despite being shunned by Islamic Authorities.

We headed to Indonesia to visit the Senin-Kamis School, an Islamic school for Indonesian transsexuals. Our host, Hannah Brooks, meets the school’s founder, Maryani, and the rest of the ladies who call this place home. Then Hannah is taken to a local funeral, where Maryani speaks about the difficulties of living as a transvestite and a practicing Muslim.

Facebook comment lands atheist in jail

Human rights activists and religious scholars in Indonesia are demanding the release of a man who wrote on Facebook that he did not believe in God.

Alexander An, a 31-year-old civil servant, is facing five years in prison after being charged with defamation of religion.

He says he started to question the existence of God when he was a child.

Although the country is officially secular, every Indonesian has to have a religion and register himself according to one of the official five religions.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Dharmasraya in West Sumatra.

American Batik Design Competition Launched

Batik is a traditional method of creating brightly colored patterns on cloth, and it is native to many countries like Indonesia. The competition showcases Indonesian batik to help the world take notice. Our correspondent in New York has the details.

The Indonesian Ambassador for the U.S. launched the American Batik Design Competition last Wednesday in New York.

[Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Indonesian Ambassador for United States]:
“In the beginning, we were looking for a creative way to promote batik. One way that we chose was to make Americans feel like they also own batik.”

The theme of this competition is “The Spirit of America in the Heritage of Batik.”

Women Scientists Close Gender Gap in Indonesia

The United Nations chose women and science education as the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day (March 8th) to highlight the gender gap in many parts of the world between the number of men and women scientists. VOA’s Brian Padden talked to two women scientists in Indonesia, where the gap is closing.

Five Genders in an Indonesian Community