Transvestites break the fast together after prayers at the Ponpes Waria Muslim School in Yogyakarta. The “school” provides transvestites a place to connect with God and learn more about Islam. (JP/Slamet Susanto)

Access to prayer, transcendence and feeling closer to God are the religious rights of every human being.

However, in practice, it seems that heterosexuals maintain a monopoly over access to these needs in many places of worship.

But what about people with same-sex orientation, like lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT)?

Often labeled by society as sexual deviants, LGBT are often left out of religious rituals and are discriminated against. They are also often refused entry to places of worship.

Arief, 30, a transvestite from East Java who has been living in Yogyakarta for more than 10 years, for example, had to sneak into the mosque secretly every time he wanted to perform tarawih (a special evening prayer performed during Ramadan).

"I had to come secretly. I wore a sarong and joined the men's congregation. Some of my friends wore mukena (the prayer cloak for Muslim women) and joined the women's congregation in secret," Arief said.

Often, Arief and his friends were turned away by the mosques they tried to enter.

"Even though we are transvestites, we also need to pray to God and we need to join rituals," he said.

"We are also human beings who have eyes and hearts. We are also human beings who need to pray to God," said Arief, quoting the lyrics of a popular song.

Upon hearing about discrimination against transvestites who wished to perform their religious obligations, Maryani, 51, opened Ponpes Waria, a Muslim school for transvestites in July.

In this facility, located in Notoyudan hamlet, near Yogyakarta, transvestites can pray at anytime freely, without any sense of oppression.

A transvestite himself, Maryani opened the school in response to the need of transvestites to get closer to God.

The "school", according to Maryani, is not only for transvestites, but also for lesbians and gays, who are being discriminated against, too.

Unlike other Muslim schools, that are found in various cities around the country, Ponpes Waria does not have a mosque, aula (hall) and dormitory for its students.

Ponpes Waria has a three-by-five meters room where students gather and pray together, read the Koran and learn more about their religion.

"We don't focus on how small it is, but the function and benefits. What's important is that we (transvestites) can meet our needs to perform our religious rituals and communicate with God comfortably," Maryani said.

Every day during the fasting month, religious activities take place starting from 3:30 p.m, when dozens of transvestites gather at the school. Before breaking the fast, they recite the Koran and learn about Islam from a Muslim teacher.

They later chant (zikir) to praise the Prophet Muhammad, break the fast and then perform isya (the evening prayer) together, followed by the tarawih prayer.

After the tarawih prayer, some transvestites return home, while some others stay at the school to pray or read religious books to pass the time until the predawn meal time.

"I feel comfortable and peaceful learning about religion since this school opened," said Yesy, a student.

Every night, Yesy chants and prays to God. "I chant the prayers for health or for good fortune.

"Here we feel humanized. We learn to read the Koran together, break the fast together, perform tarawih, zikir, tahajud (the late night prayer) and have pre-dawn meals together. We do all of these activities together," Yesy said.

After Ramadan, the school will open twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

"Every Monday and Thursday, we will have Koran recitals and learn about Islam together," Maryani said.

Maryani, who covers the school's operational costs, said the school was in need of funding to keep it going, but added it was difficult to make official requests for donations out of fear of people's misconceptions about the school.

"It is purely a wish to provide a room to worship and learn about Islam. If we officially asked for donations, people might think that this is some kind of project," Maryani said.

One of the teachers in the school, Supri, said he was happy teaching the Koran to transvestites. He said transvestites were a special group in society and added that even though they were different, their feelings were not inferior to others and that they displayed the courage to live their lives.

"They also have self-confidence, despite their differences. They have the enthusiasm to learn about Islam and we have to respect them," Supri said.

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