Famous activist for the rights of transgendered Indonesians Yulianus Rettoblaut looked proud and happy in her black academic gown and tasseled cap on her graduation day on Wednesday, but she said that today was not only about her but rather about fellow transgendered citizens and other minority groups.

Better known as Mami Yulie, the 54-year-old rights activist wanted her achievement to act as a form of inspiration to people who were often discriminated against.

Having graduated cum laude with a Masters of law at Tama Jagakarsa University in South Jakarta, Yulie said she wanted to send a clear message to society that transgendered people should not be
underestimated.

With her hair styled in a formal bun and shiny earrings dangling from her ears, Yulie looked delighted as she walked out of Balai Sudirman, a building used by her university to hold the graduation ceremony in South Jakarta, with hundreds of other graduates.

'€œI urge every transgendered person out there not to hesitate in pursuing their dreams. The time has come for us to be acknowledged,'€ she told reporters just outside the building on Wednesday.

'€œIf you let yourself be ill-treated by other people, you will have no self-confidence and end up living on the streets,'€ she continued.

She said her law degree meant that she would have a stronger position in society and, in gaining this deeper knowledge, could help other transgendered people who were discriminated against, or even abused, by other people.

As the head of the Indonesian Transgender Communication Forum (FKWI), Yulie said she found that the government was reluctant to consider transgendered citizens equal with other citizens.

'€œJust look what happened when we held the Miss Waria [Miss Transgender] event. Some radical groups intimidated us and the police did not do anything about it,'€ she said.

In 2012, members the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) forcefully disbanded the Miss Waria contest at the Nyi Ageng Tirtayasa building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, saying that the event was illegal because the organizers did not have a permit from the police or the building'€™s owner.

For Yulie, whose graduate degree GPA was 3.85, her academic achievements have been the result of years of perseverance.

When she first enrolled in an undergraduate school of law at an Islamic university in Jakarta, she encountered people who disrespected her because of her appearance.

'€œFortunately, it only happened for a few weeks. It stopped after I proved to them that I could be an outstanding student,'€ she said.

Yulie said she would also like to try to run again for the post of commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), despite having been rejected by members of the House of Representatives, some openly mocking her, in a previous attempt.

Nursyamsuddin, Yulie'€™s thesis guide at the university, praised his student, saying that her thesis on transgender shelters was superbly written and opened up a new perspective on human rights through a transgendered point of view.

'€œShe is different but she has proven to us that she is a bright student. We admire her,'€ he said.

Yulie'€™s friend at the university, Hendra Jaya, said Yulie was an outstanding student.

He said that her university friends did not treat her differently and in fact, she was quite popular. '€œIt is owing to the fact that Mami Yulie is a friendly and funny woman,'€ he said.

Popular

Great Barrier Reef hit by record bleaching

Govt to undo latest curbs on personal imports

Middle East on edge as Israel and Iran trade threats