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Jakarta pride month celebrated with incident-free dialogue
A lively discussion on gay rights was held smoothly over the weekend.
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While people in other world cities, such as New York and Tel Aviv celebrate Pride month with carnivals, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights community in Jakarta observed it with a low-key discussion on gender and sexuality. (Shutterstock/File)
W
hile people in other world cities, such as New York and Tel Aviv celebrate Pride month with carnivals, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights community in Jakarta observed it with a low-key discussion on gender and sexuality.
The most surprising thing about the event in Jakarta was that it was carried out without police or intolerant groups trying to stop it.
In a country where LGBT people often face persecution and discrimination, Pride Day is little known. In other parts of the world, it is openly observed in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a tipping point for the gay liberation movement in the United States.
Around 50 people from different backgrounds held a lively exchange of ideas on gay rights at an unforthcoming location in Tebet, South Jakarta, on Friday evening.
Participants knew of the event from the flyers posted by the organizer on its Instagram account. Some helped disseminate information by sharing or reposting it on their social media accounts.
The discussion, titled “Ask Me Anything”, was the first to be held by Purple Code, a local non-profit organization. Founded in 2015, it focuses on gender, human rights and technological issues.
“Heterosexual people often wonder how lesbians and transgender people fall in love with each other and how a woman comes to realize that she is a lesbian,” Dhyta Caturani, the coordinator of the organization, said.
