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Head of Islamic school for transwomen honored

Loud and proud : The head of al-Fatah Islamic boarding school for trans women, Shinta Ratri (left), shows off a placard of the Front Line Defenders human rights award as Mary Jane Real, a member of Front Line Defenders’ board of trustees, looks on at the al-Fatah Islamic boarding school in Yogyakarta on Friday

Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post)
Yogyakarta
Mon, July 22, 2019

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Head of Islamic school for transwomen honored

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oud and proud : The head of al-Fatah Islamic boarding school for trans women, Shinta Ratri (left), shows off a placard of the Front Line Defenders human rights award as Mary Jane Real, a member of Front Line Defenders’ board of trustees, looks on at the al-Fatah Islamic boarding school in Yogyakarta on Friday.(JP/Bambang Muryanto)

The leader of the al-Fatah pesantren (Islamic boarding school) for transwomen, 57-year-old Shinta Ratri, has received the Front Line Defenders Award in honor of her work as a human rights activist.

Front Line Defenders, also known as the International Foundation for the Protection of the Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organization founded in Dublin that aims to protect rights defenders at risk.

Shinta was all smiles when friends and neighbors came to congratulate her at the pesantren in Kotagede, Yogyakarta, on Friday. Besides providing food, the transwomen also performed traditional dances like jaipong, gambyong and oglek.

Shinta said she was full of gratitude and that she “dedicated [the accolade] to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [LGBT] community” that had supported her. Shinta will depart for Dublin on Oct. 2 to officially accept the award.

The al-Fatah Islamic boarding school was established in 2008 by Shinta and a fellow transwoman, Mariani. After Mariani’s passing in 2014, Shinta was appointed the head of the boarding school.

Al-Fatah is both a shelter and place to learn Islam for transwomen who are separated from their families. In addition to religious awareness, the school also offers counselling, reproductive health education and provides cooking, batik-making, singing and dance classes to empower the transwomen.

Shinta said it was natural for the oppressed to fight back. “The right to pray and learn about religion is for every human,” she said.

She also stressed that the most important thing for members of the LGBT community in the future was their security.

Fellow transwoman at al-Fatah, YS Adisati Al Buchori, said that she was very proud of Shinta’s achievement. “Hopefully, bu Shinta’s achievement can be an example for younger transwomen,” she said.

The neighbors who attended the celebration said they had respect for their trans neighbor.

One neighbors, Sugiharti, said she had known Shinta since they were little and did not consider her gender identity an issue.

“Becoming a transwoman isn’t a thing that was forced [onto them].” Sugiharti said, adding that she valued al-Fatah for the school’s good deeds and social contributions.

Front Line Defenders board of trustee’s member Mary Jane Real, who also attended the celebration, said that it was a meaningful moment for the LBGT community. She especially thanked ustaz (Islamic teacher) Arif Nur Safri for being the school’s spiritual adviser.

“It would have been very easy to close the school, but bu Shinta decided to continue,” Mary said, in reference to the challenges the school faced in 2016, when an Islamic mass organization demanded it be shut down. Front Line Defenders said they were very proud of Shinta’s determination.

Front Line Defenders also awarded other activists from Tunisia, Russia, the Dominican Republic and Malawi.

The awards were officially announced in Dublin on Wednesday, July 17, coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT).

The awards also commemorated 50 years since the Stonewall uprising, a 1969 movement led by queer, transgender and sex worker activists of color that helped spark the LGBT rights movement in the United States, thus expressing solidarity among queer identifying activists globally.

Shinta’s celebration ceremony was concluded with Arif Nur Safri leading the mass prayers.

“We hope that our neighbors and other people will be more welcoming of this pesantren,” he said in his prayers. (dmy)

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