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Left-handers refuse to be held back by stigma
The discrimination aimed at left-handed people also stems from the fact that only around 10 percent of the population is left-handed
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It is estimated that 10 percent of the world population is left-handed. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he fact that civilizations around the world have generally esteemed the right hand more than the left has taken its toll on left-handed people who constantly battle stigma, being forced to use their less-favored hand to avoid negative connotations.
Since childhood, Prawiro Sudirjo, 41, a teacher from Bekasi, West Java, has been used to criticism from relatives and even strangers for using “the wrong hand”. Born a left-handed person, Prawiro has to constantly fight against the impression of behaving improperly or being rude
“I often get scolded by angkot [public minivan] drivers because I hand them money using my left hand, they say I am rude. It’s just one of many struggles left handed people face in their daily lives. Being a left-handed person in Indonesia is hard because a lot of people consider the left hand as the bad hand or the devil’s hand,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Prawiro said his struggle was even harder during his school days, as his teachers kept forcing him to write using his right hand and his friends bullied him for not being able to do so.
“For decency, I have to use my right hand to do several things like eating, shaking hands and saluting the national flag, because it’s just unacceptable to do it using the left hand” he added.
Being forced to write with the right hand at school is a common experience that was also shared by Ron, 30, who said that “Living as a left-handed person in Indonesian culture, you’re just bound to face many challenges. When I was in school my teacher forced me to write with my right hand causing me to fall behind whenever I tried to write notes. Even now there are angkot drivers who refuse to stop for me when I forget to hail the angkot using my right hand,” he told the Post on Sunday, adding that his relatives also scolded him a lot for giving them things using his left hand.
Ron, who is a Muslim, said he had taught himself to eat using his right hand. “It’s forbidden to eat using the left hand in Islam, so I taught myself to eat using my right hand. It took me about six months to be able to do it well and I’ve been encouraging other Muslim lefties to do the same,” he said.
