Devandy Ario Putro

Combined with growing fundamentalism and sectarianism, Indonesia once again is in dire need of a human rights movement for change. For much of the last century, Indonesia was considered a pariah state, isolated from the rest of the world due to its horrendous human rights track record. This changed in 1998, in great part thanks to the efforts of the Indonesian human rights movement, but now the country is at a threshold once again.

Di masa lalu, Indonesia memiliki reputasi sebagai negara yang toleran, namun berbagai pernyataan yang menghasut dari para politisi berujung pada meningkatnya kekerasan terhadap kelompok LGBTI di negara tersebut, dan ini mendorong para pendukung hak asasi manusia untuk bekerja lebih keras demi tercapainya kesetaraan. Kelompok LGBTI sudah lama ada di kebudayaan dan masyarakat Indonesia, jauh sebelum terbentuknya negara tersebut.

Indonesia used to have a reputation of tolerance, but inflammatory rhetoric from politicians has led to an increase in violations against the LGBTI community, forcing human rights advocates to fight harder for equality. LGBTI people have always existed in Indonesian culture and society—long before the genesis of the nation itself. The Bugis people in Sulawesi recognise five genders that maintain the balance of Mother Nature in accordance with their codex, Sureq Galigo.