Rethinking Waria Discourse in Indonesian and

Global Islam
Thesis Review

Farihatul Qamariyah | CRCS | Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta

The discourse of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans gender identities) is being
contested everywhere lately in global discussion. Identity, gender, and human rights have
generally provided the frame work for debate. The issue of LGBT is also critically regarded
as a significant case within religion. Scholars such as Kecia Ali and Scott Kugle are
attempting to reinterpret and rethink Islam as a religion which is commonly understood as a
blessing for all of mankind, in which contextually this religious essence also can
accommodate diversity that extends to the acceptance of LGBT Muslims. Another example of
this rethinking is the CRCS Students, Hary Widyantoro, thesis Rethinking Waria Discourse
in Indonesian and Global Islam which examines the collaboration between Nahdlatul Ulama
Islamic University activists and Waria santri at the Pesantren Waria al-Fatah which is located
in Yogyakarta.
This research looks at the collaboration of scholar activists from Syariah and Law
Faculty of Nahdlatul Ulama University of Jepara and waria santri (students of Islam who are
born male but identify as feminine, terms discussed below), in rethinking and reconstructing
the subjectivity of waria in Indonesian Islamic, thinking through the engagement of activities
including in the space of social structure and religious lives. Significantly, this study can be a
critical instrument in the field of both gender and religious studies, to examine how these
scholar-activists are creating new ways of seeing waria from Quran and hadith and of
teaching Islam to them as the subjects rather than objects of research. Moreover, it shows the
process of rethinking which can offer an alternative view and hope for those who are not
associated in the binary gender of male and female. The research questions which are raised
up are: how do the scholar activists of Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic University of Jepara rethink
the waria subject position? How did they develop the idea of religious partnership with the
Pesantren Waria al-Fatah Yogyakarta? And what kind of waria discourse that the scholar
activists suggested to provide a room for waria in social and religious lives?
It is clear that the discourse of LGBT however is not only talked over in the stage of
global, but also at a local level such as in Indonesia. To see the case of waria santri in terms
of transgender discourse and the activism of NU scholars in the act of collaboration, the
author utilizes the theoretical application on Boellstorffs idea on global and local suggestion
and Foucaults on the term of subjectivity as well as power relation in his genealogical
approach. In analysis, using waria as the chosen terminology in this case marks their identity
as a local phenomenon rather than transgender women to use a global term. This term became

the primary term for this group after it was used by Minister of Religious Affairs Alamsyah in
the 1970s. While taking the framework of Boellstorff on subjectivity and power relation, it
helps the author in figuring out and understanding completely on how Muslims activists from
NU University rethink of waria discourse, and how it is discussed by Muslims activist and the
waria in the Pesantren. Additionally, subjectivity becomes the key point where the author can
examine the role of waria based on the activists perspectives as a subject of their religiosities
and of the truth of their beings, rather than only objects of views.
Waria as one of the local terms in Indonesia represents an actor of transgender in LGBT
association that often experience such discrimination and become the object of
condemnation. For waria, Identity is the main problem in the aspect of gender in Indonesian
law. For instance, Indonesian identity cards only provide a male and female gender options,
based on the Population Administration Law, and by the Marriage Law (No. 1/1974). By this
law, they will have some difficulties to access the public services. Another problem regarding
the social recognition, waria is perceived as people with social welfare problems, based on
the Regulation of the Ministry of Social Affairs (No. 8/2012) that must be rehabilitated as a
kind of solution. Furthermore, in the religious landscape, the content of fiqh (an Islamic
jurisprudence) does not have much discussion on waria matters when compared to male and
female stuff. Briefly, these are the problems that the scholar activists seek to answer.In the
local course of Indonesian context, scholar-activists at Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic University of
Jepara (UNISNU) educate Islamic religion to transgender students at the Pesantren Waria alFatah as the act of acknowledging their existence and their subjectivity to express identity
and religiosity within ritual as well as practice.
Addressing this complicated context, the questions of transgender discourse represented
by santri waria in this research is not only about the constitutional rights but also attach their
religious lives in terms of Islamic teaching and also practice. While what the scholars identify
as humanism is the basic framework in dealing with this issue, the universal perception of
humanism in secular nature is different from the Muslim scholars understanding the idea of
humanism when it relates to Islamic religion. Referring to this discussion, the NU activists
have another view point in looking at waria as a human and Islam as a religion with its
blessing for all mankind without exception. Hence, this overview leads them to rethink and
reinterpret the particular texts in Islam, and then work with them in collaboration.
Since the term of collaboration becomes the key word in this research, the author gives a
general framework on what so called a collaboration in relation with the context of
observation. The background is on the equal relation between scholar-activists and waria
santri in the sense that the activists do not force or impose their perspective on waria. For
instance, they allow waria santri to pray and to express their identity based on how they feel
comfortable with the condition. In regard to the research process, the author conducted
interviews and was a participant observer both in the Pesantren Waria al-Fatah in Yogyakarta
and in the UNISNU campus, Jepara. He interviewed six Muslims scholar-activists from
UNISNU concerning the monthly program they lead in Pesantren Waria especially about how
they rethink waria discourse and its relation to religious and social lives, and another
important point is on the scholars intention to do the collaboration. Furthermore, the author

also draws on the history and programs of the pesantren by interviewing Shinta, who became
the leader of the pesantren in 2014 following the death of the founder. He also made use of
the Religious Practice Partnering Programs proposal and accountability report and explored
the scholars institution and communities where they have relation with to get some
additional information about their engagement. The additional context is on the scholars
affiliation, in this case bringing up the background of Nahdlatul Ulama as one of the biggest
Muslims socio-religious organization known as Muslim Traditionalist and Indonesian
Muslim Movement (PMII) which both of them apply the similar characteristic on ideology
which is ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamaah.
To some extent, the collaboration of scholar activists of Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic
University and the santri waria at Pesantren Waria Al Falah rethinks the waria subject
position in both their social and religious lives. First, they rethink the normative male
female gender binary which is often considered deviant, an assumption which causes the
waria to experience rejection and fear in both their social and religious lives. The same thing
happens as well in Islamic jurisprudence known as fiqh, where discussion of waria is absent
and, consequently, they find it difficult to express their religiosities, including even whether
to pray with men in the front or women behind, and which prayer garments to put on in order
to pray.
According to Nur Kholis, the leader of the program from NU University and a scholar of
fiqhwhose academic interest is the place of waria in Islamic Law, one answer can be found by
categorizing waria as Mukhanats, and then considering them as humans equally as others. He
argues that waria have existed since the Prophets time considered as mukhanats (a term for
the men behave like women in Prophets time, according to certain hadith) by nature, or by
destiny, and not by convenience. Understanding waria as mukhanats based on their gender
consciousness can be a gate for waria to find space in Islam and also their social lives. The
following significant finding related to this context is on the genealogy of the process of
rethinking waria subject position. The author argues that this rethinking is grounded in
Islamic Liberation theology and the method of ahl sunnah wa al-jamaah, as way of thinking
within PMII and NU have contributed and influenced how the activists think of waria subject
discourse.
The last important landscape is on the perspective seeing waria as the subject of
knowledge, sexualities, and religiosities, covered by the term gender consciousness. This
term is the result of rethinking and acknowledging waria subjectivity in understanding their
subject position in social and religious lives.Pragmatically, this statement provides a tool of
framework to recognize waria as equally with others. It can be seen from the real affiliation
of several events, which are parts of Religious Practice Partnering Program, such as Isra
Miraj and Fiqh Indonesia Seminar. Furthermore, this kind of recognition emerges within the
global and local concept of Islamic liberation theology and aswaja that make them consider
waria as minorities which should be protected, rather than discriminated.
Finally, in such reflection, the discourse of LGBT represented by waria santri, the
activism of NU scholars, and their interaction in collaboration notify an alternative

worldview to discern a global issue from the local context, in this case is Indonesia. The
author concludes the result of this research by saying that this kind of discourse is formed
through referring Islamic liberation theology, aswaja, and more specifically the term
mukhanats, within global Islam. In the process of interaction, these are interpreted and
understood within local context of Indonesia presented by waria case in terms of social and
religious life through the act of collaboration under the umbrella of Nahdlatul Ulama and
PMII, as organizations tied by aswaja both ideology and methodology. In brief, the rethinking
of waria space in the context of Indonesian Islam at the intersection of local and global offers
a new expectation and gives a recommendation for all people who do not fit gender binaries
but they seek religious practice and experience in their lives.

Source : Rethinking Waria Discourse in Indonesian and Global Islam: The Collaboration
between Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic University Activists and Waria Santri | Author: Hary
Widyantoro (CRCS, 2013)