The trans activist Shintra Ratri received the Casa Asia 2022 award and her death has shocked the LGTBI community
Indonesian community rights activist LGBTI, Shinta Ratri passed away this Wednesday at 60 years. The Gaya Nusantara NGO confirmed the death of ratric, a transgender Muslim woman who identifies as "shemale", which in Indonesian refers to people who are transgender or between two identities.
ratric was one of the most influential voices in favor of rights LGTBI, especially of trans people in Indonesia and is the founder of the only Koranic school for the Islamic LGTBI community in YogyakartaKnown as Pondok Pesantren Waria Al-Fatah. Last year she was awarded the Casa Asia Awards 2022, which since 2004 have recognized and disseminated the work of individuals and entities, both public and private, that promote knowledge, dialogue and relations between Spain and the region of Pacific Asia.
Shock in the LGTBI community
The news of his death has generated shock among the community and activists LGTBI, who paid tribute and praised his work. «shinta ratri, human rights activist, transgender Muslim pioneer in Indonesia, and director of an Islamic school for transgender women in Yogyakarta, passed away today. May his soul be blessed and his fight be continued by others«He wrote in Twitter the activist and academic Anmar Alfikar.
In his career as an activist, ratric has stood up to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism observed in recent years in the politics of Indonesia, where almost 90% of the more than 260 million inhabitants are Muslims and they practice a moderate version of Islam.
ratric received in 2019 the award Front Line Defenders Award in honor of his dedication and courage as a human rights activist, work that led to attacks and assaults on him, including a violent assault in 2016 that forced the closure of the school for a short period. To this day, about 40 students are enrolled in school Fatah, where they are taught prayers and understanding of the Koran, among others, and that serves as a safe space for trans women to exercise their right to religious worship.
