Transwoman : Between Color & Voice
Liliana Saharon (left), Jamilah Tan (middle), Olive(right) make up themselves before busking. During the pandemic, they decided to live together to save on the renting cost considering that their daily work as a stylist had to stop while the Large-Scale Social Restriction implemented by the government.
Winnaar van de Pride Photo Award 2022 in de categorie Series. Fotograaf Yoppy Pieter toont ons transvrouwen in Indonesië tijdens de corona uitbraak.
Dit project volgt de stille kracht van trans vrouwen in Indonesië, wier recht op bestaan wordt ondermijnd door systemen die beweren de traditie te beschermen, maar die deels zijn gevormd door een koloniale erfenis van uitsluiting.
Lang vóór de Nederlandse koloniale overheersing rigide binaire gendernormen en juridische codes oplegde, was genderdiversiteit verankerd in veel culturen van de Indonesische archipel. Gemeenschappen zoals de waria — wier aanwezigheid teruggaat tot diep in de gelaagde geschiedenis van Indonesië — namen ooit zichtbare rollen in de samenleving in. Onder het kolonialisme werden deze identiteiten naar de marges geduwd, en die marginalisering klinkt vandaag de dag nog steeds door.
Zonder toegang tot de nationale identiteitskaart (KTP) worden veel waria de toegang ontzegd tot gezondheidszorg, onderwijs en werk — rechten die het burgerschap definiëren. Tijdens de COVID-19-crisis werd deze uitsluiting nog schrijnender.
Dit project, dat zich uitstrekt over Jakarta, Depok, Zuid-Tangerang en Yogyakarta, documenteert niet alleen overleving, maar ook gemeenschap: verhalen van trans vrouwen die elkaar helpen om essentiële documenten te verkrijgen, gekozen families opbouwen, en plekken van zorg en hoop creëren. In de afwezigheid van erkenning door de staat bouwen zij wat de staat weigert te geven — een gevoel van thuis en verbondenheid.
*Waria is een lokaal gebruikte term die wanita (vrouw) en pria (man) combineert, en wordt vaak gebruikt om te verwijzen naar transgender vrouwen in Indonesië.
Over de fotograaf
Yoppy Pieter (1984) is een visuele verhalenverteller, geboren en getogen in Jakarta. Hij heeft een aantal fotografieworkshops gevolgd, waaronder de Joop Swart Masterclass van World Press Photo in 2019 en werd geselecteerd voor het South-East Asia & Oceania 6×6 Global Talent Program in 2017.
Hij begon zijn fotografie carrière sinds 2013, nadat hij ontslag had genomen als reclamecoördinator. Hij besloot te reizen en sloot zich aan bij enkele workshops om zijn vaardigheid te verbeteren, omdat hij zich realiseerde dat fotografie meer is dan alleen mooie beelden maken.
Hij gelooft dat hij leeft omringd door de verhalen, aardbevingen, evolutie, geboorte, teleurstelling en liefdes van het leven. Die verhalen kunnen alleen worden vastgelegd door beter te kijken en te zien met een zuiver hart, eerlijkheid en vertrouwen. Fotografie is een poëzie en een visuele dialoog met het zelf en de omstandigheden om hem heen.
The slum area in Depok, West Java. Most of transwoman community live in this area as it provides an affordable room to rent that cost IDR 300.000 – IDR 600.000. But during the pandemic, most of them are not able to pay the rent as they lose income.
Mak Tadi (72) is an elderly transwoman who is now living at Kebaya Foundation, Yogyakarta. She considers this place as her home since she lives with other transwomen friends
Lilis (middle) is being companied by Aurel (left) from Pelita Tangsel to do a routine HIV/AIDS testing in Serpong, Tangerang Selatan. This action is implemented to minimalize the community get tested and prevent covid-19 infection in the hospital.
Lina (left) lives with her crucial health condition, and Dewi Persik (right) who lost her ID card due to electronic ID cards fraud when she lived in Yogyakarta. The implementation of Large-Scale Social Restriction challenged this duo buskers as they already have personal issue related to health and civil right.
ID card belongs to Darni, in the name of Darno, that is expired since 2012. Most of transwoman who migrated to big cities Like Jakarta,Tangerang Selatan, Depok, and Yogyakarta do not ID card. This serious issue forced the individuals who lives without ID card face the obstacles to access their personal health treatment, education, and many civil rights.
Mami Rully and Ningsih visit the grave of Mak Dolly in the graveyard owned by Yogyakarta Social Agency. The Covid-19 pandemic played a major role in triggering Mak Dolly to experience severe depression, which led to a heart attack that took her life.
Mira (not her real nickname) works as a commercial sex worker in Jakarta. Since the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restriction in Jakarta, she no longer works in the street and choose online instead.
“I have no option and need to work to pay rent and living expenses,” she says. “Feelings of fear must be there, but when guests come over, I ask him to take a shower and clean up before we do business.”
Laila is 27-year-old who works in Serpong, Tangerang Selatan. For the last three years she lives without ID card, it makes her face the obstacles to access her personal health treatment. Now her case is facilitated by Pelita Tangsel.
Mak Nur suffered a stroke. Currently, she is undergoing treatment at the WCC, Yogyakarta. She is an elderly transwoman who just got an ID card on September 15, 2021, after her advocacy was handled by Kebaya Foundation.
Mama Dona lays on Mami Yuli’s knee. As the leader of Indonesian Transwoman Forum, Mami Yuli dedicated her self to fight the right for transwoman’s right in society. During this pandemic she distributes the covid-19 donation to her community where the donation is coming from personal and church instead of government.
This project traces the quiet strength of Indonesia’s trans women, whose right to exist has been undermined by systems that claim to protect tradition, but are in part shaped by a colonial legacy of exclusion.
Long before Dutch colonial rule imposed rigid binaries and legal codes, gender diversity was embedded in many of the archipelago’s cultures. Communities like the waria — whose presence stretches back through Indonesia’s layered histories — once held more visible roles in society. Under colonialism, these identities were pushed to the margins, and that marginalisation still echoes today.
Without access to the National Identity Card (KTP), many waria are denied healthcare, education, and work — rights that define citizenship. During the COVID-19 crisis, this exclusion became even more severe.
This project, spanning Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang Selatan, and Yogyakarta, documents not only survival, but community: stories of trans women helping each other access vital documents, building chosen families, and creating spaces of care and hope. In the absence of state recognition, they build what the state refuses to give — belonging.
*Waria is a locally used term combining wanita (woman) and pria (man), often used to refer to transgender women in Indonesia.
About the photographer
Yoppy Pieter (1984) is a visual storyteller, born and raised in Jakarta. He has attended a number of photography workshops, including the Joop Swart Masterclass by World Press Photo in 2019 and was selected for the South-East Asia & Oceania 6×6 Global Talent Program in 2017.
He started his photography career since 2013, after he resigned as an advertising coordinator. He decided to travel and joined some workshops to improve his skill because he realized that photography is more than just taking beautiful images.
He believes he lives surrounded by the stories, earthquakes, evolution, birth, disappointment and loves of life. Those stories can be only captured by looking closer and seeing with a pure heart, honesty, and trust. Photography is a poetry and a visual dialog with the self and the circumstances around him.
