Indonesia’s LGBTQ community angry at rise of conversion therapies

 | 
03/14/2021

Kai Mata found herself at the center of a homophobic storm last year when she posted a video of herself online denouncing a draft of bill that included articles on forcing LGBTQ people to undergo conversion therapy to “cure” their sexual orientation or gender identity. “I am Indonesian and LGBTQ+,” the caption of the video posted on Twitter read. “Help stop a bill that would require conversion therapy here in the fourth-most populated country in the world.” Mata, a 22-year-old Bali-based lesbian singer-songwriter and one of the country’s most outspoken LGBTQ activists, said received a around 400 hate messages and death threats within a day of posting the clip. Undeterred, she continued writing very personal folk songs about her identity and issues surrounding the LGBTQ community. But last month, she received a direct message on Instagram promoting ruqyah, or Islamic conversion therapy. The advertisement was for a website called terapikonversi.co that offers corrective rape, electroconvulsive therapy, and exorcism, telling her: “It’s not too late to turn to God. Allah has not left you… Let us help you cast out the demon within you.”

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 11/16/2024
11/15/2024
FIFA has announced support for the organization that oversees tournaments for LGBTQ-inclusive soccer clubs from around the world, including financial assistance. The International Gay …
Added on: 11/16/2024
11/15/2024
It’s hard to imagine a worse time for the Supreme Court to hear United States v. Skrmetti, arguably the most important trans rights case …
Added on: 11/16/2024
11/15/2024
The Tasmanian Government has taken a firm stance in favour of comprehensive LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the 2026 Census, urging the Federal Government to align …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 11/16/2024
Three homophobic Bangladeshi men have been charged with murdering a gay kindergarten teacher last month in the midst of an argument about homosexuality. The …
Added on: 11/15/2024
Cape Town, South Africa – The first-ever International Pride Awards today honoured five remarkable advocates for LGBTIQ+ equality, celebrating them during a ceremony hosted …
Added on: 11/12/2024
Some Canadian surrogates are refusing to carry children for Israeli clients in light of the Gaza war, a standstill disproportionately impacting gay men. The …