Big piece in a Dutch newspaper about gay people in Indonesia:
https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/het-vrolijke-land-indonesie-zucht-steeds-meer-onder-het-juk-van-de-islam~b8c5548d/
In it it's talking about how, in 2003, gay/transgender/cross-dressing people were accepted in every day life, including being on many TV shows. The writer recalls being in Atjeh and watching a local volleyball match where everyone just cared about 'tim waria', 'Team Gay/Transgender'. In recent years under immense religious pressure, it has all gone away completely, and he found of all the people in that specific team, most just disappeared completely, he managed to only contact one of them, who in absolutely no way wanted to get interviewed out of fear of punishment. According to the article, since a few years ago it's even illegal for TV stations to show 'men showing female behaviour'.
Also says something about two guys getting nearly a hundred cane beating hits as punishment for having sex, after they were 'caught in the act' (which in this case meant, other people broke into their bedroom while they were doing it and weirdly enough, the victims were punished and the criminals who broke into their room got away without trouble).
The main thing of this piece is basically how 'the once happy Indonesia is being opressed more and more by religion'. Since we have an Indonesian here, I thought I'd ask how much of this is exaggerated and how much is true, because this whole piece made me really, really sad. Literally everything they mention that changed from 2003 to now is seriously fucked up... @Griff88
Not that it matters or should matter, but to prevent certain things: this newspaper is actually known as a pretty left and liberal one, not a Geert Wilders kind of paper.