Transvestites Contest 2010 held in Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/14/2010 2:39 PM

Tens of transvestites in Aceh joined a ceremony for selecting Aceh Cultural and Social Envoy 2010, an event which was also designed to enable transvestites to hold a get-together in the province which strictly applies sharia law.

“Aside from selecting the cultural and social envoy, the activity is designed to enable transvestites in Aceh to get along with their peers,” Jimmy, head of the committee for the ceremony said as quoted by Antara news agency in Banda Aceh on Sunday.

The contest, which was held at the hall of the state radio station RRI in Banda Aceh on Saturday evening, elected Angga alias Zifana Lestisia, 19, who hails from Lhokseumawe, as the new Aceh envoy.

Besides strengthening friendship among the transvestites, the activity was expected to wipe out a negative stigma among the community on them, Jimmy said.

“This contest shows the public that transvestites can present positive activity, which has been approved by the Banda Aceh Ulema Consultative Assembly,” he said, adding that a week before the event the participating transvestites were quarantined to enable them to learn about human rights and social care.

During the contest each participant was asked to wear Acehnese traditional attires from their respective area and the winner will be sent to joint transvestite contest at the national level.

Zifana said he would tried hard to introduce the Acehnese culture at the national level and at the same time showed that transvestites from the province with strict sharia law could compete with competitors from other provinces.

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Contestants looking their finest in traditional dresses during the Social Cultural Transvestite Queen beauty pageant in Banda Aceh over the weekend. The Indonesian Ulema Council has said it would tolerate such contests as a form of entertainment, but would step in at the first sign of anything pornographic, especially contestants revealing too much skin. (AP Photo)