GAYa Nusantara is an Indonesian

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

organization that focused on LGBTQ rights in Indonesian communities through research, publication, education, and advocacy.

History

After the disbandment of the Lambda Indonesia, first openly gay organization in Indonesia in 1986,

Dede Oetomo Dede Oetomo (born 1953) is a campaigner for LGBT rights in Indonesia and an expert on gender issues in East Java. He pursued postgraduate studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Whilst there, he founded Lambda Indonesia, a gay support ...

found this organization on August 1, 1987 to continue the movement. The writing of the organization's name itself the first three letters of the first word, which are written in capitals to highlight the word "Gay" because, at first, the organization focused only on gay people. However, they expanded their work to include a greater diversity of LGBT people in Indonesia. After working for more than twenty years, the organization was legally recognized by the government on June 27, 2012.

Works

They regularly published a

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

as part of their movement, with the first issue published around November 1987. At its peak of publication, the zine sold 1,000 copies (or had a circulation of 1,000 prints). The print publication stopped in 2005 but returned as an online publication in 2014. In 7 June 2016, the organization plan to conduct an event to disseminate information regarding the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS within the gay community. This initiative was a component of the "''Gua Berani''" campaign, which translates to "I am brave", aimed at encouraging individuals to undergo HIV testing and ascertain their status. The event was cancelled. Law enforcement authorities reportedly perceived the intended gathering as an LGBT-focused event, and consequently, the requisite permits for conducting the event were not granted by local police. On 2022, the organization critiqued

Mahfud MD Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin (born 13 May 1957), commonly known as Mahfud MD, is an Indonesian politician, and legal academic who served as the 14th Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs of Indonesia from 2019 to 2024. ...

for his opinion of the

criminalization of homosexuality Some or all sexual acts between men, and less frequently between women, have been classified as a criminal offense in various regions. Most of the time, such laws are unenforced with regard to consensual same-sex conduct, but they neverthele ...

in Indonesia as part of

Indonesian Criminal Code The Indonesian Criminal Code (, WvS), commonly known in Indonesian Language, Indonesian as ''Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana'' (, derived from Dutch), abbreviated as KUH Pidana or KUHP), are laws and regulations that form the basis of criminal ...

as violation of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

. In the same year, the organization also criticized

Ahmad Riza Patria Ahmad Riza Patria (born 17 December 1969) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Deputy Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions. He previously served as a ...

for his statement asserting that Citayam Fashion Week, a street fashion festival in Indonesia, constituted an LGBTQ movement. They further accused Patria of spreading

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

References

1987 establishments in Indonesia 1987 in LGBTQ history LGBTQ in Indonesia LGBTQ organizations based in Asia Organizations based in Indonesia {{LGBTQ-org-stub