Arif Ahmad believes that God created men and women. However, this neighborhood association chairman in Kotagede, Yogyakarta, said that his belief may not be used as a reason to be hostile towards transvestites. Transvestites are people who do not need to be isolated,¡± he said on Friday last week.

The Al-Fatah Transvestite Islamic Boarding School is located in Arif’s community. This boarding school was started by Shinta Ratri, a transvestite