Institute for Women’s Empowerment is a regional organization based in Indonesia. It was set up by a group of feminist activists, researchers and political advocates, who are actively working on various issues around the empowerment of women. These include religious and other fundamentalisms, land rights, political participation and economic justice. IWE initially registered in Hongkong on 20 May 2008, but since 2016 IWE is registered as an association in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Official name in Bahasa Indonesia is “Perkumpulan Pemberdayaan Perempuan untuk Keadilan Gender”, but are happy to be referred to simply as ‘IWE -Indonesia”.

How IWE works:
• IWE projects grow from initiatives that arise out of the shared needs, interests and analyses of members. Project ideas and proposals are presented, discussed, and selected for collaboration at the Annual General Meeting.
• Collaboration consists of the planning of the implementation of these proposals, fundraising and undertaking mutual responsibility for the implementation of the project when funding is acquired. An Implementation Team is then formed, which can include IWE members and non-members (individuals or organizations) who have the commitment and capacities to implement the project.
• While the implementing project team has the responsibility to carry out the activities within the framework of the project plan, IWE organization has the responsibility to monitor the progress of the project and manage the financial and administrative aspects.

Sanggar Seroja

Sanggar Seroja was officially formed in 2016. Initially, it was called Teater Manekin which was born and active since 2012. We are an art lover group whose members are mostly transgender women. Two of our members have been in the arts, dance, lenong and theater for more than 20 years. For almost two decades, our members have had the experience of performing online and offline performing arts for various theater festivals, arts and culture festivals, and various other events. Not only tickets were sold out, but theatrical performances by Sanggar Seroja, – where the script and acting were performed by the transgender/transgender group themselves – several times entered the top five categories of the best. In every performance, we always present minority issues, especially LGBTIQ+ with entertaining, emotional, interesting, and humanist stories. We have reached an audience of diverse backgrounds.

We have proven that campaigning on minority issues through performing arts is one of the creative and innovative ways to achieve our goal of campaigning for minority issues and at the same time strengthening our own group by supporting the art space for transgender/transgender groups. We always collaborate with cross-issue activist groups, young people, politicians, journalists, and local governments (especially the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government Culture and Tourism Office) not only to come see our performances, but also to support us in things beyond promotion and networking.

In many Indonesian systems, trans women are not welcome. The arts spaces are becoming more constrained in the post-Reformation era as a result of the shift in the political landscape toward conservatism and the existence of the internet. The hatred of transgender people and transgender organizations that are used as scapegoats in electoral politics is regarded as populist. Due to this, access to Sanggar Seroja, where transwomen express their aesthetic sensibilities and advocate for minority rights (LGBTIQ+), has been shut down. Our living space includes an art studio where we can make a living.

On the other hand, access is not always straightforward and public understanding and knowledge of the issue of gender diversity and sexuality are still very low. In order to give transgender people and transgender groups a stage once again, an inclusive alternative space must be created. It must also include creatively packaged educational facilities for the general public and serve as a vehicle for the visibility and representation of transgender women.

In order to increase the transgender/transgender group in Kampung Duri, West Jakarta’s capacity for performing arts through performing arts/theater and literature, Sanggar Seroja of the West Jakarta Transgender/Transgender community will carry out a number of activities under the project “Developing a Space of Expression for Minority Groups.” Sanggar Seroja will give priority to LGBT audiences, media, public figures, his partners and relatives, art activists, and the general public while still performing in theater. We will target academics, students, the media, our NGO partners, and the arts community when we publish printed books. We will also widely and publicly release performance recordings and digital books on social media so that the general public can easily access them. Additionally, it is hoped that this publication will increase public awareness of minority groups in Indonesia, particularly transgender women, as well as provide a forum for discussion of transwomen’s experiences in Kampung Duri.

The adjustments will also give transgender/transgender groups in Kampung Duri, West Jakarta a space for their artistic endeavors, and at the same time, the transgender/transgender group Sanggar Seroja will act as a change agent by educating the general public on gender diversity and sexuality. Activities that we want to do for 12 months include (1) theater performances, (2) publication of books recording the stories of transgender women/transgenders and poetry/prose works.