Transgenders kicked and chocked by Islamic authorities

They claim that their clothes were ripped off and that they were choked and kicked. The 17 transgender women arrested by Islamic authorities at a wedding last week would never forget the dreadful experience.

Advocacy group ‘I am you: Be a trans ally’ has posted on Facebook what had transpired on the night of June 9 in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.

The transwomen were wedding planners and invited guests at a residence in Felda Lui Timur.

Some 30 transwomen, also known as ‘mak nyahs’, were present.

At 9pm, the transwomen were enjoying themselves with a joget lambak dance but around midnight a number of patrol vehicles arrived.

Within 15 minutes, a man was on the premises, announcing himself as an officer of the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department (Jheains) but this was hardly audible to the crowd, according to the advocacy group's account.

"However, this man and 20 plainclothes officers began immediately arresting the mak nyahs present, causing much confusion and panic.

"The surprised mak nyahs found themselves grabbed by unknown men and instinctively resisted. A few evaded arrest. They were also traumatised and injured...," said the posting.

The wedding hosts complained about the raid at the house's lawn to the police, but to no avail as the police insisted it was a public space.

The victims were isolated from other guests at the wedding, and then brought to Jheains headquarters in a police truck.

However, the humiliation did not end there.

‘Teach them a lesson’

The transwomen were held until 10am before they were marched to the nearby Syariah Lower Court barefooted on a tarred road, said the advocacy group.

Prior to that, they were also made to clean the rooms they were detained in at Jheains and clean out the trash cans in other rooms aside from being subjected to verbal abuse, said the group.

"As they have never been arrested under Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Offenses and did not have legal representation, the mak nyahs pleaded guilty to the charges.

"The state prosecutor implored the judge to sentence the mak nyahs severely, under the guise of teaching them a lesson," it said.

The law provides for punishment of up to RM1,000 and six months in prison for cross-dressing.

Sixteen of the 17 transwomen were fined RM950 and jailed for a week while another, a minor, was made to report to Jheains every month for a year.

The 'I am you: Be a trans ally' group has raised RM30,000 to help fund legal fees of those arrested.

The group questioned the harsh sentence, adding that as their identity card listed them as males, they were made to shave their heads and were placed in a prison for men.

"There is no doubt that this forced masculinisation and erasure of their identity will cause a lasting and highly damaging psychological impact on these transwomen.

“In addition, their income and reputation have been adversely affected by this ordeal, as many of them have been forced to abandon their jobs as they are serving time in prison," it said.

The 16 were released yesterday.