Transsexuals need our compassionate understand, not armchair moralising

I am very luck, I am. And I'm not being sarcastic this time. Perhaps I've been too sarcastic in this lifetime.

I've just emerged from the Freedom Film Festival in KL. Only this morning I was debating whether to fly to KL, but here I am, full of thoughts and emotions.

I watched two documentaries. Both were very inspirational, but of course, the one that touched me the most was Pecah Lobang by Poh Si Teng. Pecah Lobang explores the lives of Muslim transsexual sex workers in KL. The 30-mins documentary features interview snippets with a few key transsexual women including the tireless activist Suhana from PTF.

One of the Muslim sex workers, Natasha, recounted how she was arrested one day for soliciting and imprisoned with two other transsexuals. Because she had augmentation mammoplasty, the prison officers made her expose her breasts to the other inmates.

The key character is a young transsexual woman who left her hometown to work as a prostitute in Kuala Lumpur because she could not earn a living back home, and her parents did not accept her status. The problem of clients not using a condom cropped up during the interview. She said by going without the condom, she could earn as much as RM 75 per session. What she yearns for is official recognition. The Islamic clerics issued a fatwa against Muslim transsexuals in 1982, forbidding them to go for a sex change. Since then, they have been trapped in a no man's land.

Transsexuals in Malaysia cannot look for decent jobs as women since they're not officially recognised as such, and prostitution puts them at the mercy of the police. Thus they are in a no man's land, living in daily dread of being arrested and humiliated.

I almost could not watch the documentary as I did not book the tickets beforehand. Suhana saved the day by passing me an extra ticket. A simple yet rich gesture. That's the grace and dignity with which these ladies live their lives, regardless of society and religion's inhumanity towards them.

Compared to them, I'm really very lucky. I've got my own business, my leisure pursuits, a man who truly cares for me (and who shares a ginger bread with me to cheer me up when I'm down), parents who love me deeply, a sister who is more like a soul mate, friends to share my joys and troubles with...

While I'm sipping on hot chocolate at Ritz Carlton, Natasha probably has to hit the streets soon and earn that 30 RM sleeping with a faceless, uncaring stranger.

The least I could do is share the story of these courageous, noble and beautiful women. The least I could do is continue to build my business so that some day, I can make a more significant financial contribution towards a cooperative that will help give these girls back their dignity and voices.

It doesn't matter if I can't be an NMP or a talk-show host anymore. I just hope you can pass this story on to as many people as you can, locally, internationally, wherever. You receive so many chain letters every day, all saying that if you pass the email on to 9 more people, you will receive love, money, joy, etc. I can't promise you will receive anything, except the light of truth and compassionate understanding.

I am crying. Because I cannot do more for these noble women. Because I cannot move God to do more. Ironically, these ladies are being punished in the name of God.

To find out more about the good work of the PTF Mak Nyah outreach, log on to http://www.ptfmalaysia.org/transex.htm

Thank you.

God bless
Leona
Kuala Lumpur