Advocates slam Indonesia’s anti-LGBTQ+ education efforts

Several lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) rights advocates have criticized Indonesia’s plan to distribute anti-LGBTQ+ educational materials in schools amid a rise in attacks against queer individuals in the country.

The material is currently being developed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), with the aim of mitigating what officials described as the spread of “LGBT culture”, according to a report by South China Morning Post (SCMP).

If finalized, it would be integrated into the curriculum in regular and Islamic schools, as well as Friday prayer sermons, family development programs and other religious events.

‘Our culture tends not to normalise LGBT’

The government’s anti-LGBTQ+ education plan is a follow-up to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s 2025 regulation, wherein he listed the “promotion of LGBTQ culture” as a non-military threat to national security, alongside terrorism, separatism, and radicalism.

Speaking to SCMP’s This Week in Asia, Abu Rokhmad, MoRA’s director general of Islamic community guidance, said discussions are still ongoing regarding the educational material and they have not yet focused on more detailed content.

“We must truly understand that LGBT (is caused) by many variations. Some are hormonal, meaning they have a hormonal predisposition (to being queer),” said Rokhmad.

Different approaches

“Some are influenced by their environment. Some are (gay) because of their belief related to freedom of sexual orientation.

“This requires different approaches.”

Rokhmad added that there are “suggestions” that the anti-LGBTQ+ material must be taught starting in elementary school. Teachers would be trained on the subject, he said, but did not delve into more details.

“We must certainly be consistent with the views of religious scholars and figures regarding LGBT. Many religions generally prohibit it.

“We already have a regulation on this matter. Our culture also tends not to normalise LGBT,” he said, vowing to view the matter “comprehensively”, especially from the perspective of religious leaders.

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Curriculum material cannot change a person’s sexual orientation: sociologist

MoRA’s move sparked criticisms from experts and advocates alike, warning that it could further fuel anti-LGBTQ+ stigma among the youth.

Some believe that the anti-LGBTQ+ education plan is a diversion tactic from urgent issues such as the failing economy and corruption.

“There are vital issues such as the corruption scandal involving the school meals program, soaring inflation, rising fuel prices and weakening of the national currency that require urgent actions. But we see anti-LGBTQ discourse is heating up,” Tantowi Anwari, member of advocacy group Journalist Alliance for Diversity, told UCA News.

Wida Ayu Puspitosari, a sociologist at Brawijaya University in Malang, said MoRA’s “religious-based argument has strong legitimacy and cannot be ignored” in a society like Indonesia’s, where many believe in God.

Conversion efforts

“However, sexual orientation is not something that arises from exposure to information, it’s not something that can be prevented through education or counselling. Conversion efforts have also repeatedly been deemed ineffective and risk causing psychological harm.”

“The debate about nature versus nurture is not yet fully resolved in the scientific realm, but today’s evidence does not support the idea that curriculum material can change a person’s [sexual] orientation,” said Wida, adding that the plan may drive further self-isolation among children.

LGBTQ+ rights group Pelangi Nusantara also condemned the plan, with outreach director and campaigner Arisdo Gonzales labelling it an “inappropriate” approach as it discriminated against people with different sexual orientations.

Father Otto Gusti Madung, Divine Word priest and leader of the Ledalero Institute of Philosophy Creative Technology, said attempts to defame and criminalize a certain group infringe on basic human rights, and doing so in a democratic country is unjustifiable, UCA News reported.

The Indonesian government must respect the rights of every citizen, he added.

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Non-military threat classification fuels attacks

While the non-military threat classification was first issued by Prabowo in 2025, there have been renewed discussions around it as rights groups have recently flagged a surge in attacks against LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly among young people.

In June, during Pride Month, the student body of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Indonesia uploaded a social media post citing a 2008 American Psychological Association study, which stated that homosexuality is neither a mental disorder nor a form of deviance.

This went viral and drew public backlash, prompting the student board to delete the post.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) also reported on July 7 that there are at least 10 public universities in Indonesia that recently implemented discriminatory regulations and curbed talks about gender and sexual diversity.

Looking the other way

“Indonesian authorities are looking the other way during an upsurge of attacks on LGBT university students and others,” said HRW deputy Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly, according to The PinkNews.

“Indonesia’s universities are contributing to the problem by discriminating against students on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.”

The Indonesian Ulema Council, a group of conservative Islamic scholars, have also been pushing for the criminalization of LGBTQ+ individuals.

They said that “sexual deviation” must have criminal penalties “harsher than the punishment for adultery”.

Amid the attacks and criticisms, Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra on July 9 insisted that the presidential regulation “should not be interpreted as if the government is welcoming people to persecute, commit acts of violence, or threaten LGBT individuals,” according to Tempo English.

Illegal under Sharia Law

Although LGBTQ+ identities are not criminalized in most of Indonesia, same-sex relations are illegal in Aceh, the westernmost province of the country that enacts the Islamic Sharia Law.

Offenders may face up to 1.5 years in prison.

Other national laws also indirectly discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, according to HRW.

These are the Pornography Law, the Marriage Law, the Government Regulation on Child Adoption, the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, the Criminal Code, and Ministry of Health Regulation No. 2 of 2025.

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