Amid a recent controversy surroundi

Amid a recent controversy surrounding a counselling group at the University of Indonesia (UI) named the Support Group and Research Center on Sexuality Studies (SGRC-UI), Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people should be banned from entering universities. The SGRC, a movement comprising UI lecturers, students and alumni and aiming to develop critical perspectives on sexuality discourses, is accused of promoting homosexuality on campus.

On the grounds of “morality and decency”, the minister argued universities should not allow any space for LGBT-related activities, including academic and critical discussions. “LGBT goes to campus” [LGBT masuk kampus] suddenly became a trending topic on social media.

At the end of last year, the Brawijaya International Youth Forum, organized by the students of Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, was canceled at the behest of the rector himself. Similarly, the rector of the University of Lampung has also threatened lecturers with dismissal and students with expulsion for the crime of involvement in LGBT-related activities.

The US Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage in mid-2015 has had a tremendous impact, including in Indonesia.

The debate here tends to center on the old issues: whether homosexuality is “natural”, and whether it contravenes religious values. At the same time, Indonesian LGBT activists have attracted greater attention, and with it accusations that they are attempting to introduce same-sex marriage here.

The attitude of Nasir and university authorities reveal they are not ready to tackle and discuss this issue rationally. The topic remains clouded by hysteria and moral panic.

What makes it more problematic is that these figures of authority appear ignorant of the 1945 Constitution and the 2003 Education Law, which guarantees the right of all citizens to education and the right to develop themselves through the fulfillment of their basic needs. LGBT students do exist in schools and in universities.

Many stay in the closet because of the rampant stigma and prejudice to which they are subjected by peers and teachers. Does the minister really mean to bar them from universities, just because of their sexual orientation and gender identity? If their access to higher education is denied, that constitutes a direct and deliberate breach of their rights by the state.

The National Education Law stipulates that education is conducted democratically, equally and non-discriminatively based on human rights, religious values, cultural values and national pluralism.

Yet Indonesia’s plurality covers cultural values as well as faiths; one set of values can conflict sharply with another. One cannot rule over the others, since Indonesia is a democratic and pluralist country. Hence, everyone is assured the right to education regardless of sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity and religion or faith.

The prohibition on both lecturers and students discussing LGBT issues also violates Article 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to associate, organize and express written and oral opinions.

Under the New Order, it was the regime that breached this right; now, sadly, universities are instead engaging in self-censorship, muzzling the voices and stamping on the rights of their students and staff.

In many universities overseas, critical sexuality studies are now a mainstream academic discipline examining the complexities of human sexuality, desires, identities and practices from various perspectives, including historical, sociological, anthropological, legal and political, as well as biological. LGBT as an entity makes up only one part of sexuality studies.

Similarly, what the SGRC and other student initiatives have been doing is not propagating homosexuality, but critically analyzing sexuality — how politics, history, power and social-cultural constructions shape our understanding of sexuality.

Third, history shows that closed-mindedness takes its toll on scientific and academic progress. The astronomer Galileo Galilee was sentenced to life imprisonment after stating, contrary to church doctrine, that the Earth orbits the Sun, and not vice versa.

Giordano Bruno, meanwhile, was burned to death for sharing Galileo’s beliefs. It was only in 2000 that the Catholic Church formally apologized for its mistreatment of Galileo.

Clearly, academic freedom is needed to support and sustain scientific progress in academia, through critical research, discussions and lectures.

I do not know whether Nasir has ever heard of Alan Turing. In the 1940s, Turing invented the concept of the universal machine, which would become the first design for a digital computer.

Despite his genius, he was prosecuted for his homosexuality, then illegal in the UK, and subjected to inhumane psychological treatment. He took his own life in 1954.

Perhaps Nasir should watch The Imitat

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Di tengah-tengah kontroversi baru-baru sekitar grup konseling di Universitas Indonesia (UI) bernama kelompok pendukung dan pusat penelitian pada seksualitas studi (SGRC-UI), penelitian, teknologi dan Menteri Pendidikan tinggi Muhammad Nasir mengatakan lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgender (LGBT) masyarakat harus dilarang memasuki Universitas. SGRC, sebuah gerakan yang terdiri dari UI dosen, mahasiswa dan alumni dan bertujuan untuk mengembangkan perspektif kritis pada wacana seksualitas, dituduh mempromosikan homoseksualitas di kampus. Di Taman "moralitas dan kesopanan", Menteri berpendapat Universitas tidak harus memungkinkan setiap ruang untuk kegiatan LGBT yang berhubungan, termasuk diskusi akademik dan kritis. "LGBT pergi ke kampus" [LGBT masuk kampus] tiba-tiba menjadi tren topik di media sosial. Pada akhir tahun lalu, Brawijaya International Youth Forum, yang diselenggarakan oleh mahasiswa Universitas Brawijaya Malang, Jawa Timur, dibatalkan atas perintah dari Rektor dirinya. Demikian pula, Rektor Universitas Lampung juga telah mengancam dosen dengan pemecatan dan siswa dengan pengusiran untuk kejahatan keterlibatan dalam kegiatan yang berhubungan dengan LGBT. Hukum Mahkamah Agung AS sama-seks pernikahan pada pertengahan tahun 2015 telah memiliki dampak yang luar biasa, termasuk di Indonesia. Perdebatan di sini cenderung berpusat pada isu-isu lama: Apakah homoseksualitas "alami", dan apakah itu bertentangan dengan nilai-nilai agama. Pada saat yang sama, aktivis LGBT Indonesia telah menarik perhatian yang lebih besar, dan dengan itu tuduhan bahwa mereka sedang berusaha untuk memperkenalkan sama-seks pernikahan di sini. Sikap berwenang Nasir dan Universitas mengungkapkan mereka tidak siap untuk menangani dan membahas masalah ini secara rasional. Topik tetap Mendung oleh histeria dan moral panik. Apa yang membuatnya lebih problematis adalah bahwa angka-angka ini otoritas tampak bodoh UUD 1945 dan hukum pendidikan 2003, yang menjamin hak semua warga negara untuk pendidikan dan hak untuk mengembangkan diri mereka melalui pemenuhan kebutuhan dasar mereka. LGBT siswa berada di sekolah dan Universitas. Banyak tinggal di lemari karena stigma yang merajalela dan prasangka yang mereka dikenakan oleh teman-teman dan guru. Apakah Menteri benar-benar berarti untuk bar mereka dari Universitas, hanya karena mereka orientasi seksual dan identitas gender? Jika mereka akses ke pendidikan tinggi ditolak, yang merupakan pelanggaran langsung dan disengaja terhadap hak-hak mereka oleh negara.UU Sisdiknas menetapkan bahwa pendidikan dilakukan secara demokratis, sama-sama dan bebas-discriminatively berdasarkan hak asasi manusia, nilai-nilai agama, nilai-nilai budaya dan pluralisme nasional. Namun pluralitas Indonesia mencakup nilai-nilai budaya serta iman; satu set nilai dapat konflik tajam dengan yang lain. Satu tidak berkuasa atas yang lain, karena Indonesia adalah negara yang demokratis dan pluralis. Oleh karena itu, semua orang dijamin hak untuk pendidikan terlepas dari seksualitas, jenis kelamin, ras, etnis dan agama atau kepercayaan. The prohibition on both lecturers and students discussing LGBT issues also violates Article 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to associate, organize and express written and oral opinions. Under the New Order, it was the regime that breached this right; now, sadly, universities are instead engaging in self-censorship, muzzling the voices and stamping on the rights of their students and staff. In many universities overseas, critical sexuality studies are now a mainstream academic discipline examining the complexities of human sexuality, desires, identities and practices from various perspectives, including historical, sociological, anthropological, legal and political, as well as biological. LGBT as an entity makes up only one part of sexuality studies. Similarly, what the SGRC and other student initiatives have been doing is not propagating homosexuality, but critically analyzing sexuality — how politics, history, power and social-cultural constructions shape our understanding of sexuality. Third, history shows that closed-mindedness takes its toll on scientific and academic progress. The astronomer Galileo Galilee was sentenced to life imprisonment after stating, contrary to church doctrine, that the Earth orbits the Sun, and not vice versa. Giordano Bruno, meanwhile, was burned to death for sharing Galileo’s beliefs. It was only in 2000 that the Catholic Church formally apologized for its mistreatment of Galileo. Clearly, academic freedom is needed to support and sustain scientific progress in academia, through critical research, discussions and lectures. I do not know whether Nasir has ever heard of Alan Turing. In the 1940s, Turing invented the concept of the universal machine, which would become the first design for a digital computer. Despite his genius, he was prosecuted for his homosexuality, then illegal in the UK, and subjected to inhumane psychological treatment. He took his own life in 1954. Perhaps Nasir should watch The Imitat