(Banda Aceh)  It doesn’t take much to notice “Echa,” a transvestite who lives in Banda Aceh. With his masculine figure and flamboyant make-up, he instantly draws attention.

And so does the fact that he is wearing a short dress with a plunging neckline to one of the city’s popular coffee houses instead of a headscarf and other conservative Muslim attire. Of course, Echa is a man so he poses a dilemma for the morality police.

His baritone laugh echoed through the coffee shop when a reporter asked about the absence of a headscarf. “The Shariah Police are confused about what they want to do with me. I am enjoying my freedom,” he said.

That freedom has to be struggled for daily, however. Echa is the executive director of Violet Grey, a nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents of Aceh.

In a country where homosexuality is taboo and where many Indonesians still refuse to acknowledge gay people, it’s especially challenging for an organization such as Violet Grey to operate in Aceh, which is allowed to implement partial Shariah law.

Read the complete article on thejakartaglobe.com.