Ardhanary Institute

Ardhanary Institute is a local organization which envisions the establishment of a society that respects and protects the rights and sexual choices of LBT's (lesbian, bisexual and transgender) in Indonesia.

Ardhanary Institute's mission is to: (1) strengthen the individual capacity of LBT's in Indonesia through human rights education and peer group sessions; (2 to introduce new ways to perceive sexualities and women within the community, and (3) to encourage the formulation of non-discrimination policies, especially towards plurality and the sexual choices of citizens, (4) develop LBT Crisis Center to support LBT speak out about violence against LBT's.

Ardhanary Institute was founded in 2005 as a result of the rampant issues of abuse and discriminatory practices and policies against the freedom of women’s sexual choices.

The name Ardhanary Institute was inspired by a statue of the Hindu Goddess Ardhanarishvara or Ardhanary (on display at the National Museum on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jakarta) which symbolizes plurality, transformation and metamorphosis from one gender to another (and also transgression of gender and sex norms) to show the various potentialities of gender and sexual identity. The history of this pluralist value inspired five women to campaign for freedom of sexual choices. In this spirit, Ardhanary Institute aims to champion and respect individual preferences.