Indonesia's Gender Tradition Faces Legal and Religious Pressure

The Bugis people of South Sulawesi have long recognized five genders, including bissu—spiritual healers who exist outside the male-female divide and once served as court priests. Indonesia's law recognizes only two genders. Rising Islamic conservatism now threatens this ancient practice rooted in pre-Islamic belief, leaving bissu practitioners legally unprotected despite their deep place in Bugis culture.