Furious parents hold terrifying protest outside school after finding out principal is gay
A group of Muslim protesters march with banners against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Banda Aceh on Decmber 27, 2017. Anti-LGBT+ sentiment is common in Indonesia. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP via Getty)
Furious parents held a protest outside a school in Medan, Indonesia demanding that the principal resign after he was outed as gay on social media.
Dozens of parents gathered outside the school on Wednesday (23 December) holding placards that read: “Protect our children, don’t wait for victims,” according to Kumparan.
One parent told local reporters that the principal, who has not been publicly named, was outed as gay on Facebook in April of this year.
“This case is a long time ago, four months ago it went viral on Facebook, which revealed the nature of the relationship between the principal and his male friend,” a parent called Raiman said.
The parent said the school principal later admitted having sexual relationships with men, but said doing so was a “mistake” and that he would refrain from doing so again.
“We are afraid, because on Facebook, it was said that he had not only once, but several times [had sex] with other men,” the parent added.
Parents in Indonesia claimed gay principal could abuse children.
Raiman went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and paedophilia – a deeply offensive homophobic trope – by claiming that parents were afraid the principal could abuse their children.
He said he was afraid that the principal would collect CCTV footage of children using school toilets.
“Do not let our children become victims,” he said, adding that 300 parents had signed a petition calling for his immediate removal from his post.
The school principal reportedly agreed to resign following backlash in July and submitted a letter of resignation in the summer – however, he has continued to lead the school.
The city’s education board has said it will investigate the matter following the parents’ protest outside the school.
LGBT+ rights in Indonesia lag far behind other countries. While same-sex sexual relations are legal in most parts of the country, queer people often face persecution, violence and stigma for living as their authentic selves.
In some regions, such as Aceh, and for Muslims in the city of Palembang, gay sex is punishable by flogging. In November, a gay couple in Aceh were forcibly dragged out of their homes and brought to a police station because of their “illegal sexual orientation”.
