“We can solve our problems. We don’t need them”. The impact of development programs among Waria in Jogjakarta: health care mobilizations and dynamics of protest and resistance
Nowadays, an innumerable number of development programs are conducted throughout the world. The heterogeneous nature of these programs (which encompass a complex range of actors, dynamics, peculiarities, foundations, and intentions) trigger different sociopolitical changes and local responses. Some of them are consequence of the guidelines of the projects, whereas others are totally unpredictable beforehand.
This study proposes a critical analysis of the unexpected consequences of the development projects and strategies conducted with waria people (transgender women in Indonesia) in Jogjakarta city. To this end, instead of meeting the most popular development approaches, focused mainly in post-structural theories and in the contrast of the applicability of the Foucauldian idea of governmentality, this piece of research resolves around the use of the actor-network theory and phenomenological approaches to present an alternative exploration of development practices.
This specific theoretical framework permits to focus the attention on everyday practices and social dynamics between waria, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and grassroots organizations (GROs). These interactions reveal how waria in Jogjakarta are redefining politically their position within Indonesian society. These policies of recognition are part of the democratization process that Indonesia has undergone since the fall of former president Suharto´s 30 year regime at the end of 1990´s. Currently, waria are no longer identified themselves as a “marginalized group” but as a social group that is creating legal organizations to advocate their claims and rights. Most of these new waria organizations work hand in hand with NGOs and GROs; nevertheless, there are also emerging waria fractions that contest development programs and demand more independence from those organizations that used to assist and support them in the past. These drastic dynamics and responses are the consequence of a complex cumulus of discrepancies, tensions, and historical inequalities, which are manifested in multiple strategies, discourses and resources mobilized to provide, improve and defend medical assistance and care for waria.
“We can solve our problems. We don’t need them”. The impact of development programs among Waria in Jogjakarta: health care mobilizations and dynamics of protest and resistance
Nowadays, an innumerable number of development programs are conducted throughout the world. The heterogeneous nature of these programs (which encompass a complex range of actors, dynamics, peculiarities, foundations, and intentions) trigger different sociopolitical changes and local responses. Some of them are consequence of the guidelines of the projects, whereas others are totally unpredictable beforehand.
This study proposes a critical analysis of the unexpected consequences of the development projects and strategies conducted with waria people (transgender women in Indonesia) in Jogjakarta city. To this end, instead of meeting the most popular development approaches, focused mainly in post-structural theories and in the contrast of the applicability of the Foucauldian idea of governmentality, this piece of research resolves around the use of the actor-network theory and phenomenological approaches to present an alternative exploration of development practices.
This specific theoretical framework permits to focus the attention on everyday practices and social dynamics between waria, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and grassroots organizations (GROs). These interactions reveal how waria in Jogjakarta are redefining politically their position within Indonesian society. These policies of recognition are part of the democratization process that Indonesia has undergone since the fall of former president Suharto´s 30 year regime at the end of 1990´s. Currently, waria are no longer identified themselves as a “marginalized group” but as a social group that is creating legal organizations to advocate their claims and rights. Most of these new waria organizations work hand in hand with NGOs and GROs; nevertheless, there are also emerging waria fractions that contest development programs and demand more independence from those organizations that used to assist and support them in the past. These drastic dynamics and responses are the consequence of a complex cumulus of discrepancies, tensions, and historical inequalities, which are manifested in multiple strategies, discourses and resources mobilized to provide, improve and defend medical assistance and care for waria.
