"Although they hold university degrees, many of them remain unemployed because companies are afraid of losing their reputation and customers by employing waria," Yulianus told The Jakarta Post.

As a consequence, waria work as prostitutes and street singers, while those who have enough money usually start their own businesses.

However, working in the informal sector or being self-employed is not as easy as it may seem, Yulianus, who in 2006 became the first waria in Indonesia to run for a National Commission of Human Rights position, said.

"Hair and beauty training is expensive and to open a salon costs a lot of money. Not all waria can afford it," she said.

In Indonesia, the word waria comes from "wanita pria", which literally means "woman man". The term is used to refer to transvestites as well as transgendered and transsexual people.

Yoseph Adi Prasetyo, a National Commission of Human Rights commissioner, said people should stop labeling transvestites as a deviant group of people who have no rights.

"In fact, waria are Indonesian citizens who should be protected by constitutional rights," he said.

"The government should treat waria equally as citizens entitled to protection regardless of their gender".

In a book titled Hak Kerja Waria: Tanggung Jawab Negara (Transvestites' Employment Rights: The State's Responsibility) published by non-governmental organization Komunitas Gay Lesbian Biseseksual Indonesia, several contributors said Indonesia should follow examples from other democratic countries.

In the book, writers give several examples of transgendered people in other countries working in the formal sector, including in top governmental positions.

Some of the examples given were of Wladimiro Guadagno (Vladimir Luxuria) who is an Italian parliamentary member, Prof. Barbara (Ben A. Barres) who is a top neurobiologist at the Stanford Medical School, Colliaux who is an Air France stewardess and Stephanie Langhoff, a physical chemist and chief scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center.

Komunitas Gay Lesbian Biseseksual Indonesia is one of several organizations fighting for the rights of those who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation. Through campaigns, advocacy activities and educational programs, Komunitas Gay Lesbian Biseseksual Indonesia, which was established in January 2006, works to uphold the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and transsexual people in the country.

Komunitas Gay Lesbian Biseseksual Indonesia activists said in the book violations against the rights of transvestites were still rampant in Indonesia.

Manpower and Transmigration Ministry spokesman Irianto Simbolon once told the press when it came to employment, the government did not discriminate between sexes. However, it recognized only two sexes -- male and female.

"There's no new sex. Waria will have no problem getting a job in the country if they stick to the gender they were born with," he said. (dia)

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