Justice for Sisters monitored news reports regarding a transmasculine person who was performing umrah in male prayer garb or ihram in Mecca. In total, 46 English and Malay articles published between 12 – 17 August 2022 were reviewed.
The media monitoring and analysis identified 5 harmful practices by the media
- Doxxing (non-consensual disclosure of personal information), outing, and witch-hunting
- Misgendering and use non-respectful terms
- Biased perspectives and the lack of rights-based approaches
- Lack of fact-checking
- Reductive approaches to discrimination faced by trans people
Brief analysis
Table 1: Number of articles reviewed between 12 – 17 August 2022 in relation to the transmasculine person performing umrah in Mecca
| Language | Number |
| English | 15 |
| Malay | 31 |
| Total | 46 |
Consistent with our other media analyses, there is a stark difference in how the news was covered in Malay and English language media, particularly: 1) number of articles and frequency of their release, 2) source of the articles, and 3) how the news was reported.
Of the 15 English articles, 2 were from Bernama, and 10 were sourced by Bernama. Only 3 were original articles.
Of the 31 Malay articles, 2 articles were from Bernama, and only 2 articles were sourced by Bernama. A story by Harian Metro was republished in Merdeka times. Between 12 and 17 August, they published 8 articles in total; the highest number of original articles by a media outlet on this issue.
The reports by Bernama are
- Stern action awaits woman who performed umrah in men’s ihram clothing – Idris (12 August 2022)
- Tindakan tegas kepada wanita tunai umrah pakai ihram lelaki – Idris (12 August 2022)
- Woman performing umrah in men’s ihram clothing a senseless act – Penang Mufti (13 August 2022)
- Tindakan wanita berpakaian ihram ketika umrah tidak berakal (13 August 2022)
All Bernama articles misgendered the person and took a punitive tone.
As illustrated in chart 1, more original articles were published by the Malay media compared to English media. The three original articles in the English language are
- (Video) Twitter User Exposes Ex-GF Performing Umrah Dressed As Male (12 August 2022, Hype)
- Woman in male ihram attire? Minister calls for investigation (13 August 2022, New Straits Times)
- Doxxing is a crime in Malaysia, except for when it targets the LGTBQ community (14 August, Coconuts.co)
Harmful practices
1. Doxxing (non-consensual disclosure of personal information), outing, and witch-hunting
Harian Metro’s media standard in relation to LGBTIQ issues is not only poor, but also harmful. Its reporting has consistently placed LGBTIQ and gender diverse persons at various forms of harm.
In Nur Sajat’s case, Harian Metro irresponsibly published ‘exposés’ of her location, resulting in increased stress and safety issues for her and her family members.
In this recent 2022 case, Harian Metro published a story on 14 August exposing the person’s self-determined name and other personal details, including employment history. Following which, 3 of its 4 subsequent reports included his self-determined name.
Against the backdrop of calls for stern actions against him, on 16 August, Harian Metro reported that they awaited the person’s arrival at the airport. However, the reporters were unable to identify him. They further speculated that his absence at the airport confirms rumours that he could have returned early by transiting via a neighbouring country,
…Ketiadaannya itu seakan mengesahkan khabar angin yang mendakwa dia sudah pulang lebih awal dengan transit di negara jiran sebelum menaiki penerbangan ke Malaysia…
Harian Metro’s persistence in exposing the person is worrying.
Their attitude and standards are similar to many anti-LGBTQ media globally. In 2010, a Ugandan publication published a number of articles outing or exposing LGBTQ persons in Uganda. As a result, many were subjected to violence and murder of LGBTQ persons based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. In a court case, the Ugandan courts held that the media threatened the applicants’ rights to human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment, as well as their right to privacy of the person and home. The Court issued the injunction sought by the applicants, restraining the respondents from publishing more information about the identities and addresses of Ugandan gays and lesbians.
In a survey conducted by Justice for Sisters on the impact of COVID 19 on LGBTQ+ persons in Malaysia, 121 (55%) of 220 respondents expressed that media sensationalism resulted in increased stress. 86 (39%) reported 1 or more forms of discrimination and/or violence due to media sensationalism. Only 13 respondents (6%) said that media sensationalism has no impact on them.
2. Misgendering and using non-respectful terms
39 of 40 articles misgendered the person. Bernama’s poor use of language was reproduced in at least 10 other articles in the English media, some of which have previously adopted higher media standards when it comes to reporting LGBTIQ related news. Examples include The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes and Malaysiakini, among others.
The articles used the following terms to describe the person:
- variations of ‘wanita berpakaian ihram lelaki’,
- ‘wanita berperwatakan lelaki yang memakai ihram’,
- ‘wanita’,
- ‘pengkid’*
- ‘lelaki jadian’ – used by Harian Metro.
- ‘woman who performed umrah dressed in ihram clothing for men’,
- ‘another local woman’,
- ‘tomboy’,
- ‘a female pilgrim from Malaysia performed the umrah wearing male ihram attire’
- ‘ex-girlfriend performing Umrah dressed as male’
Only one article used the term transgender man to refer to him.
Pengkid and tomboy are colloquial terms. While some people do self-identify as tomboy or even pengkid, many tend to stay away from these terms because of its pejorative connotation. In addition, some of these terms are used expansively to describe gender diverse persons, trans mascluline and trans men, creating confusion between gender idenitty, gender expression and sexual orientation.
Many of the articles also referenced Nur Sajat and the controversy surrounding her pilgrimage in 2020. Her deadname was included in most of the articles. In an Utusan Malaysia article, ‘pondan’ was used in reference to Nur Sajat.
Pondan is an umbrella term used for queer men and trans women. Due to its expansive usage and pejorative connotation, trans women communities introduced the term mak nyah in the 80s to create a distinction between trans women and gay men. Mak nyah is a combination of mak (mother) and nyah (short for nyonya or nona).
It is important for the media to use formal language, instead of colloquial, outdated and pejorative terms. We recommend the media to use the following respectful and affirming terms for trans and gender diverse people:
- transgender or trans man (lelaki transgender atau trans) refers to a person assigned female at birth by others, but self-identifies as a man;
- trans masculine person refers to a spectrum of trans persons who identify along the masculine spectrum;
- transgender or trans woman (perempuan or wanita transgender atau trans) refers to a person who was assigned male at birth by others, but self-identifies as a woman;
- gender diverse people (golongan pelbagai gender atau rencam gender) is an umbrella term used for non-binary, gender non-conforming, and others who do not fall squarely into the man woman binary.
In instances where the media is not sure of the person’s gender identity, it should use gender neutral language such as person or individual. E.g. person who performed umrah in men’s ihram clothing. In addition, the media could also use gender neutral pronouns – they/them.
For more information, please refer to the following media guide by GLAAD https://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender
3. Biased perspectives and the lack of rights-based approaches
Of the 40 articles, only one article featured civil society voices, who provided lived experiences of trans people, raised concerns over the harms and danger the person is subjected to as result of the doxxing and outing, and ways forward in ensuring trans people are able to practice their faith safely.
In the rest of the articles, no other views aside from the punishment and rehabilitation perspectives were featured.
In summary, 39 of the 40 articles featured
- Summary of the exposé, doxxing and outing via Twitter
- Statement by the Minister and Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister Department on Religious Affairs
- Statement by the Mufti Penang
- Statement by the Mufti Pahang
- Statements by Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM)
- Media conference by Persatuan Pengendali Umrah, Haji Dan Ziarah Perak (PUHAZ)
- Interviews with women who were allegedly scammed by the person and the woman who outed him on social media
In general, the Minister, the Muftis, YADIM and PUHAZ called for stern action so that it becomes a deterrent to others. In some articles, the state actors called for an investigation of the person and the travel agency by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Ministry of Home Affairs and state-level Islamic departments. PUHAZ, in a media conference, acknowledged that it is not illegal to perform the pilgrimage without the support of a travel agency. However, supported stren actions by the government.
The comments made by some of the abovementioned actors were biased and extreme in nature. The person’s action was described as an ‘insult or a mockery to islam’ and a ‘mockery to Malaysia’s positive image in the global arena, especially among Muslim countries.’ They also claimed that ‘his umrah is invalid’ and ‘if he does not repent he will suffer in hell and in the afterlife’. His action of performing umrah was also characterized as ‘munafik’ (false believer) and ‘kafir’ (infidel or non-believer).
A Sinar Harian article on 12 August 2022 included several biased tweets by online users who were questioning the person’s sanity and calling for actions to be taken against the person, all of which constructed and reinforced a punitive discourse of the matter at hand. The same article also suggested that he ‘lied about his gender identity,’ without any analysis or understanding of the challenges faced by trans people in Malaysia due to non-recognition of their gender identity and other forms of institutional and societal discrimination.
4. Lack of fact-checking
A Berita Harian article published on 15 August 2022 featured the following quotes by YADIM, which claims that trans and gender diverse people need to be educated and guided as they experience internal conflicts about their gender identity. Berita Harian did not fact check the inaccurate and biased statement.
“Istilah kecelaruan jantina itu sendiri menunjukkan kumpulan ini mempunyai konflik dalaman diri yang perlu ditangani secara komprehensif tidak sekadar membabitkan tindakan perundangan tetapi sebaliknya secara pendidikan dan bimbingan berterusan.”
“The term gender confusion or disorder in and of itself shows that this group of people have internal conflicts about themselves that should be dealt with comprehensively, and just through legal actions but also education and continuous guidance”
It is important to note that trans and gender diverse people are not confused or experience a form of disorder due to their gender identity. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed the classification of disorder in relation to trans people in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD+11). WHO removed the classification as ‘trans-related and gender diverse identities are not conditions of mental ill-health, and that classifying them as such can cause enormous stigma.’
Likewise, the American Psychology Association (APA) removed the classification of ‘gender disorder’ and replaced it with ‘gender dysphoria’ to remove stigma and ensure access to healthcare for trans people.
In August 2022, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health in an official document stated that “Do not consider homosexuality, bisexuality or being transgender a disease,” and “homosexuality cannot be ‘cured’, does not need ‘to be cured’ and cannot be changed”.
5. Reductive approaches to discrimination faced by trans people
An article by Hype published on 12 August 2022 reported the ‘expose’ by the twitter user. The piece begins by making reference to Nur Sajat’s umrah incident in 2020, where she faced a series of violations of privacy, doxxing and threats for posting photos of her performing umrah, The writer goes on to reduce the incident, as ‘drama,’ illustrating the lack of understanding and dismissive attitude towards the discrimination and barriers faced by trans people
… the queer entrepreneur (Nur Sajat) later apologised for causing drama.
The article misgenders the person in the recent incident by referring to him as an ‘ex-girlfriend performing umrah dressed as male’, ‘tomboy’, ‘woman’ and ‘her’.
The Penang Mufti’s characterization of the person’s action to perform umrah in male ihram as ‘popularity seeking behaviour at the expense of the religion’, also trivialises trans people’s desire to practice their faith as who they are.
Good practice
A Coconuts.co article published on 16 August 2022 was the only good practice that we could find. The article featured voices of civil society groups, namely Justice for Sisters and Sisters in Islam. The article unpacked doxxing and trans people’s increased vulnerability to it. In contrast to the other news reports, it humanised trans people as people of faith, just like others.
Recommendations
We call the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to promote the highest standards in media by:
- Reviewing current guidelines for media on ethical and responsible reporting and adopt a progressive and rights based code of conduct which harmonises standards across the various media spectrum;
- Undertaking gender and rights based media training with Bernama and other media agencies in order to prevent media sensationalism and the use of non-respectful terms, misgendering and other harmful reporting standards in relation to LGBTIQ and gender diverse people;
- Engaging constructively with Justice for Sisters and other media monitoring groups to develop the code of conduct and to create effective awareness amongst media practitioners on ethical and responsible reporting in relation to LGBTIQ and gender diverse persons;
- Establishing the Malaysian Media Council, as an independent self regulatory body, that would meet the demands of the fast evolving media industry and harmonise the regulatory frameworks covering print, broadcast and digital media as well as provide the public an avenue to register disputes and seek resolution.
We further call on the media to:
- Ensure rights-based media reporting and factual accuracy of information to prevent exacerbation of harmful impact on LGBTIQ persons as well as others;
- Avoid sensational reporting by featuring lived experiences of affected persons and relevant experts
- Avoid intruding on the privacy and respect the dignity of LGBTIQ and gender diverse persons in the course of reporting;
- Take reasonable and credible steps to avoid causing or contributing to substantial prejudice, harm or risk to safety of LGBTIQ and gender diverse persons.
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