So’na, The Love Story of Calalai
Takalar, Sulawesi Selatan 2021 | PHOTOGRAPH BY RAYHANA ANWARIE
Irmawati Daeng So’na telah dikecewakan berkali-kali: sebagai guru diwajibkan memakai busana muslimah, dipecat karena orientasi seksualnya (So’na adalah seorang calalai, gender ketiga dalam kebudayaan Bugis, perempuan yang tampil sebagai laki-laki), dan gagal dalam pemilihan anggota KPU.
Tapi So’na setia memberi: aktif sebagai panitia lokal saban pemilu, mendampingi masyarakat adat melawan tambang ilegal, dan menjadi kekasih bagi pasangan hidupnya: Rayhana Anwarie, yang menjadi fotografer dalam serial foto ini.
Rayhana Anwarie turut mendirikan Sofresh’na penyedia pangan sehat dan gerakan bagi-bagi mainan #givetoyspreadlove. Dia menerima beasiswa Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists untuk liputan tambang ilegal di Takalar, Sulawesi Selatan.
Irmawati Daeng So’na has been disappointed many times: as a teacher she was forced to wear feminine Islamic outfit, sacked because of her sexual orientation (So’na is a calalai, the third gender in Bugis culture – a female that embodies a man – and failed in the selection process as a member for Election Committee.
But So’na continues giving to others: active as local committee in elections, advocating indigenous people to fight illegal mining and as the lover for Rayhana Anwarie, the photographer for this series.
Rayhana Anwarie co founded Sofresh’na that supplies healthy food and a movement to distribute toys #givetoyspreadlove She was also a fellow for Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists for her reporting on illegal mining in Takalar, South Sulawesi.
