a group of indonesian transgender people parade through the streets wearing traditional costume. the word waria is written on their banner.

waria combines wanita, the indonesian word with man, with pria, for woman, and is the name given to transgender people in indonesia. recently, they've begun standing up for their rights. living at the margins of society, many waria turn to prostitution after being abandoned by their families or unable to find regular work. this house is on the outskirts of jakarta. it's the focal point of a project aiming to promote the social acceptance of waria. mami yulie, the community leader works to uphold their rights

while also providing assistance and support. activities include providing a home for elderly waria who have nowhere to go. and job training for waria lacking employment. indonesia is a nation of 240 million people. it has the largest muslim population in the world. many muslims view waria as taboo and against the teachings of islam. however, attitudes are starting to show signs of change. the first islamist school, especially for waria, is now open. some religious leaders have

actively begun to accept the waria community. there are an estimated 3.5 million transgender waria people in indonesia. their appeals for acceptance are leading to signs of change in indonesian society. jakarta. the indonesian capital. on the city outskirts is a home and refuge for waria. the sign on the front shows it has official government

recognition. the country also began providing financial support in may 2013. the home provides a place to live for elderly waria. currently, the refuge has 7 residents aged between 60 and 75. yotti is 69 and previously worked as a street vendor and had other part-time jobs around the country that provided somewhere to stay. exhausted by moving from place to place, yotti moved into the home for waria three years ago.

yulie, known fondly by all as mami yulie, runs a beauty parlor at the house. it was also turned into an open house for waria in 2010. the home is a refuge for waria with nowhere to go who are cut off by their families and unable to work as they get older.

mami yulie has witnessed fellow waria dying alone on many occasions. mami yulie was born in 1961 in eastern indonesia. mami yulie's family, however, refused to accept that their child was a waria, and at the age of 18, mami yulie ran away from home. mami yulie ended up working the streets as a prostitute and met other waria forced into the same situation, people who were unable to find regular work due to discrimination.

concerned about the future, mami yulie decided to quit prostitution at the age of 35 and became a beautician after graduating from a government training program for waria. the house costs around $1,000 per month to run, principally for food, utilities and medical expenses. mami yulie's income as a beautician isn't sufficient to run the house, so other residents have to contribute.

those who have difficulty moving around bake bread and cakes which the more able residents take outside to sell. with monthly sales of only around $300, however, the house's financial situation was in disarray. even though the government began providing assistance of $125 per month, they can still barely make ends meet. mami yulie began working as an activist six years ago, motivated by seeing fellow waria facing discrimination and violence.

in 2007, mami yulie stood as a candidate for indonesia's national commission on human rights, but despite reaching the final 40 out of 1,800 applications, mami yulie failed to make the final selection. feeling the need to acquire greater legal knowledge, mami yulie decided to enter university and study law at the age of 46. mami yulie was able to show that waria are no different from anyone else and can receive a high level of education. after graduation, mami yulie began organizing demonstrations, calling for employment opportunities and an end to discrimination. mami yulie is now leader of the waria community, after many years of work at drawing attention to their social problems.

on this day, mami yulie is visiting the ministry of social affairs. the ministry staff know mami yulie very well, as negotiations to receive support for the house took more than two years. mami yulie is here to discuss plans to establish more homes for waria in various locations across indonesia.

the government expresses concern about the vulnerable social position of waria, but also has other reasons for being supportive. they want to tackle the spread of aids in the waria community. this residential area is on the outskirts of jakarta. it's a hotspot for waria who work the streets.

to avoid police clampdowns, many don't appear until after midnight. potential customers soon arrive. waria receive around $10 per customer for their services. making a living is not easy. they say they have only one customer every other night. according to a government survey, more than 40% of waria in jakarta are hiv positive. mami yulie tries to advise waria working as prostitutes about the risks.

mami yulie believes waria need to leave the sex industry if they want to be accepted by society. to help waria get out of prostitution, mami yulie began employment training at the home. these lessons are for aspiring beauticians. twice a week, students learn

various techniques such as hairstyling and massage. intan marsa has just started training and one day hopes to run a beauty salon. mami yulie provides food and snacks for everyone who comes to

study. if even just a little, mami yulie wants to ease the financial burden on other waria, to keep them from returning to the streets. this area is located about 20 minutes by bus from the school. it's where intan, the student who studies with mami yulie, lives. after starting a relationship, intan began thinking about setting up a beauty salon.

this is intan's boyfriend. he currently works add a secondhand store. he's sincere about the relationship and fully accepts intan being a waria. currently, the couple get by on intan's boyfriend's income. they're looking forward to the day when intan becomes a qualified beautician.

three years have passed since the opening of mami yulie's house for waria. local people show understanding for mami yulie's work. waria activism is beginning to spread to other regions. this is yogyakarta. before the arrival of islam, the area was a prosperous hindu kingdom.

with a history of absorbing other cultures, many muslims here are especially moderate. in 2008, indonesia's first islamic school for waria was built in the city. previously, islamic schools such as this were unheard of in indonesia. its opening was a landmark event and widely reported in the national media. classes are held twice a week, with 25 waria attending whenever they can. students start by learning to

read the koran in arabic, one character at a time. maryani, who also worked as a prostitute for over ten years, runs the school. maryani says when living a desperate life, the sound of koran readings from the mosque provided a spiritual respite. this inspired maryani to start practicing a more principled way of life. maryani started by scraping a living as a street musician and eventually met some other waria which led to work at their beauty parlor.

it was a local imam who proposed to maryani the idea of starting an islamic school for waria. seeing maryani's determination to study islam, he volunteered to serve as the school's teacher and reach out to other waria. maryani's home became the venue for the school.

sadly, the imam recently passed away, but another imam now carries on his work. maryani also gets support from abdul, a local religious leader of great authority. he's a religious adviser to the state governor and firmly believes islam is a tolerant and humanitarian religion.

maryani is holding a ceremony to mark 100 days since the death of the imam who set up the school. waria who were taught by him and about 50 others from the neighborhood are present. passages from the koran are recited by novie, who studied at the school for three years. novie used to work the streets, too.

after diligently studying islam, however, novie was able to find some purpose in life and began working as a care assistant at a local hospital. mami yulie is going to attend an event for waria, being held 1,400 kilometers east of jakarta.

the journey from the airport to the town of bone takes about eight hours by car. it's already dark when they arrive. even so, over 1,000 people are there to greet mami yulie. local waria perform a special welcome dance. it's traditional in bone for waria to pray in this way for a successful harvest. waria have always been accepted in bone, as they are thought to have the strength of men and the souls of women.

the waria in bone who organized the event are all members of the nationwide organization chaired by mami yulie. the opening ceremony is held on the following day. roughly 850 waria attend from 18 different regions, wearing traditional costumes from their home provinces.

the tolerant culture in bone, however, is still relatively unknown by waria from outside. the event's main objective is to give waria from other regions confidence and courage. this is the second year it's being held. the bone deputy governor addresses the crowd. mami yulie intends to continue her fight until waria across the country are accepted the same

way as they are in bone. indonesia's waria have faced discrimination and scorn for many years, but now they are standing up for their rights, while making the effort to change themselves and the way they are viewed by society. little by little, their pleas little by little, their pleas are beginning to be heard. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> you need to know that mark mazzoni wrote this that here -- of course it's the first thing i would tell you. he is going to tell you. even more interesting than the fact that he wrote it here, he was here or it was while he was here that max was born. we are a full-service lace. [laughter]