The cheerful Nur works as a cook at the Al Fatah Islamic boarding school in Yogyakarta, where all the adult students are transgender. Here they can live as they choose – a stark contrast to the hostile outside world, where waria are harassed for their perceived deviant lives.

“Say no to LGBT,” reads the message on street posters, warning of a “contagious disease.” Yet Nur and the students live a cheerful life.