On December 8, 2021, the latest episode of Vice’s new “Transnational” series was released, titled “Inside Indonesia’s Only Quran School for Trans Muslims.” This episode features Vice News correspondent Rana Thamrin as she travels to Yogyakarta, Indonesia and learns about Al-Fatah School, the only Islamic school in the country accepting of transgender Muslims. “Inside Indonesia’s Only Quran School for Trans Muslims” was co-produced by GLAAD Media Institute alum Tony Lin and Vice News producer Hendrik Hinzel.
“Transnational” serves as a storytelling series. The first episode was released in June 2021, which follows vice News correspondent Eva Reign and her reporting on Kelly Stough, a Black trans woman who was killed in 2018, and the fight for her community and the Detroit ballroom community to honor her life and memories.
Pictured below is Eva Reign interviewing Jeynce Poindexter, a Detroit-based LGBTQ community advocate and mother. Courtesy of Vice News.
“Transnational” aims to explore the lived experiences of transgender people and communities around the world, focusing on specific topics led and reported by journalists who are also trans. This series provides meaningful insights into some of the challenges trans people in various countries face in their struggles for safety, healthcare, and freedom to live authentically. By focusing on the work of activists and community members on the ground, “Transnational” centers trans people and perspectives on critical issues like the failure of the National Health Service system in the UK to provide adequate healthcare, which was reported on by Vice News correspondent Freddy McConnell in the second episode of the series.
The third episode focuses on Vice News correspondent Alyza Enriquez’s visit to Casa Hogar Paola Buenrostro, Mexico’s first shelter built by and for former trans sex workers in Mexico City.
The executive producer and senior producer of “Transnational” is Vivek Kemp and Courtney Brooks, respectively. The series producer team includes Hendrik Hinzel, Sarah Burke, Dan Ming, Trey Strange, Daisy Wardell, and Alyza Enriquez.
Enriquez said on the importance of the show, “When trans people watch this show, we want them to feel seen. Like they’re learning about all their siblings across the world — and about all the ways we struggle together against the same forces, sharing tactics and forms of resilience. It’s so important that we see stories by us, for us—that reflect our collective power.”
