Obama's transgender ex-nanny found outcast on the streets of Jakarta
Mon. March 5, 2012 12:48 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Jakarta, Indonesia -
President Obama's former childhood nanny, from when he lived in Indonesia, has been identified as a transgender woman known as Evie, who is now living in fear as an outcast on the streets of a slum in Jakarta.
The Associated Press first reported the story of Evie, which has since been picked-up by various news agencies -- some posting the sad and disturbing details under salacious headlines.
Indonesia, a country of 240 million people, is reportedly home to 7 million transgendered people, who today face ongoing harassment, rape and murder.
Evie, born a man, decided to leave cross-dressing behind after a friend was brutally murdered in 1985, the AP reported.
In the late 1960's, during the time Evie cared for 8-year-old Barack and sister Maya, she never dressed as a woman.
"I never let him see me wearing women's clothes," she said. "But he did see me trying on his mother's lipstick sometimes. That used to crack him up."
After the family moved away, Evie reportedly fell on hard times and ultimately became a sex worker. Today the 66-year-old said she doesn't "have a future anymore."
Indonesia's top Islamic organization has condemned the transgender lifestyle and many are ridiculed and harassed.
In 2010, Obama named Amanda Simpson, the first openly transgender appointee, as senior technical adviser int he Commerce Department.
The Associated Press first reported the story of Evie, which has since been picked-up by various news agencies -- some posting the sad and disturbing details under salacious headlines.
Indonesia, a country of 240 million people, is reportedly home to 7 million transgendered people, who today face ongoing harassment, rape and murder.
Evie, born a man, decided to leave cross-dressing behind after a friend was brutally murdered in 1985, the AP reported.
In the late 1960's, during the time Evie cared for 8-year-old Barack and sister Maya, she never dressed as a woman.
"I never let him see me wearing women's clothes," she said. "But he did see me trying on his mother's lipstick sometimes. That used to crack him up."
After the family moved away, Evie reportedly fell on hard times and ultimately became a sex worker. Today the 66-year-old said she doesn't "have a future anymore."
Indonesia's top Islamic organization has condemned the transgender lifestyle and many are ridiculed and harassed.
In 2010, Obama named Amanda Simpson, the first openly transgender appointee, as senior technical adviser int he Commerce Department.