Discriminatory Local Regulations in Aceh – Restrictions on the Rights to Work of Transwomen and Threats of Criminalization 76. On 27 January 2018, police in North Aceh arrested 12 transwomen and closed five beauty salons where they worked after residents complained about their activities. The police also cut their hair and forced them to wear male clothes during the raid. 77. The Aceh Utara police released all those arrested, minus one person, the following day without any charges. The local police chief told the media that they were holding the transwomen for an "education" program to convert them into "normal" men. They had to close their beauty salon for three months and even some of them who were severely traumatized fled to other provinces. This incident also happened to other transwomen who worked in beauty salons in Aceh Province who had to close their salons for at least a month and some temporarily moved to neighbouring provinces. 78. This incident occurred just a few weeks after local residents and local mass organizations raided a hotel and handed over six transwomen on 17 December 2017 to law enforcement officials after they received information that a transgender beauty pageant would be held, an act that is considered a violation of sharia law in Aceh. 79. The arrest and cruel and inhumane treatment by the North Aceh Police then prompted various regional heads in Aceh Province to prohibit LGBTI groups from working in the public economic sector such as beauty salons or coffee shops, as happened in Bireuen Regency55 and Aceh Besar.56 80. The government does not seek to guarantee the fulfilment of basic rights, including to get a job, for this group in the midst of an already hostile climate for LGBTI people in Indonesia. The general deteriorating situation for LGBTI people in Indonesia is far worse for LGBTI people in Aceh, the only province in the country that has special autonomy status under Islamic law. 81. The National Human Rights Commission, condemned the actions of the police in North Aceh in arresting and detaining a number of transwomen, forcibly cutting their hair, and closing the salon where they worked.57 Recommendation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR): ● 55 To question the GoI on the policies and it’s implementation concerning the obligation of the police to protect and promote human rights of all person regardless their gender and sexual orientation; Serambinews, Semua Pengelola Salon di Bireuen Dikumpulkan, Kepala DSI: Tak Boleh Ada LGBT yang Bekerja, 5 February 2018, can be accessed at: https://aceh.tribunnews.com/2018/02/05/semua-pengelola-salon-dibireuen-dikumpulkan-kepala-dsi-tak-boleh-ada-lgbt-yang-bekerja, dan Voice of America, Warga Bireun Khawatir ‘Larangan Ngopi’ Tanpa Mahram di Kedai Berdampak Luas, 5 September 2018, can be accessed at: https://www.voaindonesia.com/a/warga-bireun-khawatir-larangan-ngupi-tanpa-muhrim-di-kedai-berdampakluas/4558298.html. 56 Detik.com, Larang LGBT Kerja di Salon, Bupati Mawardi: Sosialisasi 1 Bulan, 13 February 2018, can be accessed at: https://news.detik.com/berita/d-3865020/larang-lgbt-kerja-di-salon-bupati-mawardi-sosialisasi-1-bulan. 57 BBC, Setelah ditangkap, para waria di Aceh ‘dibina agar jadi laki-laki’, 29 January 2018, can be accessed at: https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-42850327.