Marie Claire Magazine Names Male Pimp as Top Women's Rights Activist
The Brazilian edition of Marie Claire magazine has named a trans-identified male convicted of pimping and accused of facilitating child sexual exploitation as one of the country's top inspirational women's rights activists.
On December 20, Marie Claire Brazil posted a year-end slideshow to its Instagram featuring "7 women making a difference for human rights in Brazil." According to the description in the Portugese-language post, the list was intended to feature female human rights activists, but emphasize those who specifically made an impact on the lives and humanity of other women.
While the list profiles brave female advocates such as Joênia Wapixana – the first Indigenous woman in Brazil to become a lawyer – and Maria da Penha – an abuse survivor who fought to increase legal penalties for domestic violence – one name stands out.
Indianara Siqueira, a biological male prostitute who identifies as a woman, was featured on the list as the magazine's 6th pick.
Between 2007 and 2010, Siqueira served a prison sentence in France after being convicted of aggravated pimping. In addition to his jail time, he was ordered to pay financial compensation to the trafficking victims in the amount of €50,000 (approx. $56,000 USD), but shirked the bill. Following his sentence, he was deported to Brazil and banned from entering French territory.
In 2019, Siqueira was expelled from the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) of Brazil in which he had been campaigning as a politician. The Party removed him after public outrage surrounding his "takeover" of a non-profit art charity house of cultural significance, illegally converting it into boarding and brothel for trans-identified male prostitutes.
According to a PSOL ethics committee testimonial, children were also sexually exploited in the brothel operating out of Siqueira's camp, with "various forms of human rights violations" taking place within the house as per a teenager who filed a legal complaint against Siqueira.
Siqueira was ultimately ejected from the Party after a vote, to which he responded with accusations of "homo-transphobia" and threats of lawsuits.
While illegally occupying the house, Siqueira racked up utility bills of over R$100,000 (approx. $17,000 USD), and the art charity was evicted from the cultural center as a result.
Despite Siqueira's disturbing history, a lauding documentary was made on him by trans activists in 2019 titled Indianara, which won 5 awards and was nominated for a total of 14. While the film was shown in Cannes, Siqueira was unable to attend due to his ban from France on his past criminal convictions for pimping.
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