Three men climbed inside a taxi driven by Djumawati Sehangga, a single mother, at 11 p.m.
She began to feel anxious when one told her to go to Rorotan, North Jakarta. She heard that many crimes occurred in the area. It was 2006 and at the time only a small number of people lived in the area. She was afraid that the men were taxi robbers.
When the man who sat next to Djumawati noticed she was a woman, he expressed surprise.
The man then saw a picture of Djumawati's son inside the car.
"The man began to ask about my child. I told him that I was a single mother and that my husband had left me. He asked me whether I knew *my husband's* new address, I answered that I did not know," Djumawati, a Blue Bird taxi driver, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The man then said, "If only you knew his address, I would be willing to kill that man."
Even though he seemed to sympathize with Djumawati's story, she later learned he had bad intentions.
However, the man, who seemed to be the leader of the group, apparently changed his mind.
He asked Djumawati to stop and let them out of the taxi.
As they got out, Djumawati heard them conversing; the men who sat in the backseat asked the first man whether they would continue their plan, and he answered "no".
"I was very grateful that he did not hurt me and I did not ask him to pay for the taxi. However, he insisted on paying Rp 60,000 because he said I would need the money for my son," she said.
Djumawati, who has worked as a taxi driver for three years, said that was the most dangerous incident she had experienced so far in her job.
The 40-year-old has often met thugs who have attempted to extort her. She said they did not dare to hit her because she was a woman, even if she did not give them any money
"If the thugs ask for money, I usually pay. But sometimes if they speak or act rudely, I get mad and they become speechless. Once, one of them thought I was an undercover policewoman because I dared to speak harshly to them," she said, laughing.
Djumawati said she tried to look like a man by cutting her hair short and speaking loudly.
"I do it because I am afraid that some bad people will think that I am a weak woman and try to do bad things to me. I always try not to drive after midnight for safety reasons."
Jakarta is a city with high crime rates and a tough street life. Although auto theft has consistently topped the capital's crime list, street crimes persist.
In response to the global economic downturn, the Jakarta Police early this year had predicted that street crimes would rise, considering the rise in unemployment rates.
Most street crime perpetrators are unemployed persons who become local thugs. Some operate individually, some in organized groups.
Delma, a 32-year-old woman who sells food in Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta also faces harsh realities in running her business.
She said that she hated the thugs who kept asking money from her and other vendors.
Tanah Abang market is a notorious area where various thugs groups ask for *security money.'
"The thugs act like they own this market. Sometimes they also take our goods without paying."
Delma said the thugs had never hit her although she often endured verbal intimidation.
"If I refuse to pay money to them, they threaten that I can no longer do my business here. But I'm lucky that they never abuse me physically."
Delma has also often met drunken people who passed through her stall. She never spoke to them to avoid being bothered. She accepted that she did not live in a secure place and always tried to avoid problems.
"I am afraid with the bad people around here but that will not stop me from doing my business. I believe that if I do not bother them and they will not bother me also."
For security reasons, Delma always closes her food stall at 5 p.m.
"I would not dare to sell food during the night here."
The General Assembly of United Nations has issued a resolution in 1999 to designate Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Women activists have commemorated the date since 1981.
The date came from the assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo. (mrs)
