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Jakarta Post

Govt urged to provide protection for women

Commemorating International Women’s Day, activists and workers took to the streets across the country on Thursday to demand equal treatment for and an end of violence against women

Andi Hajramurni and Yuli Tri Suwarni (The Jakarta Post)
Makassar/Bandung
Fri, March 9, 2012

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Govt urged to provide protection for women

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ommemorating International Women’s Day, activists and workers took to the streets across the country on Thursday to demand equal treatment for and an end of violence against women.

Various student groups in Makassar, South Sulawesi, held rallies in different places.

Joining the rallies were members of the Islamic Female Students’ Association (Kohati) and the Anti-Discrimination People’s Movement.

They criticized the weak protection measures offered to women, which had resulted in a rise of harassment, discrimination and violence toward women, both domestically and publicly.

Kohati members, who rallied on Jl. Sultan Alauddin and the Andi Pangerang Petta Rani intersection, presented data from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), which showed violence against women had increased threefold.

“The government should respond quickly by providing systematic protection to women so they are no longer subjected to violence and discrimination because, basically, men and women are on the same level,” Herlina, one of the protesters, said.

She also urged women, however, to fulfill their existence and behave reasonably so as not to provoke exploitation and criminal acts toward themselves.

The protesters distributed plastic flowers to passersby, as a symbol of peace and equality between women and men.

The Anti-Discrimination People’s Movement denounces all forms of violence, sexual harassment and discrimination against women and urges the government to guarantee the safety and reproductive health of women, as well as ensuring female workers receive menstrual and maternity leave periods.

In Bandung, West Java, scores of female workers wearing white T-shirts and red caps gathered in front of the Gedung Sate Java gubernatorial office. They voiced their concern about the fate of women and female workers who do not receive equal treatment.

They demanded a 40-percent quota for women in public positions due to the lack of women in influential political and economic posts.

Mandidi Workers Union member Ani Herningsih said violence and harassment against women had risen at her place of work.

“We face a gender gap in education and remuneration, not to mention normative rights, such as menstrual leave and nursing rooms for breast-feeding mothers, which the company has not provided,” Ani said on the sidelines of the rally.

The rally’s participants voiced their objections to contractual and outsourcing working systems, and expressed their solidarity for the 53 workers dismissed unilaterally by PT Nestlé in Panjang, Lampung, for demanding higher salaries.

In Medan, North Sumatra, dozens of demonstrators from the Women’s Freedom Front held a peaceful rally at the Majestik traffic circle, demanding wider access for women to pursue their personal and professional development.

They maintained discriminatory treatment was still a reality for a large number of women around the country, especially in the workplace.

Rally coordinator Jumeida told the crowd that women were still regarded as second-class citizens, especially in the workplace. She said women in the country had yet to secure equality with men, despite having the same rights.

“Women have not been given much access by the state so they are always trapped in domestic jobs. This is the proof that discrimination against women still exists in this country,” Jumeida said.

The rally, which was also attended by a number of men, attracted public attention as they marched to the Majestik traffic circle. They later proceeded to the North Sumatra legislative office building.

Apriadi Gunawan contributed to the reports from Medan

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