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Marsinah campaign aims to strengthen workers' resolve
Unforgotten: Carrying torches and images of slain labor activist Marsinah, workers march through the Cikarang industrial estate in West Java on Friday
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Unforgotten: Carrying torches and images of slain labor activist Marsinah, workers march through the Cikarang industrial estate in West Java on Friday. The event was part of Obor Marsinah, a labor campaign aimed at reviving public awareness of the unresolved 1993 murder of Marsinah in Nganjuk, East Java. (Courtesy of Obor Marsinah) (Courtesy of Obor Marsinah)
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span class="inline inline-none">Unforgotten: Carrying torches and images of slain labor activist Marsinah, workers march through the Cikarang industrial estate in West Java on Friday. The event was part of Obor Marsinah, a labor campaign aimed at reviving public awareness of the unresolved 1993 murder of Marsinah in Nganjuk, East Java. (Courtesy of Obor Marsinah)
Unionist Marsinah died 21 years ago but her spirit is still being celebrated, this time via the first ever tour to a number of cities in Java, which has been called 'Obor Marsinah' (Marsinah's Torch).
Dozens of workers symbolically lit 100 torches when they departed their base camp at the East Jakarta Industrial Park (EJIP) in South Cikarang, Bekasi regency, and headed to Karawang, West Java.
The tour is aimed at generating public support and solidarity to secure justice for Marsinah and to spread the message of her courage among workers to resist intimidation from employers.
'Marsinah was an incredible woman. We hope Obor Marsinah will inspire the emergence of other people like her, who will stand up against cruel employers and rulers, especially those who use military force to repress us,' Tiasri Wiandani, a team member of the Obor Marsinah tour, said in a discussion.
The discussion started with a presentation on the story of the death of activist Marsinah on May 8, 1993.
The 24-year-old worker was among those who led a protest against the management of her watch factory in Sidoarjo, East Java, and against the military command for abusing workers, following their demands for better wages and work conditions.
After two decades, her murder remains unresolved and the case is closed. Marsinah's case was one of many unresolved cases on human rights abuses in Indonesia during the New Order era. Other cases include the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib and missing poet Wiji Thukul.
'Obor Marsinah also aims to introduce Marsinah to other workers to inspire them. We hope we can push for the reopening of her case and declare her a national hero,' Tiasri told The Jakarta Post.
She said the tour was also expected to gather public support for a judicial review of the 1974 Marriage Law, which does not acknowledge women as the heads of the family, so they could not access financial assistance.
Tiasri said female workers still needed inspiration so they would stand up for the other rights they were entitled to.
'Some factories still ask female workers to show evidence that they are menstruating, or ask for a note from a doctor. Female workers on contracts try to hide their pregnancies as they fear it will cost them their jobs,' she said.
The campaign team will tour Karawang, Cirebon, Batang, Semarang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Madiun, Nganjuk, Jombang, Porong in Sidoarjo and Surabaya from May 1 until 10.
They will hold discussions, mass prayers and mural artwork making. They will ask participants in each city to write their wishes on small pieces of paper, which will be gathered together.
The tour will also be aired live via an online streaming facility provided by Marsinah FM community radio, which has been set up by the All Factory Workers Forum (FBLP) in Cakung, East Jakarta.
'The problems of women workers are not considered mainstream issues as we still lack awareness,' said one of the founders of the radio, Dian Septi.
She said the radio, which could reach a radius of 2 kilometers in Cakung, was set up in 2012 to voice women workers issues, as they were often not covered by mainstream media outlets.
