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Women of Sangihe island lead the battle against mining exploitation
The women of North Sulawesi’s Sangihe Island stand on the frontlines in battles against corporations aiming to exploit their homeland.
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Women on the frontline: Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi women gather in Bowone village on March 7, pushing for the Manado and Jakarta courts to annul the mining companies’ environmental permit. (Courtesy of Jull Takaliuang) (Courtesy of Jull Takaliuang/Courtesy of Jull Takaliuang)
T
em>The women of North Sulawesi’s Sangihe Island stand on the frontlines of battles against corporations aiming to exploit their homeland.
They call it heaven on earth, a place where only certain people should be.
For the Sangir people of Sangihe, one of Indonesia’s northernmost islands, located in North Sulawesi, their home is a utopian paradise. A small island, approximately only one-tenth of Bali in size, Sangihe is blanketed in natural resources -- healthy soil, cool clean air and a seemingly endless supply of fish to live from.
But these days, these natural resources are under threat of extinction. Sangir women of various backgrounds -- from activists to housewives -- now come together to take a stand against mining companies whose existence may result in the depletion of those resources -- and the survival of the Sangir people.
Head first, fearless
Jull Takaliuang, one of the initiators of the Save Sangihe Island movement, told The Jakarta Post that mining companies will eventually take over half of the island.
