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span class="inline inline-left">Seeking equal treatment: Female workers from the Indonesian Workers’ Alliance stage a demonstration in connection with the celebration of International Women’s Day at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on Friday. They were demanding equal pay for equal work, eradication of discrimination and violence against women and curbing of sexual harassment and workers’ welfare. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)International Woman’s Day on March 8 was commemorated differently in a number of regions on Friday but with the same main message of stopping violence against women.

In Yogyakarta, some 100 activists from different local non-governmental organizations staged a rally at the city’s Ground Zero area, rejecting all forms of violence against women.

Participating organizations included the Yogyakarta Woman’s Network (JPY), the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gepari), the Alliance of Yogyakarta Difabel Women, Rifka Annisa Women’s Crisis Center and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).

“The practices of polygamy and nikah siri [unregistered marriage] with all their justifications in the end only bring disaster to women and children,” Rina Eko Widarsih of Rifka Annisa said, urging the government to be firm about
registration of all marriages.

Ika Ayu of JPY, separately, demanded the government issue a clear regulation to protect women and to eradicate the 282 bylaws considered discriminatory against women.

She also highlighted the sharp increase in violence against women, with over 200,000 reported cases in 2012, almost double the number the previous year.

AJI Yogyakarta chair Hendrawan Setiawan called on the mass media not to exploit women in the news. He also called on media companies to fulfill the rights of woman journalists by providing, among other things, menstruation leave and breastfeeding rooms.

After the rally, the protesters marched to the nearby Beringharjo market, the biggest traditional market in the province, distributing pamphlets containing the addresses of organizations dealing with violence against women.

“It’s a good campaign. Polygamy indeed is dangerous. We have to prevent men who are arbitrary and like to cheat from doing such things,” Ningsih, a vendor, commented on the move.

In a different way of commemorating International Women’s Day, the Taring Padi art community held a graphic design exhibition entitled “Jangan Diam” (Do Not Stay Still) at Survive! Garage, Bugisan, Yogyakarta.

“This is our little effort to say no to violence against women,” Fitriani Dwi Kurniasih of Taring Padi said.

The Conscience Woman’s Crisis Center (NPWCC) in Padang, West Sumatra, demanded the provincial administration be serious in dealing with violence against women.

Mittya Ziqroh of NPWCC said that the administration had not been on the side of women who were victims of violence.

“In some cases of sexual violence against female students, what they did was expel the students from their schools because they were considered to have damaged the schools’ image,” said Mittya as quoted by Antara news agency
as saying.

This, she said, was against Article 28B (2) of the 1945 Constitution which stipulates that every child deserves to live, grow and improve and to be protected from violence and discrimination.

“They were victims. They should have been protected and were banned from their rights to receive education instead,” she told a discussion forum held on Friday to commemorate International Women’s Day.

In Jambi, some 30 women and housewives staged a rally to demand a bylaw on exclusive breastfeeding for newborns.

“We have five recommendations with us. One of which is on exclusive breastfeeding as a follow up for the implementation of PP (Government Regulation) No 33/2012 on breastfeeding,” protesters’ coordinator Ida Zubaidah said.

She said the importance of exclusive breastfeeding had been beaten by the onslaughts of formula milk producers given in the forms of advertisements in the media and in the form of health aids.

The law and government regulation mentioning breast milk, according to her, had not yet been implemented as they were supposed to. “That’s why we are pushing regional administrations to pay more attention to women, especially those who breastfeed their children,” Ida said.