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'I have received all kinds of threats, discrimination': Women activists demand government protection
In Indonesia and around the world, women human rights defenders are prone to attacks. Different from men rights defenders, the attacks and challenges the women face are often deep-rooted in the gender discrimination and stereotypes entrenched in patriarchal societies.
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Activists from various women's organizations took action at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Dec. 1. They invited the community to reject all forms of violence against women. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Friday, Nov. 29 marks the commemoration of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day.
In Indonesia and around the world, women human rights defenders are prone to attacks. Different from men rights defenders, the attacks and challenges the women face are often deep-rooted in the gender discrimination and stereotypes entrenched in patriarchal societies.
The brutal murder of labor activist Marsinah on May 8, 1993, which is still unsolved, is one of the horrifying examples of what women human right defenders must face in Indonesia.
“What happened to Marsinah was not just murder. It was femicide. She was murdered because she was a woman. She was targeted because she was a woman” Komnas Perempuan commissioner, Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, said at a seminar. "Until today it often happens in conflicts surrounding natural resources, but the information about it hasn’t been heard by many."
Komnas Perempuan found an increase in violence against women rights activists who defend natural resources.
According to her, Komnas Perempuan also found the attacks against women activists were getting more and more sadistic, particularly with the use of acid or other attempts to disfigure the women.
“They often hit the women in the face. For the perpetrators it was a mark of conquest. So whoever sees it would realize there was a power relation there. The wounds were the message,” she said.
