Jakarta Women March
Dozens of women in pink rallied through Jakarta on Wednesday, carrying brooms as a dramatic icon of their calls for change. Their demonstration against police violence and legislator’s perks made it quite evident that they wished to “sweep away the state’s dirt.” The protest was organized by The Alliance of Indonesian Women and took place at the time President Prabowo Subianto left to attend a military parade in China, when a stark contrast was underscored between pageantry abroad and outrage back home.
Protests Triggered by Fatal Accident
The unrest broke out after a police car killed a motorcycle taxi driver last week, triggering countrywide protests throughout Indonesia, the third-largest democracy in the world. Rights organizations state that a minimum of ten people have been killed in the protests, which have also extended to random looting and rioting. The Alliance, a loose group of women-headed civil society organizations, emphasized that their intention was to maintain protests peaceful, after having called off a demonstration earlier in the week because they feared violent retaliation from security forces.
Rizky Ananda, age 30, explained she marched to protest against violence most specifically, against women and wasteful government expenditures. “If the government declared protesting as treason, it should be questioned,” she said, disputing the claim that protesting is disloyalty.
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Government’s Response Under Scrutiny
President Prabowo has maintained that the police and military will stand firm in the face of violence, going so far as to imply some elements of terrorism and treason had been used in the unrest. His decision to go to China followed indications of “normalcy returning,” his office said.
In the meantime, the National Commission on Human Rights has opened an inquiry into the government’s response to the protests. Commissioner Anis Hidayah stressed the importance of accountability, particularly amid mounting concern about excessive force. The United Nations has also spoken out, calling on Indonesia to investigate all alleged human rights abuses, including disproportionate police reaction.
For the many protesters, the pink brooms marched through Jakarta were more than accessories symbols of brushing corruption, brutality, and repression by the state. Their message will be challenged, though, by the government’s growing hard-line stance and the findings of continuing human rights investigations.
