Women win human rights honor<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Woman activists Suraiya Kamaruzzaman and Ester Jusuf Purba have
\nbeen declared the joint winners of this year's Yap Thiam Hien
\nhuman rights award.<\/p>\n
Todung Mulya Lubis, the executive director of the Center for
\nHuman Rights Studies (Yapusham), said during a media conference
\non Friday that both Suraiya and Ester had dedicated their lives
\nto defending the rights of Indonesian women.<\/p>\n
The award will be presented to the winners on Monday at the
\nNational Museum.<\/p>\n
Todung said Suraiya was chosen in recognition of her efforts
\nto enhance social and economic status of Acehnese women and
\nencourage them to fight against violence perpetrated by the
\nmilitary, while Ester was picked because of her struggle against
\nracial discrimination, especially against Indonesians of Chinese
\ndescent.<\/p>\n
Suraiya, a lecturer at the Banda Aceh-based Syah Kuala
\nUniversity, was born in Lam U village in Aceh Besar on June 3,
\n1968. Her efforts to defend Acehnese women started when she was
\nstill a student at the university.<\/p>\n
In a bid to root out the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), former
\npresident Soeharto declared Aceh to be a military operation area
\nin 1989, a situation that lasted until 1998 when Soeharto
\nresigned. During that period, thousands of women and children
\nwere allegedly tortured, raped, and intimidated by the security
\nforces. Some of them were forced to leave their homes and became
\nrefugees in other regions.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ester, a mother of two, was born in Malang, Central
\nJava, on Jan. 15, 1971. She is known for her strong criticism of
\nthe government's discriminative policies towards minority groups.<\/p>\n
Todung said the award was presented annually in memory of Yap
\nThiam Hien, a noted Indonesian lawyer who dedicated his life to
\nthe struggle for human rights protection in the country. The
\naward was first presented in 1992.<\/p>\n
The panel members included the rector of the State Institute
\nof Islamic Studies (IAIN), Azyumardi Azra, respected Surabaya
\nlawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, Surabaya-based Airlangga University
\nlaw professor Soetandyo Wignyosoebroto, Semarang-based Diponegoro
\nUniversity law professor Maria S.W. Sumardjono and Atma Jaya
\nUniversity sociologist Mely G. Tan, he said.<\/p>\n
Last year's recipient was Wardah Hafiz, chairman of the Urban
\nPoor Consortium (UPC), a non-governmental organization helping to
\nprotect the rights of those victimized by Jakarta administration
\ndevelopment programs.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/women-win-human-rights-honor-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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