Women's Day observed after year of violence<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Bandung\/Semarang\/Makassar<\/p>\n
Rallies demanding gender equality and an end to violence against
\nwomen marked the commemoration of Women's Day across the nation
\non Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In its statement to mark the national day, Jakarta-based Mitra
\nPerempuan women's crisis center said that this year it recorded
\nmore cases of violence against women than the previous years.<\/p>\n
To make it worse, most of the cases of violence against women
\nwere perpetrated by husbands or partners.<\/p>\n
Since January the crisis center has received reports of 329
\ncases of violence against women, 81.82 percent of them were filed
\nagainst husbands.<\/p>\n
Rita Serena Kolibonso, the director of the crisis center, said
\nthe nongovernmental organization's next activities would focus on
\nprotection of victims.<\/p>\n
She also underlined the need for intensive efforts to
\ndisseminate information on regulations that should protect women
\nfrom acts of violence.<\/p>\n
Following mounting public pressure on the legislature and the
\ngovernment, the House of Representatives endorsed this year the
\ndomestic violence bill. Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nenacted the law.<\/p>\n
Rallies took place in Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Semarang
\n(Central Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi) and some other towns
\nacross the country.<\/p>\n
Those who took to streets in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang and
\nMakassar were members of the Indonesian Hizbut Tahrir Muslim
\ngroup.<\/p>\n
They demanded that the government pay more attention to the
\nefforts to improve the quality of women.<\/p>\n
"The role of women in the country has not reached the maximum
\nlevel. Indeed, women are marginalized in the country," said
\nRatih, one of the protesters in Bandung.<\/p>\n
She expressed concern of the public's unawareness of the role
\nof housewives, which she said had led to the decreasing quality
\nof the Indonesian human resources.<\/p>\n
In its latest human development index report, the United
\nNations Development Program placed Indonesia 110th out of 173
\ncountries surveyed.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, around 50 mothers staged a rally, demanding
\ntermination of violence against women. They also urged television
\nchannels to stop programs they considered obscene, which they
\nsaid would lead to moral decadence.<\/p>\n
The mothers marched from Baiturrahman Mosque to the provincial
\nlegislature building.<\/p>\n
In Makassar, women's activists rallied outside the provincial
\nlegislature and near the gate of the Reformasi tollroad. Students
\nfrom the Islamic Students Association (HMI) joined the rally.<\/p>\n
They presented flowers to motorists and public transportation
\npassengers during the rally.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono observed
\nWomen's Day at the State Palace, reiterating his objection to TV
\nprograms that frequently displayed women's navels.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/womens-day-observed-after-year-of-violence-1447893297",
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