Women's dignity is the casualty in the mass rapes<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Words are not enough to describe the anguish,
\nhelplessness and humiliation of a woman raped.<\/p>\n
Feelings of their male kin, some of whom saw with their own
\neyes the assaults on their wives and daughters, are equally
\ndifficult to put into neat, articulate sentences.<\/p>\n
Hananto, not his real name, said his wife chose death to end
\nthe pain.<\/p>\n
Deeply shamed, she refused to eat and speak after her rape.<\/p>\n
"When we left her just for a second, she gulped a can of
\nBaygon (a brand of insecticide) and died instantly," he told the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights last week.<\/p>\n
Another man said: "Why do people keep intimidating us? We
\nnever feel we are Chinese because we were born in Indonesia and
\nwe are Indonesian citizens."<\/p>\n
Terrible tales and the tormented emotions of many Chinese-
\nIndonesians are only now beginning to trickle out following the
\nriots which wreaked havoc in Jakarta and other cities on May 14-
\nMay 15.<\/p>\n
Irwanto, a sociologist from Atma Jaya University in Jakarta,
\nsaid a broad spectrum of gripes was behind the targeting of
\nChinese-Indonesians, particularly women.<\/p>\n
"It was obviously seen as having cultural, economic and
\npolitical dimensions."<\/p>\n
He pinpointed the community's oft-cited scapegoating over
\nissues of uneven wealth and welfare distribution.<\/p>\n
"The mob would not dare to attack the government, which is
\nalso responsible for bringing down their lives ...<\/p>\n
"There are only a few people of Chinese origin who are rich
\nand conduct 'crooked' businesses."<\/p>\n
But people have frequently tainted the entire Chinese-
\nIndonesian community by summarily associating it with a few
\ngreedy tycoons.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, a group of Chinese-Indonesians lodged their
\ncomplaints with the National Commission on Human Rights. They
\ndemanded the government's protection and a thorough investigation
\ninto the riots, including rapes of their relatives.<\/p>\n
Irwanto explained that mass rapes and sexual torture of women
\nin times of crisis were nothing new. Women and children are the
\nmost vulnerable group in a society and their lives can be easily
\nshaken by crises, including riot and war.<\/p>\n
He said the sexual assaults, spoken of only in whispers until
\na few days ago, were the manifestation of male dominance over
\nwomen.<\/p>\n
Symbolic<\/p>\n
Rape, he explained, was an aggressive act committed by a man
\nor a group of men which was not meant primarily for sexual
\nsatisfaction but satisfied the perpetrators in their humiliation
\nand dominance of the victims.<\/p>\n
"Since women of Chinese descent were mostly victims of the
\nrape, the act exemplifies the mob's hatred against this
\ncommunity."<\/p>\n
Violence committed against these women can be regarded as
\nsymbolic rape of the body of that community, Irwanto said.<\/p>\n
Sita Aripurnami, an executive of the Kalyanamitra women's
\norganization, said the rapes were not only against the victims
\nthemselves, but symbolically attacked Indonesian women in
\ngeneral.<\/p>\n
The organization is handling several reports of abuse during
\nthe riots.<\/p>\n
"We consider these rapes as serious violations against women's
\nrights to live in peace in their country," Sita said.<\/p>\n
Most of the reports involved Chinese-Indonesian women.<\/p>\n
"But, we are still investigating whether women of other
\ncommunities were also affected."<\/p>\n
She added an important caveat: "I hate to say indigenous women
\nbecause we are all Indonesian women."<\/p>\n
The rapes reflected the degradation and humiliation of women,
\nshe said. The rapes embody patriarchal values toward female
\ncitizens, in which women's rights are not respected, promoted and
\nprotected both by society and authorities, Sita said.<\/p>\n
It also showed that women, even within their own society or
\nown cultural groups, run a considerably greater risk of being
\nvictims of bodily harmed than men.<\/p>\n
"In a rape, there is a desire to harm and destroy a woman as
\n'woman' because the essence of her independence and sense of
\nwholeness as a woman and as a human being is attacked by the
\nrapist," explained Sita, who is active in various antirape
\ncampaigns and the protection of women's rights.<\/p>\n
The rapists tried to show their power by attacking women's
\nreproductive organs, symbolically viewed by the society as
\nrepresenting dignity and sanctity, she said.<\/p>\n
"Now, we have to work very hard to restore and to recover the
\ndignity of victims of rapes."<\/p>\n
Irwanto added that it would be a long, difficult process for
\nrape victims to recover, if they ever do.<\/p>\n
"I am glad to see women's crisis centers and humanitarian
\nactivists working hand in hand to help rape victims or other
\nwomen who were sexually abused during the May riots. But I don't
\nsee any program launched by the government," Irwanto said.<\/p>\n
"Many government measures are unclear and confusing. These
\nvictims badly need security guarantees and protection. Therefore,
\nthe government should outline concrete steps."<\/p>\n
Lack of sensitivity<\/p>\n
The State Minister of Women's Affairs has just opened a hot
\nline service to accommodate complaints of riot victims,
\nparticularly women, but many view the move as coming too late.
\nMoreover, there was no concrete program announced by the office.<\/p>\n
Ratna Batara Munti from the Association of Indonesian Women
\nfor Justice (APIK) was incensed by State Minister of Women's
\nAffairs Tutty Alawiyah's apparent lack of sensitivity to the
\nplight of the women.<\/p>\n
"I am very disappointed that the minister has not shown a
\nsense of crisis in these rape cases and other forms of violence
\nagainst women during the riot," Ratna said. "She (the minister)
\nis actually the one who has access to power to probe this issue
\nand who is capable of mobilizing immediate assistance for the
\nvictims. But, she has done very little, or probably nothing."<\/p>\n
Sita added that in some rape cases victims were entitled to
\nhave legal representatives, support and professional help in
\nmedical and psychological fields when they report their case to
\ncrisis centers or the police.<\/p>\n
"This requires a lot of money and a lot of human resources
\nwhich we, non-profit organizations and humanitarian activists,
\ndon't have. The minister of women's roles can actually provide
\nneeded facilities, if she is willing to do so," Sita said.<\/p>\n
More importantly, Ratna said, the minister should be able to
\nconvince her colleagues that rape and other violence against
\nwomen were not just a "sad effect of the riots", but real
\nproblems faced by women in their daily lives.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/womens-dignity-is-the-casualty-in-the-mass-rapes-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}