Women's joint prayer held to end years of violence<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Rain usually makes one stay at home, but not
\nlast Thursday evening, when hundreds of people, mostly women,
\nflocked to the Nyai Ageng Serang women's building in Kuningan,
\nSouth Jakarta, praying together to end years of violence in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The event, called Doa Perempuan (Women's Prayer), was the
\nsecond organized by several women's groups and part of a six-
\nmonth nationwide campaign called Kaulan Perempuan (Women's
\nResolution).<\/p>\n
It brought together people of many different faiths: Islam,
\nProtestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, as well as Kong Hu Cu,
\nBrahma Khumaris, Bahai and Javanese mysticism.<\/p>\n
They prayed especially for victims of the May riots that
\nrocked different parts of the country.<\/p>\n
Many Chinese-Indonesian women were spotted among those who
\njoined the prayer.<\/p>\n
Anita (not her real name), a Chinese-Indonesian who came to
\nthe prayer with her boyfriend, said she was still traumatized by
\nrecent rapes that mostly targeted Chinese-Indonesian women.<\/p>\n
"The rapes make me feel insecure, even at the office. I feel
\nlike I am different ... something I've never felt before," said
\nAnita.<\/p>\n
She said that while she was spared the trauma of rape, she did
\nwitness horrible things she would never forget.<\/p>\n
"A friend of mine was stripped naked in front of a mob near
\nher home," Anita said.<\/p>\n
She was not raped, but this incident was more than enough to
\nshock and traumatize her.<\/p>\n
"And I really hope the government will do something. At least
\ncapture the rapists, so that we can have a peace of mind," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
It's not only Chinese-Indonesian women who felt angry because
\nof the rapes but all women.<\/p>\n
"I feel deeply troubled. It's inhumane," said Kusmiyati, a
\nhousewife who came to the prayer with some of her neighbors in
\nEast Jakarta after reading about it in newspaper.<\/p>\n
"I'm a woman and a mother, I can understand what the victims
\nmust have experienced. Whether a woman is Chinese-Indonesian or
\nnot, those rapists have no right to do that. I wonder what the
\nrapists would feel if the same thing happened to their mothers,
\nsisters, wives or daughters," she said.<\/p>\n
Activists from the Volunteers of Humanity state in their
\nreport -- based on interviews with victims, their relatives and
\nwitnesses -- that at least 168 women and children were raped
\nduring the riots that broke out in May.<\/p>\n
Out of that 168, 152 were raped or sexually abused in Jakarta
\nand its surroundings -- most of the attacks in the city happened
\nin North Jakarta and West Jakarta, where a large ethnic Chinese
\ncommunity lives and works -- while 16 others were raped or
\nsexually assaulted in Surakarta, Medan, Palembang and Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The report also states that 20 women and children were either
\nmurdered by their assailants, burned to death after being raped
\nor subsequently died of their wounds.<\/p>\n
It is believed that the rapes were organized by a certain
\ngroup of people.<\/p>\n
Thursday's prayer also attracted a few men. They came on their
\nown, or to accompany loved ones.<\/p>\n
"The rapes are very embarrassing. It makes me ashamed to admit
\nthat I'm an Indonesian," said A. Dahana, a columnist and observer
\nof Chinese politics, who came with his wife.<\/p>\n
"I deeply sympathize with the victims," he added. "The
\ngovernment should find those did it, whether it was organized or
\nnot."<\/p>\n
Several other men preferred to stand outside, waiting for
\ntheir relatives.<\/p>\n
"I just came to pick up my wife," said a man, puffing on his
\ncigarette.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Women's Affairs, Tutty Alawiyah, was not
\nseen among the gathering but there were many public figures and
\ncelebrities. Top model Ratih Sanggarwati, who was also the MC,
\nand singer Oppie Ariesta, were among them.<\/p>\n
Oppie said that women could also help the victims by helping
\nactivists or assisting hot line services.<\/p>\n
"I believe that many women out there want to help the
\nvictims," said Oppie, who is a member of Koalisi Perempuan.<\/p>\n
Speech<\/p>\n
Opened with a speech by the organizing committee's chairwoman,
\nNursyahbani Katjasungkana, the event began with the participants
\nsinging Kulihat Ibu Kita Pertiwi, (I See My Motherland), about
\nthe motherland, which is crying in grief.<\/p>\n
But then, when the lights were switched off in exchange for
\ncandles, the participants became very quiet, absorbed with the
\nvarious prayers made religious figures.<\/p>\n
After one hour of prayers, women's activist Yulia Suryakusuma
\nread a declaration which aimed to raise women's awareness on
\ntheir rights and to fight the present stereotype of women within
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani said that the main intention for holding the
\nprayer was to support and to help those suffering from and
\nfearing violence.<\/p>\n
"This prayer meeting is intended to heal our sorrow, pain and
\nfear raised by violent acts, and to return to the trust,
\nhumanistic values, justness and democracy that we once had but
\nwhich have been ruined because of violent acts, which peaked
\nduring May 13 to May 15 riots," Nursyahbani said.<\/p>\n
And the prayer, she said, was also offered for all victims of
\ndomestic and political violence during the past 33 years,
\nbeginning in 1965, when the authorities foiled the coup d'etat
\nattempt by the now-banned Indonesian Communist Party. This
\nincident marked the transfer of power from Sukarno to Soeharto.<\/p>\n
She said that the congregation was also intended to reflect
\nwomen's denouncement of the politics of violence which has been
\nused by those in power to silence prodemocracy activists or to
\nconquer individuals and certain groups.<\/p>\n
The prayer ended with Ratna Sarumpaet's play Marsinah
\nMenggugat (Marsinah Accuses), about murdered female labor
\nactivist Marsinah, whose case remains unsolved.<\/p>",
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