Dayak, Madurese women hold meeting

Dayak, Madurese women hold meeting

YOGYAKARTA: Members of a communication forum for Dayak and
Madurese women, or Dara Arum as the forum is named, gathered here
in Yogyakarta on Saturday for a six-day meeting to discuss peace-
keeping efforts between the two conflicting communities.

Held under the central theme of "Strengthening the Role and
Capacity of Dayak and Madurese Women to Build Peace," the meeting
in Yogyakarta is the forum's second national consolidation
meeting.

"Through the meeting we would like to urge the government to
provide more room for women to actively participate in the peace
making process in Indonesia," Yooke Adelina, an organizer of the
event said.

Established in February 2003 following the 2001 ethnic
conflict between Madurese and Dayak communities in the Central
Kalimantan town of Sampit, Dara Arum aimed at helping create
peace between the two conflicting ethnic communities through
various activities involving women.

So far, according to Yooke, women have always been
marginalized in such efforts, regardless of their strategic role
in the family, as it is mostly women who are responsible for the
education of their children as well as implanting moral values
within the family.

Some 40 members of Dara Arum from both Central Kalimantan and
Madura are participating in the meeting, which will close on June
15. -- JP