Harassment of women

Harassment of women

From Kompas

An article in Kompas on Aug. 28 titled: The presence of an
Alien in the House has attracted my attention. The article
details the aspects of immigration requirements and refers to the
case of Andreya Masaru Miyakoshi, the child of an Indonesian
subject Kristia Yuliani, 28, from her marriage to Mitsuo
Miyakoshi, 49, a Japanese national.

Mitsuo is facing deportation. According to the prevailing
regulations his child Andreya is also threatened with
deportation. The article said it is not surprising because there
was a precedent, that of Samantha, the child of an Indonesian
mother and a Dutch father.

In my opinion the cases are shocking. The regulations are a
harassment of women's basic rights; they subject women to
outdated laws which favor men. The regulations have to be
changed.

An Indonesian woman gives birth to a child in Indonesia.
Afterwards the child must be deported to a foreign country
against the mother's wishes, because her husband is not
Indonesian. Can our conscience justify it? Is it proper for this
to happen in an era where we speak loudly of gender equality,
equal rights between men and women?

Let us persuade the authorities to take action so that Andreya
can stay with her mother in Indonesia. The mother is an
Indonesian born in Indonesia. Andreya must not be chased out of
this country.

MASRI SINGARIMBUN

Yogyakarta