Jakarta journalist wins Yap Thiam Hien award
Jakarta journalist wins Yap Thiam Hien award
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Journalist Maria Margaretha Hartiningsih of the Kompas daily
has become the first journalist to win the annual Yap Thiam Hien
human rights award, the jury of the award announced here on
Friday.
The head of the committee of jurors, Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto,
said she was awarded for being a "human rights educator" through
her articles, which are "consistent in the effort to uphold and
educate on human rights".
The award was introduced in 1992, and has been influential in
efforts to increase awareness of human rights in the country.
Last year it was awarded to Wiji Thukul, a poet who has been
missing since 1997.
The jury's press release noted that Maria's sensitivity toward
those suffering could be recognized in her writing; "not only
those suffering as victims of a patriarchal system but also as
victims of a repressive and greedy regime". Her articles "always
intend to change unjust values or rules", it added.
Maria, a journalist since 1984, is known for her coverage of
local, regional and global developments concerning the urban
poor, women and the environment. Her articles are among those on
the daily's Swara weekly page, which focuses on various issues
with a gender perspective.
Her investigative reports include those on women trafficking
in Thailand and Cambodia, poverty and street children in Brazil
and on Indonesian women migrant workers in Hong Kong.
Maria, who recently completed a post graduate program in
women's studies at the University of Indonesia, has also
frequently been asked to be a juror in several writing contests
and also of the Urban Innovation Management Project competition
this year. She is also the recipient of a number of journalism
awards.
Several organizations have also sought her out as a resource
person in training sessions on journalism and other issues such
as human rights. From 1997 to 1998 she was also a visiting
scholar at the Jackson School of International Studies at the
University of Washington in Seattle, the United States.