Rally held to observe Women's Day

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Women from the middle and upper classes celebrated Women's Day on Sunday in a rather unconventional way, by joining a rally held at several sites throughout the city.

There were no hardships involved, such as taking difficult routes.

Instead, this was a rally for tourism, which was also meant to entertain its participants. One of the challenges staged for participants was a shopping trip at Plaza Senayan, as well as a charity event on Jl. Panarukan in the upscale Menteng neighborhood.

The women, who were driving at least 50 cars, left the starting point in the East parking lot in Senayan while State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto oversaw the event, Antara reported.

The event was organized by the National Committee for the observance of the 74th anniversary of Women's Day.

The day originated from the first national congress of women in the country, which was held on Dec. 22, 1928.

Ria Sungkar, a member of the organizing committee, said that the rally was also intended to encourage women to take part in sports.

She claimed that the rally was similar to other rallies organized by men for only male participants. However, she said that this all-women's rally was different as it focused on leisure activities.

"This rally is no different from the rally that men participated in, but the challenges that we posed were not complicated because the emphasis was on having fun," she said.