Rising from Domestic Violence: Iin's Story of Conquering a River Full of Rubbish for Her Child's Dreams

The relentless flow of the river has never deterred Iin Kurniasih (43) from working to weave the dreams of her child, who has a developmental brain disorder. Amid the stream of water filled with rubbish and blackened, this woman in an orange-green uniform willingly submerges half her body into the water to clean the rubbish on the surface. Equipped with a homemade scoop from a wooden stick and a fan cover, Iin stands on a series of floating cubes, pulling piles of plastic rubbish and leaves caught in the river barriers. She is realising the big dream of her second child, Reza Setiawan (15), who aspires to become a train engineer. Iin is the first female officer in the Waste Management Unit (UPS) of the Water Body Agency of the West Jakarta Environmental Service and inherits Kartini’s spirit in her life. “We’re working, right? No need to distinguish between women or men; treat it the same as men. Working in water, we have to be brave in the water, searching for rubbish. Don’t be afraid of water, don’t be afraid of getting dirty, to support the children,” said Iin when met by Kompas.com at the PHB Stream in Taman Aries, Kembangan, West Jakarta, on Tuesday (21/4/2026). Iin’s daily struggle of immersing herself in the river water becomes hope for the continuity of Reza’s education, who is now in the sixth grade at a Special Needs School (SLB) in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. Reza experiences a developmental brain disorder and intellectual delay that hinders his growth as a child. This condition occurred because the child once suffered a head injury when he was young and also due to an unhealthy pregnancy condition resulting from the dark past of Iin’s household. Economic hardship and domestic violence (KDRT) she experienced made Iin never check her pregnancy with a doctor. She could only consume over-the-counter medicine, until giving birth outside the hospital. “I don’t know if it’s because when I was pregnant with him I was often beaten or what, I don’t know. But he is indeed different from others; I couldn’t afford to see a doctor back then, even giving birth I didn’t do it in a hospital, just assisted by a midwife at that time,” said Iin while holding back tears. The teenager who will soon turn 16 years old is now starting to become proficient in reading and writing, and often wins the competitions he participates in.