Women's groups meet Gus Dur and Megawati

JAKARTA (JP): A group of woman activists urged the new government on Tuesday to take human rights abuses against women and children more seriously.

In a meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State Guest House, representatives of 25 women's organizations stressed the issue and insisted the government act on unresolved findings of rights violations which victimized women and children in the past.

"We hope to see the Cabinet take concrete steps to follow-up those findings and impose stern measures against those found guilty within 100 days of its tenure," the women's group said in a statement, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post.

Noted activist Saparinah Sadli led the group and was accompanied by State Minister of Women's Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansa.

During the two-hour meeting, the group reminded the President of a long list of cases of sexual assaults on women across the country, notably those which occurred here during the May riots last year and in the volatile provinces of Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

The group also asked the government to consider establishing a special team under the vice president's office to help the Minister of Women's Affairs and Minister of Human Rights offices implement and draw up policies to protect women's and children's rights.

Promoting women's and children's interests as a national agenda would also be the responsibility of the team in coordinating with the ministry of women's affairs.

When it came to migrant workers, the group demanded that the government ratify the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers and enact a law to implement the convention, as well as other labor conventions.

Some 5,000 Indonesian female migrant workers were reportedly stranded in the Middle East. Most of the women were employed as domestic workers but quit their jobs to escape from abuses committed by their employees.

On domestic women's labor, the group asked for a fair implementation of occupational health and safety regulations.

The group also suggested that the government promote equal rights between men and women with the abolishment of discriminative regulations the top priority.

Concerning women's health, the group pushed for immediate action to arrange policies to decrease the mortality rate and improve health services in dealing with diseases affecting women, particularly breast cancer.

Megawati promised the group that the government would follow- up the group's demands. (04)