Women's joint prayer held to end years of violence

Women's joint prayer held to end years of violence

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Rain usually makes one stay at home, but not
last Thursday evening, when hundreds of people, mostly women,
flocked to the Nyai Ageng Serang women's building in Kuningan,
South Jakarta, praying together to end years of violence in the
country.

The event, called Doa Perempuan (Women's Prayer), was the
second organized by several women's groups and part of a six-
month nationwide campaign called Kaulan Perempuan (Women's
Resolution).

It brought together people of many different faiths: Islam,
Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, as well as Kong Hu Cu,
Brahma Khumaris, Bahai and Javanese mysticism.

They prayed especially for victims of the May riots that
rocked different parts of the country.

Many Chinese-Indonesian women were spotted among those who
joined the prayer.

Anita (not her real name), a Chinese-Indonesian who came to
the prayer with her boyfriend, said she was still traumatized by
recent rapes that mostly targeted Chinese-Indonesian women.

"The rapes make me feel insecure, even at the office. I feel
like I am different ... something I've never felt before," said
Anita.

She said that while she was spared the trauma of rape, she did
witness horrible things she would never forget.

"A friend of mine was stripped naked in front of a mob near
her home," Anita said.

She was not raped, but this incident was more than enough to
shock and traumatize her.

"And I really hope the government will do something. At least
capture the rapists, so that we can have a peace of mind," she
said.

It's not only Chinese-Indonesian women who felt angry because
of the rapes but all women.

"I feel deeply troubled. It's inhumane," said Kusmiyati, a
housewife who came to the prayer with some of her neighbors in
East Jakarta after reading about it in newspaper.

"I'm a woman and a mother, I can understand what the victims
must have experienced. Whether a woman is Chinese-Indonesian or
not, those rapists have no right to do that. I wonder what the
rapists would feel if the same thing happened to their mothers,
sisters, wives or daughters," she said.

Activists from the Volunteers of Humanity state in their
report -- based on interviews with victims, their relatives and
witnesses -- that at least 168 women and children were raped
during the riots that broke out in May.

Out of that 168, 152 were raped or sexually abused in Jakarta
and its surroundings -- most of the attacks in the city happened
in North Jakarta and West Jakarta, where a large ethnic Chinese
community lives and works -- while 16 others were raped or
sexually assaulted in Surakarta, Medan, Palembang and Surabaya.

The report also states that 20 women and children were either
murdered by their assailants, burned to death after being raped
or subsequently died of their wounds.

It is believed that the rapes were organized by a certain
group of people.

Thursday's prayer also attracted a few men. They came on their
own, or to accompany loved ones.

"The rapes are very embarrassing. It makes me ashamed to admit
that I'm an Indonesian," said A. Dahana, a columnist and observer
of Chinese politics, who came with his wife.

"I deeply sympathize with the victims," he added. "The
government should find those did it, whether it was organized or
not."

Several other men preferred to stand outside, waiting for
their relatives.

"I just came to pick up my wife," said a man, puffing on his
cigarette.

State Minister of Women's Affairs, Tutty Alawiyah, was not
seen among the gathering but there were many public figures and
celebrities. Top model Ratih Sanggarwati, who was also the MC,
and singer Oppie Ariesta, were among them.

Oppie said that women could also help the victims by helping
activists or assisting hot line services.

"I believe that many women out there want to help the
victims," said Oppie, who is a member of Koalisi Perempuan.

Speech

Opened with a speech by the organizing committee's chairwoman,
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, the event began with the participants
singing Kulihat Ibu Kita Pertiwi, (I See My Motherland), about
the motherland, which is crying in grief.

But then, when the lights were switched off in exchange for
candles, the participants became very quiet, absorbed with the
various prayers made religious figures.

After one hour of prayers, women's activist Yulia Suryakusuma
read a declaration which aimed to raise women's awareness on
their rights and to fight the present stereotype of women within
society.

Nursyahbani said that the main intention for holding the
prayer was to support and to help those suffering from and
fearing violence.

"This prayer meeting is intended to heal our sorrow, pain and
fear raised by violent acts, and to return to the trust,
humanistic values, justness and democracy that we once had but
which have been ruined because of violent acts, which peaked
during May 13 to May 15 riots," Nursyahbani said.

And the prayer, she said, was also offered for all victims of
domestic and political violence during the past 33 years,
beginning in 1965, when the authorities foiled the coup d'etat
attempt by the now-banned Indonesian Communist Party. This
incident marked the transfer of power from Sukarno to Soeharto.

She said that the congregation was also intended to reflect
women's denouncement of the politics of violence which has been
used by those in power to silence prodemocracy activists or to
conquer individuals and certain groups.

The prayer ended with Ratna Sarumpaet's play Marsinah
Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses), about murdered female labor
activist Marsinah, whose case remains unsolved.