Women join protests with brooms in hand as symbol for change

Sweeping change: Activists holding up broom sticks as they shout slogans during a rally in Jakarta. — AP

Hundreds of women dressed in pink joined protests in the capi­tal Jakarta against lawmakers’ perks and police brutality, brandishing brooms as a symbol of their calls for reform, while the president flew to China for a military parade.

The women carried signs with slogans such as “reform the police” and “your sweet promises cause diabetes”, as well as the brooms, which protest organiser The Alli­ance of Indonesian Women said symbolised a need to “sweep the state’s dirt and the repressiveness of security forces”.

The protests that began in Jakarta last week have rocked the world’s third-largest democracy, with the demonstrations escala­ting nationwide after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver on Thursday night.

Rights groups say 10 people have died in the protests, which have also sparked some looting and rioting.

The Alliance, a coalition of women-led civil society groups, had called off a planned protest on Monday, citing the risk of a violent response by authorities.

“We want to show that protests are mostly peaceful,” said 30-year-old Rizky Ananda, who was demon­strating against violence against people, and women in particular, as well as wasteful government spending. “If the government said protests were treasonous, it should be questionable.”

President Prabowo Subianto has said the military and police would stand firm against violence, and on Sunday said that some of the unrest bore the signs of terrorism and treason.

Prabowo made a trip to China to attend a lavish military parade yesterday after initially cancelling due to the unrest, with his office saying that signs of normalcy returning in Indonesia were a factor in his decision to go ahead and travel.

The National Commission on Human Rights was conducting an investigation into security forces’ handling of the protests, commissioner Anis Hidayah told journa­lists on Tuesday.

The United Nations’ rights office on Monday called for investigations into “all alleged violations of international human rights law, including with respect to use of force”. — Reuters