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”.