JAKARTA: Hundreds of Indonesian women, dressed in symbolic pink and black, and carrying brooms, rallied in Jakarta on Wednesday to demand sweeping reforms in the country’s security forces after a violent crackdown on nationwide protests.
At least 10 people have been killed, over a thousand injured, more than 3,300 arrested, and 20 remain missing, rights groups say, after a wave of demonstrations that started in Jakarta last week.
Initially sparked by controversial perks and housing allowances for lawmakers, the protests turned violent and spread across the country after an armed police vehicle ran over and killed a 21-year-old delivery driver at a protest site.
As military and security forces remained deployed on the streets, women protesters gathered at the parliament complex on Wednesday morning, shouting “Reform the police” and “Stop state violence,” with some hoisting traditional brooms found in every Indonesian household.
“Women are always part of social and democratic movements. We believe that the broom symbolizes a tool that can sweep away greed and evil in this country,” Nabila Tauhida, spokesperson for the Alliance of Indonesian Women, which organized the demonstration, told Arab News.
