Hundreds of women wearing pink and wielding broomsticks marched to parliament in Indonesia's capital on Wednesday to protest against police abuses and wasteful government spending.
Protests in Jakarta and other key cities have stretched into their second week, fuelled by anger over cost of living issues and lavish perks for MPs. They turned violent after young motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed when he was run over by a police vehicle.
As protests intensified, President Prabowo Subianto said he would cancel a trip to Beijing to attend China's massive military parade, but he was seen posing for a group photo on Wednesday, alongside Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Before his China trip, Prabowo said over the weekend that he would roll back perks for lawmakers - one of the core complaints of the protesters. During Wednesday's rally, pink-clad female protesters from the Indonesian Women's Alliance (IWA) said the broomsticks symbolised their desire to sweep away the dirt of the state, militarism and police repression. The protesters also waved signs with the words reform the police.
Protests are not crimes, but rather democratic rights inherent in every citizen, one of the protesters, Mutiara Ika, told BBC Indonesia.
The IWA is a political group comprised of 90 women's organisations and movements, as well as various civil society groups including labor unions, human rights organisations, and indigenous communities. The women's movement has a history of standing up to regimes in Indonesia, playing a crucial role in past waves of protest.
The UN's human rights office has called for prompt, thorough, and transparent investigations into allegations of human rights violations during the protests, which have already claimed at least 10 lives with many others injured.
In an attempt to quell the nationwide protests, President Prabowo announced he would rein in several state-funded perks given to politicians, including allowances. Protesters have welcomed this step, although many express that it does not fully address the underlying issues of inequality and governance that the demonstrations have highlighted.
Protests in Jakarta and other key cities have stretched into their second week, fuelled by anger over cost of living issues and lavish perks for MPs. They turned violent after young motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed when he was run over by a police vehicle.
As protests intensified, President Prabowo Subianto said he would cancel a trip to Beijing to attend China's massive military parade, but he was seen posing for a group photo on Wednesday, alongside Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Before his China trip, Prabowo said over the weekend that he would roll back perks for lawmakers - one of the core complaints of the protesters. During Wednesday's rally, pink-clad female protesters from the Indonesian Women's Alliance (IWA) said the broomsticks symbolised their desire to sweep away the dirt of the state, militarism and police repression. The protesters also waved signs with the words reform the police.
Protests are not crimes, but rather democratic rights inherent in every citizen, one of the protesters, Mutiara Ika, told BBC Indonesia.
The IWA is a political group comprised of 90 women's organisations and movements, as well as various civil society groups including labor unions, human rights organisations, and indigenous communities. The women's movement has a history of standing up to regimes in Indonesia, playing a crucial role in past waves of protest.
The UN's human rights office has called for prompt, thorough, and transparent investigations into allegations of human rights violations during the protests, which have already claimed at least 10 lives with many others injured.
In an attempt to quell the nationwide protests, President Prabowo announced he would rein in several state-funded perks given to politicians, including allowances. Protesters have welcomed this step, although many express that it does not fully address the underlying issues of inequality and governance that the demonstrations have highlighted.
