HUMAN RIGHTS in THE CONTEXT of STUDENT and WOMEN MOVEMENT in INDONESIA: A Woman Experience1 By Damairia Pakpahan

INDONESIA The Republic of Indonesia was established on August 17, 1945 after fighting for its independence from colonial domination of the Netherlands for 350 years and from Japans colonisation for 3 (three) years (1942-1945). The Republic of Indonesia has one ideology that is Pancasila (The Five Basic Principles) consisting of: The belief in one God Almighty, Humanity that is just and civilised, Nationalism, Democracy and Social Justice. The Republic of Indonesia is made up of more than 13,000 islands located along the line of the equator, between two continents, Asia and Australia and between two oceans, the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Among the 13,000 islands, there are 5 large islands Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes and New Guinea. The Republic of Indonesia is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups with their own dialect of which the Javanese are the largest, as well as then 300 local languages or dialects. The population of the Republic of Indonesia is 210 million people and they follow various religions. About 80% of them are Muslims and 20 % are Christians, Catholics, Buddhists and Hindus. The first Head of the Republic of Indonesia was Ir. Soekarno who ruled from August 17, 1945 to March 7, 1967, the second Head of state is General (ret) H. Soeharto who has been ruling since March 7, 1967 to May 21, 1998 and the third Head of state is Prof.Dr. Ing. Habibie who has been ruling since May 21, 1998 till 1999, then Mr Abdurrahman Wahid as the fourth president and Megawati Soekarno Putri replaced him in 2001 after the impeachment by the parliament. The current president is Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (general ret) president.

Introduction In this paper I will discuss the development of human rights in relation with the new social movement in Indonesia especially with student movement, women movement and NGO from my experience as one of the subject who had been in the student movement in 1980searly 1990s and till now I have been active in the women movement in Indonesia. This is a personal experience and reflection after being the activist from 1980s till nowadays.
Presented in Gwangju Human Rights Folk School, September 2007. I want to express my thanks to Ms Lita Anggraini chairperson of RUMPUN- who endorsed my application to this school and to the Committee who choose me as one of the participant on this respected institution and event.
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History-herstory of Knowing If I look back to my experience and recall my memories, I aware about human rights around 1988 when I was a student in the government university. I remembered my fellow student activists from one private university namely Indonesia Islamic University held a demonstration to commemorate the Human Rights Day in their campus. They had flown to the air the colorful balloon. Only small students involved in this commemoration. But a year later in 1989, the commemorations were held in three universities, Indonesia Islamic University (UII), Duta Wacana Christian University both are private universities and Gadjah Mada University the government university where I was a student there. However, in Indonesia Islamic University the commemoration was with the action to burn the USAs flag as their solidarity expression towards the suffering of Palestinian people due to Israeli occupation with US government support. Due to this action, one of my student comrades was brought to the police station. At that time, we discussed of our comrades action to commemorate the Human Rights Day. After those years 1988-1989, the commemoration of Human Rights Day have been spread over even under the thread of the dictator regime with the military and police will arrest the organizers and participants too. The media coverage the direct action organized by the activists who commemorate the HR day. Before Knowing the Human Rights The Seeds of Sensitivity toward the Issues Actually before my involvement in the student movement, when I was in high school, I was the voluntary teacher for the children of fisher folks and the children of urban poor during Sunday time. These voluntary works continue again when I was the student in the university as the teacher for the street children and urban poor people. All of this experience was sensitize me towards the oppressed and marginalized people and children. I was inspired by the acts of the late Father Mangunwijaya. He is the diocesan priest, architect, writers and novelist. He was the one who introduced me to the ideas of liberation theology with the option of the poor, the new Internationalist magazine, the social analysis, etc.

Although the first foundation had been built by my two mothers2 who introduced me to share to others in need and help poor people. They supported me to do the useful and kind hearted things. So the first foundation was from my compassion or pithiness towards the poor people. My unique condition of my family as polygamous family with the religious differences between Islam and Christianity and ethnic differences between Bataknese and Sundanese - brought me to be aware of unequal relationship between man and woman, women condition and oppression inside my own family and the religious tension too. I have seen that: Father who dislike if my mother cut her long hair. Father never washed the dishes and his own clothes at all. He was the one who being massaged by my mother or his children. He had had his own chair. He distributed the money. He made the last decision. So he was the leader of the family. I have watched also that: Mothers did not continue her career as the nurse and the teacher Mothers who do the domestic chores from cooking, cleaning houses, washing, taking care of the children Mothers looking for the money as the trader, money lending and supervisor for building houses to be rented Besides that I was the witness since my childhood that there was always someone who take care and help in the family as the domestic helper. We treated them good and take care of them as member of the family. Although, the stereotypes towards the domestic helpers were also introduced by my mothers and family in general. Other experience was my involvement as the reporter and correspondent since my teenagers in school magazine, children magazine and then one of the national newspaper brought to me to know the actors intellectuals, ex-student activists, old politicians,
I was born from polygamous marriage. My beloved father had married three times due to the first wife did not have the children. As Batak ethnic origin from North Sumatera, with the patriarchal society, to have a son is a must. Even my father is a Christian, so he married again with the second wife through Islamic ritual. But he divorced with the second wife. He married my mother in the third times, but since I was a 7 months old baby, I brought up by the first wife with her full of love and compassion. She is a Muslim and I was brought up as a Muslim too and this created a conflict with my father and my birth mother. Then I choose my own as a Catholic when I was 9 years old. However lately since 2003, I become a Protestant due to ideological reason of women ordination.
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journalists, theologians, including Mr. Wahid the ex Indonesian president - who promote the democracy ideas, the freedom of the press and expression. And from the family, I got the political sense especially the ideas of nationalism, political oppression from my parents3 who are the followers of Sukarno the first president and my brother who was the student activist from 1978 movement. This condition brought me eager to learn and to know the political situation and the political activists4. In addition, is about religion. Even though Indonesia is a not an Islamic state and has diverse religions believers from Abrahamic religions except the Judaism, the others are Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and indigenous religions. However there is a long history of tension especially between Catholic and Islam. In this context, Suharto used this tension very clever. I was trained by this Catholic group (Kasebul5) in secretive way for one month, but after the second weeks I left this group as I realized that I did not agree with the violence way they used to train us besides the priest psywar me as the follower of Mangunwijaya who had different political perspective with this group.

Experience from Accompaniment of the Political Prisoners During the same time in 1988-1989, three of our comrades6Bambang Subono (BS), Bambang Isti Nugroho (BIN) and Bonar Tigor Naipospos (BTN) -were in the prisons due to the book selling of
I was born in April 1965, in Sept 30, 1965 there was a coup organized by Army. This event changed Indonesia modern history and brought the Suharto dictatorship. At that day, my father was asked to go to Lubang Buaya, but he got the telegram from my mother about his daughter illness in Bandung. So he went to visit me instead of attend in Lubang Buaya where the generals were killed by the soldiers too. My father was the Indonesia Air Force soldier, the place of Lubang Buaya was own by the Air Force but the coup was initiated by the army. 4 I went the office and met with the 50 Petition group when I was in teenagers and wrote the letters to them to ask about political situation 5 Khasebul (Khalwat Sebulan) is a full month leadership training combined with retreat with the Catholic ideology as the bases and political-economic analysis lecturer. The recruitment and training made very secretive through the cell system, hierarchical, patriarchal, and use the violence method and obedience. It was started in 1960s to combat the Communism then continued again during Suharto regime to face the Islam force. Till 1980s, this group was closed with Suharto regime although they change after Suharto close with Islam group from ICMI (The Association of Indonesia Muslim Scholars) in 1990s. 6 This case is also popular as the case of Three B (since all of them have their name started with capital B)
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Pramudya7 Ananta Toers books and group discussion of sensitive issues from democracy, women workers, capitalism, socialism and marxism. The regime used them as one of cases8 to show the public about the rise of communism. I was part of the advocacy team with other comrades. In fact, I was also the distributor of the book with them and I was also one of the participants of the discussions. Of course, I could not run from the situation and have to involve with the advocacy work with the Legal Aid Foundation as the formal organization. From this experience I learned the judicial system, visit the prison, lobby the military commander, involved in the demonstrations, see the brutality of military, part of the team for writing the defense, and knowing the international advocacy for this case from solidarity groups till human rights organization such as Tapol Indonesia, Komite Indonesia, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International etc. This case also made us stigmatized as the leftist student. In addition, from this experience brought me to visit several prisons and then with Asian Student Association (ASA) we published the poster for freedom of student political prisoners in Indonesia who against the regime. Student Movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Java After 1978, the student movement was dormant in Indonesia. The government has its policy call Normalisasi Kehidupan Kampus (NKK or Campus Normal Life) with means that campus must free from political activity. When I enrolled in the university in 1984, there was no political activity at all. Only the student mass organizations like HMI (Islamic Student Association), PMII (Indonesia Islamic Student Association related with Nahdhatul Ulama), GMKI (Indonesia Christian Student Movement), PMKRI (Indonesia Republic of Catholic Student Association) and GMNI (Indonesia Nationalist Student Movement) and the students associations related with their department such as the Family of Anthropology Student, etc. During this period we were busy
Pramudya is the famous writer of many historical novels, he was the members of Lekra the mass organization affiliated with the Communist Party of Indonesia due to his activity in this organization he was imprisonment for 12 years in Buru island. 8 During this period, the regime had efforts to clean or to sack the professional in the media and bureaucracy who have the parents involved in Indonesia Communist Party and its mass organizations. This make the people became the spy towards one another and use the case to get their own position. During Suharto regime, there was a discriminated policy package namely bersih diri (self clean) and bersih lingkungan (environment clean). It has the meaning that a person has to proof that he/she was really free from any connection or relation from parents and family with the Indonesia Communist Party and its mass organizations.
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with party, books and love without politics. In 1984, in Gadjah Mada University was held in the first time the indoctrination about Pancasila as the state ideology. We had to follow the lecturer about P4 (Pedoman Penghayatan dan Pengamalan Pancasila) or guidelines for carrying out the principles of Pancasila. Besides working as the correspondent of the magazine and newspaper and doing voluntary work as the teacher for street children and urban poor women in the slum area, I was looking for the activity with other students then I was active and being the first woman chairperson of student association from anthropology department. Not satisfied with this activity, I involved in the student press and the discussion or study groups. From these two last activities, we had the ideas and made efforts to rise the student movement and politicized its. It was in 1987, for the first time I was signed the petition against the imprisonment of Malaysia and Singaporean activists under Internal Security Acts (ISA). We built the networking across mostly in Java and tried to reach the outside too. In the new year of 1988, in the beach of Parangtritis, Yogyakarta, we gathered all of the activists from all over Java. It was two camps between the one want to have mass action through organizing works and demonstration; and the other want to have only the information action through writing the articles and published the books. From this starting point, we have the students action groups in the big cities in Java Island Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor, Surabaya, Semarang, and Yogyakarta. These students action groups took many and varied cased from land rights, workers rights, the students issues, the freedom of the press and the student political prisoners, till later the cases of Timor Leste, Aceh and Papua as well as the solidarity to the Burma. During this period there were many working committees from against the eviction of Kedung Ombo Dam project in Central Java till Badega case in West Java where the plantation company want to take the peoples land. Via the student movement too I had the chance to know what are the international solidarity actions through the involvement in Asia Student Association (ASA). I learned the cases of student movement and pro democracy movement from Burma, Philippines and Korea. One important thing also is about the ideology of student movement that there are camp of Marxism, socialism and liberal democracy. Of course outside the student action groups there are Islamic student groups.

The Role of Legal Aid Foundation to Introduce of Human Rights in Indonesia I still remember for the first time to enter the office of Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation in Jakarta sometime in 1987. There was a discussion with two Indonesia students9 studied in Netherlands and there was a student activist from Makassar who held demonstration against helmet. Then in 1989, in the human rights day, I became vice chair committee for the commemoration day in Jakarta. This opportunity made me aware about the human rights struggle in Indonesia. Through the Legal Aid Foundation also, I learned about the Human Rights Declaration, the ideas of human rights, the cases of human rights abuses and the networking of human rights organizations in the national level and international level too. Besides that, it shaped my thinking on political analysis such as the militarism and NorthSouth relationship. To some extend, LBH was also the financial supporter of the Indonesia student movement. They were ready to support if there were the demonstration from meeting place to the money matter. It was many criticisms towards the Legal Aid Foundation as well as many factions inside. In 1995, there was a separation to be PBHI. However we can not deny that from Legal Aid Foundation there were many organizations and many activists were born including the women movement, trade union, anti corruption movement and of course human rights movement in general. It can not be denied that Legal Aid Foundation has been a meeting point of many activists who have commitment (either strong or partial) for democracy, equality-equity and human rights in Indonesia. Indirectly, PIPHAM the organization where I had worked for two years was the organization where I learned the issues of the rights of the people with disability or diffable rights. Women Movement with Human and Women Rights During the Suharto regime, only the mass organizations who accept the Pancasila as the sole ideology can be exist. In terms of women organization, the regime had their own ideology called Panca Dharma Wanita which is housewifezation and domestication of the women. There were three big women mass organization or wife organization PKK, Dharma Wanita (wife of civil servant) and Dharma
They were the students who expelled from Indonesia University due to invite Pramudya Ananta Toer to the discussion inside the campus.
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Pertiwi (wife of Indonesia Military personnel). Besides them there were mass women organizations The first women NGO was started in 1982 namely Yayasan Annisa Swasti (Yasanti) in Yogyakarta working with women workers. Then in Jakarta in 1985, the other women NGO was born namely Yayasan Kalyanamitra. Through my activism through student movement, I have met them in Legal Aid Foundation in Jakarta and then in Yogyakarta. In the student movement, only small numbers of female student were active. Many times, it was only me who attend the meeting. Besides that, the male student activists tended to act in traditional way of thinking that women have the certain domestic roles even in the public sphere. So they asked women to prepare the drink and food, to be the secretary or treasurer. They talked the jokes with male biased. It is not easy being the women in the movement, although they were also respect to us if we can hold our principles. Some of my comrades support me to start to organize women groups from women NGO, women journalist, artists to have a women forum. Then in January 1988, we built the Yogyakarta Women Forum. We discuss the issue of sexual division of labour and feminism and NGOs in Indonesia. Still in 1988, with other women activist in Salatiga, it was in the first time we had a solidarity action for Rumini Ida10 through the Gerakan Kesadaran Perempuan (GKP Women Consciousness Movement). Hence, I learned about domestic violence directly from the case not from the concept first. After this, we started the new group of Forum Diskusi Perempuan Yogyakarta (FDPY or Yogyakarta Women Discussion Forum) in April 1989. Most of the members are the female student activists. We agree the demonstration as the way to express our political commitment. We took all of the issues, from the eviction of the women traders from old market to the new market, the land rights issues, workers issues. During this period also, personally when I was in Jakarta, I learned from other women activists about the issues of migrant women worker and I was involved to have the campaign about the domestic worker case for the first time. Through FDPY also, we learned about feminism and other ideologies and women movement in other countries like Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand as well as from Europe and USA. Other important thing is about International Women Day March 811 that we learned through the interaction with Discussion
She burnt her husband till died due to extra marital relationship of her husband and the domestic violence she had been suffered for the 10 years of marriage life. 11 After 1965, the International Women Day was forbidden to commemorate since it was associate with the Marxism and Communism. It is true that Gerwani the women organization closed with Communist Party of Indonesia the one who initiated the
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Forum of International Women. In 1990, we commemorated this in public through the demonstration. In 1991, due to our involvement in publishing the calendar namely Land for the People which portray Suharto with Madame Tien and other important minister as the oppressors of the people mostly are farmer- through the land cases. We have to face the intimidation and law punishment. We decided that the artist and one of the activists had to be exiled in order to save the other activists from the arrest. Due to this action, FDPY loss the members and we changed our name to be Forum Perempuan Tjoet Nyak Dien (Rumpun) in 1992 and in 1995 we became the foundation to make our works became more systematic and got the fund from international NGOs. In early 1990s also, I taught about gender analysis, women rights is human rights (after Vienna human rights conference) and the environmental issues through the cooperation with INFIGHT. Domestic Worker as the Subject of Commitment In early 1990s, there was a serious discussion in our organization which the issue that we want to focus on. The two women organizations in Jakarta as our closest allies took the women migrant workers and women labour. It was not easy decision since we were influenced by Marxism and domestic worker is a not progressive class like industrial labour. Although we have been influenced by feminisms but at that time we did not have any tools of analysis on domestic worker, except the sexual division of labour. But we thought that domestic worker is part of the poor people in Indonesia and they are oppressed by the system of feudalism, patriarchy, militarism and capitalism. This issue also related with the issues of class, religion12, ethnicity, and race. Later on the way, we faced the comments and questioned such as, Why do you take the issue of domestic worker?, What happened if the domestic worker being clever, they do not obey us and asking their rights?, It is not the issue of democracy and human rights, etc.
commemoration in Indonesia. 12 Although most Indonesia look like to practice religious ritual but in fact to some extend there are feelings embraced by Indonesian such as the hatred against the Chinese descendants, the suspicious against the Christians or minority complex of the Christianity towards Islam, and the piety is really personal not structural. So they do not ask from where the money come from? Is it the clean money or from the corruption? In addition, the middle class can be very consumptive and buy the expensive things but they do not care about the wages of the domestic workers

However in 1992 was the first time we took the case of domestic worker of Kamiyatun. She was abused by her employer. We organized the campaign for her. Then we organized the serial discussion about the domestic worker from various perspectives from history, sociology, and psychology. Then in 1993, we had the research action with the domestic worker. In 1997, we started our working with the domestic worker more systematically. The falling down of Suharto regime, brought the impact to our work became easier and more open in the community. In 2000, we started our sister organization in Jakarta and we changed our organization to be association namely RUMPUN as the umbrella organization with two sister organizations: Rumpun Gema Perempuan (RGP) in Jakarta and Rumpun Tjoet Nyak Dien (RTND) in Yogyakarta. WHO, WHAT and HOW are Domestic Worker There are 2,6 million of domestic worker in Indonesia, from that number there are 688.132 (34,38%) are the children, and among them 93 % is the girls under 18 years old. Most of them are women. They started working as the girls. They described being lured with false promises of higher wages in cities, but without being given details about all the tasks they would perform, the hours they would be expected to work, or the lack of vacation days for months at a time. They typically worked fourteen to eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, with no day off. Living with the employer and full of family relationship Their employers forbid them from leaving the workplace to visit their family or friends or from receiving any visitors, rendering them depressed and isolated from the outside world. In the worst cases, in addition to working eighteen hour days, some were physically and sexually abused. They are vulnerable of exploitation by the employer and the agent No social security and health insurance Absent of specific legal protection Employers often withhold salary until the domestic workers returns home once a year for Eid-ul-Fitr, a Muslim holiday at the end of Ramadan; many then fail to pay the children at all or pay less than what they promised.

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WHAT we have been done so far 1. Policy Advocacy through national legislation and regional legislation 2. Campaign and public education 3. Cases Handling (counseling, accompaniment of the survivors) 4. Organizing work of domestic worker Reflection We need to remember also that in Indonesia and most Asia countries as the middle class, we employ domestic worker and we face our selves in dealing with the domestic worker. Even among the human rights activist or defender, when coming into this issue, this created the uneasy situation for all of us, we have to be critical to ourselves! The democracy and human rights practices must be started in our hearts and our home. Epilogue Indonesia is still in the condition of transition to democracy, we faced the problems of decentralization where some hard liners want to domesticated women based on the religion through the Syariah Law, the problems of civil political human rights abuses from the old regimes such as the missing activists and persons from 1996-1998, Munirs case besides the big problems of the survivors and victims from 1965-1966 massacre, Tanjung Priok 1984, Talang Sari 1989, and the effect of political cases related with the armed struggle of East Timor and Aceh which is still the agenda for both parties although there are good step, the Papua is still on going problem, the rights of so called the people used the bomb and of course the related religious conflict in Poso, Ambon, North Maluku. Indonesia is also still faces the problems of the burning of the religious places, the migrant workers, extreme poverty which caused malnutrition, etc which is related with the economic social rights. In addition, there are still human rights problems like comfort women issues (jugun ianfu), discrimination towards diffable persons, minority like Ahmadiyah followers, and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender). In spite of the abundance problems and challenges but we must have a vision to live in the world where we can embrace of the human rights principles from child rights, women rights, person with disability rights and development environmental rights. And as this world if full 11

of the disasters we need to ensure the rights of the people in disasters condition either due to the natural calamity or due to conflict or civil wars. We have to full fill our rights as human. To achieve these, we need to work hand in hand from the personal level to the family level, neighborhood community till national and global level. End Reference

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