[World History Archives]

History of women and gender in Indonesia

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   The history of Indonesian society in general

History in general of Indonesian women and gender

Military doctor surrenders as police investigate dumped foetuses
South China Morning Post, Internet Edition, Wednesday 3 Dec 1997. Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, unless it is done to save the life of the mother. Abortions cost between 500,000 rupiah (HK$1,150) and 800,000 rupiah and are available at dozens of private clinics, hospitals and backyard establishments in Jakarta.
Women in Indonesia (clitoridectomy) dialog
From the H-Asia list, 6 apr 1998. To what extent does FGM exist in Indonesia?
Tradition Limits Girls' Future
By Kafil Yamin, IPS, 12 may 1999. The average marrying age in Indonesia is 23 years for women, but in many rural villages and towns, the figures are far lower. The result is that generations upon generations of rural Indonesian women have been deprived of the chance to seek higher education, or to choose lives outside of childbearing and housework.
Ignorance, Lack of Funds Push Up Maternal Deaths
By Richel Dursin, IPS, 13 jun 2000. Ignorance of prenatal care, coupled with poor health services, exacerbates maternal deaths in Indonesia, placing the country among nations with the highest maternal mortality ratio in Southeast Asia.
Abortion reaches 'alarming' levels in Indonesia
The Straits Times, 26 oct 2000. Three million women - many unmarried - had abortions last year. Ignorance of contraception is one reason, says a family-planning group. In order to boost their chance of getting a husband, many young women consent to have sex with a man.

The Jakarta rape terror, 13-14 May 1998

No clear figures on rapes during recent riots
The Straits Times, 25 Jun 1998. Women's Affairs Minister Tuti Allawiyah says she has not received accurate data on what some here have described as the systematic rape of ethnic Chinese Indonesian women in last month's riots.
Shocked Jakarta acts on rape terror
The Hong Kong Standard, 9 Jul 1998. Indonesia's government establishes a task force to protect women against sexual violence. Human rights groups have documented more than 100 cases of rape and sexual assault during the May rioting that ousted Suharto as president.
The Chinese rapes, economic depression, and Indonesian communalism
Inside Indonesia, digest 68, 31 August 1998. Denial of the rapes now appears to be a considered policy. Worldwide Chinese solidarity condemning the rapes evoked defensive Islamic anger. Popular sentiment has thus subsumed the truth into Chinese-vs-Muslims communal bigotry. Indonesian human rights workers are now widely portrayed as 'traitors' who deserve to die.