Women's Movement in Women March Jakarta 2025

Since the public began suing the government for transparency in the state budget due to rampant corruption and increasingly unreasonable national debt, the hedonistic lifestyle of officials has raised suspicions. This ultimately led to a fairly massive mass demonstration and demands last August.

And I, as a citizen concerned with such matters, have been constantly observing and monitoring developments. Many victims of repression, protesters have disappeared, protesters have been detained without clear charges, and to this day, October, they have not been released. All legal institutions and their networks have tried to secure the release of these innocent people, but to no avail.

Furthermore, because the Women's March, held annually by a network of women's activists and communities, was just around the corner, I joined in this year's march and spoke out.

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At first, I was a bit apprehensive because this was my first time participating in a march and speaking out. Fortunately, my friend, an activist, was also going to be marching, and we agreed to meet at Palmerah Station the next day. It was the closest station to the protest's gathering point.

We all walked from Jalan Gatot Subroto to the front of the parliament building. In front of us, a speaker continuously delivered a speech, voicing demands that the government must meet regarding women's issues, gender, and the repressive issues faced by the protesters last August.

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The eleven demands formulated by the Women's March Jakarta 2025 network were:

1. Stop National Strategic Projects and all extractive activities that rob living space, endanger the ecology, and deploy security forces to silence indigenous communities and citizens. 2. Lower the price of basic necessities and ensure social protection for all people without exception.

2. Immediately pass the Domestic Worker Protection Bill (RUU PPRT)

3. Recognize care and reproductive work as essential work.

4. Eliminate all discriminatory regulations.

5. The state is obliged to recognize femicide as a national crisis.

6. Guarantee access to safe, legal, and discrimination-free healthcare services.

7. Stop sexual harassment facilitated by AI, deepfakes, and other manipulative technologies.

8. Reform the police force to adopt a gender-based and humane perspective.

9. Withdraw troops from humanitarian conflicts, including in Papua.

10. Create a safe, inclusive, representative, and censorship-free political and public space.

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It turns out that my country still has much work to do to become a safe and peaceful nation for all citizens.

In addition to speeches from various network representatives, Women's March also presented a theatrical poetry performance criticizing the government for sexism and gender bias. There were also two musicians, including a rapper and a DJ, who delivered powerful songs of resistance that were equally cool.

The sun was getting hotter and hotter, and our spirits were burning even more.

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A choir performed two Joan Baez songs: "We Shall Overcome" and "Donna Donna," as well as a song of unity from Marjinal.
I hope all the people's demands are met, and that our country will become a better nation. Thank you for reading. See you in the next post.

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