Activists hold up posters as they shout slogans during a rally denouncing violence allegedly committed by the police during days of protests against lavish allowances given to the members of the parliament, in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 3, 2025
HUNDREDS of women gathered outside the Indonesian parliament today, demanding an end to state violence and wasteful government spending.
Women wearing pink to symbolise bravery held broomsticks to represent their call to “sweep away the dirt of the state, militarism and police repression.”
Others also waved signs reading: “Reform the police.”
The demonstration, organised by the Indonesian Women’s Alliance (API), followed a week of unrest in Jakarta that left at least 10 people dead after a motorcycle taxi driver was run over by an armoured police vehicle.
API leaders urged President Prabowo Subianto to stop using the military and police against civilians and to withdraw troops from security operations.
They demanded the resignation of the national police chief and the release of protesters held without charge.
The alliance also denounced the criminalisation of dissent, calling for an end to the targeting of activists, journalists and legal aid workers.
Amnesty International’s Montse Ferrer condemned the crackdown, saying: “Nobody should die while exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
And the UN has called for “prompt, thorough and transparent investigations” into alleged human rights abuses.
