West Papua: Government Fails Women's Rights

The Indonesian Government Fails To Protect Papuan Women's Rights

The leader of the Papuan People's Assembly, Hana Hikoyabi, has bluntly criticized the role of the military in exploiting and victimizing Papuan women.

In a December 2 Jakarta Globe report, ( http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/women-in-papua-continue-to-suffer/345155 ) Hikoyabi noted that women are forced to leave their homes due to pressures from developers often backed by the military. "It hurts them so much because they depend on the land to live and eat, find materials for housing and to cook for their families,” Hikoyabi said, adding that military officers conducting the land clearing activities had been known to sexually assault Papuan women who refused to move out of their homes. “They are raped by the military personnel and suffer deep trauma, which is not easily healed,” Hana said. "The government has failed to provide either trauma support or legal aid for these victims of violence and has not done enough to investigate the cases and punish the perpetrators" she added. "Women’s rights remain abandoned in Papua,” Hikoyabi concluded.

ENDS

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