RESILIENT
Aprillio Akbar (Antara Foto, Jakarta)

Imagine how nice it would be if every man understood women; if men loved women for all their strengths and weaknesses, and realized that their actions could hurt their spouses’ feelings. For most women, this is only a dream.

Musriyah (49), for instance, was a victim of domestic abuse. During the day, this mother of one used to tend to her store. Her life was under so much pressure because her husband often spat out hurtful words. Furthermore, the husband did not even work at the time and was unwilling to help her with chores.

Even though she went through difficult times, Musriyah chose to stay with her husband. She held out for the sake of her child’s future. Musriyah believed that her family would stay solid if both she and her husband were equally committed and shared the same principles.

At first, Musriyah did not realize that what was happening to her is a form of domestic abuse. She was also not aware that there were many domestic abuse victims in her neighborhood until one day she was informed by Yayasan KAPAL Perempuan about gender equality and the importance of women voicing their opinions.

At the Foundation’s initiative, Musriyah and several women who live on the riverbank of Ciliwung in Rawajati Village, founded Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati in October 2003.

The school was established as a place where women can learn together and understand about gender equality and domestic abuse issues, as well as to find solutions for the victims. This was done to achieve gender equality in their neighborhood, especially in households. Since founded, Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati has handled five domestic abuse cases. One of them was experienced by Yati (57).

Yati works as a housemaid. She had a gloomy past when she found out her husband was having an affair. Yati, who did not graduate from elementary school, also experienced mental abuse from her husband’s actions. After receiving counsel from Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati, Yati decided to separate from her husband and live alone. She could not stand her husband’s actions anymore.

In 2017, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded 348,446 cases of violence against women, of which domestic abuse had the highest number of cases (335,062). It shows that Law No. 23/2004 on the Elimination of Domestic Violence has not been able to reduce the number of domestic abuse cases that continue to increase every year.

“We hope that the education of gender equality taught at Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati can reduce the number of domestic abuse cases, which increases every year,” says Head of Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati, Musriyah.

“I am a woman and I will continue to fight against domestic abuse.” That is a part of the lyrics sung by the women in Sekolah Perempuan Ciliwung Rawajati. The song echoes on, motivating these women in their fight against mistreatment.