Thousands of Indonesian women still languish in Suharto's prisons (Tribune, 20 Mei 1975)

Tribune (1975-05-20) - Thousands of Indonesian women still languish IN SUHARTO's PRISONS Source: Trove, National Library of Australia - https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236921364 Date retrieved: 2026-10-17 OCR text (uncorrected) follows. 20 May 1975 - Thousands of Indonesian women still languish Tribune (Sydney, NSW: 1939 - 1991), Tuesday 20 May 1975, page 7 Thousands of Indonesian women still languishIN SUHARTO'S PRISONSThe Indonesian Women's Movement (GERWANI) was one of the progressive organisations which suffered terrible repression after the military coup of October 1965.Thousands of Indonesian women still languish among the 100,000 political prisoners (tapols) in Suharto's prisons and torture chambers. GERWANI formed the leftwing of the women's movement and although not affiliated to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), described itself as an organisation of "communist and non-communist women". It had the bulk of organised peasant and worker women in its ranks, numbering several hundred thousand. It organised women to struggle against polygamy and forced marriages, setting up women's clinics and crechesj running infants' schools and educational courses and around economic demands such as fighting rising prices. After the generals seized power, GERWANI was immediately banned and members became liable for arrest or dismissal from jobs. Women members of the trade unions (SOBSI) and the peasants' organisation (BTI) were also persecuted. GERWANI bore much of the brunt of the propagandist attack of the reactionary generals. It was depicted as an organisation of sex-maniacs. Sensational reports of GERWANI forcing members to become prostitutes, organising "obscene sex-dancing and ritual" and of girl members "mutilating the sex organs of the murdered generals" appealed to prejudices of religious fanaticism and undoubtedly contributed to the massacres of leftists that resulted in between a half and one million dead in 1965. Torture is widely practised against all tapols. Women are also subjected to this, plus sexual assault. Standard torture includes electric shock, beatings, cigarette burns and being left dangling by the wrists for manv hours at a stretch. Womenhave implements inserted violently into vaginas and vicious pummelling of breasts, even against women suckling babies. Violent and repeated rape are standard for women tapols. The exact number of women tapols held is unknown. Many are held in local village prisons and district capitals, as well as in the better known central prison camps. Plantungan Women's Detention Camp in central Java has 386 tapols. They are category B prisoners, officially described as those who cannot be tried for lack of evidence, but who will not be released because they are considered "a threat to national security." Very few are still in contact with their families. The camp is remote, so family visits are rare, while money is needed for a permit to visit. The women must work on the land to obtain subsistence. Very few women have been put on trial. One woman, Sri Ambar, a leading member of the women's department of SOBSI, was called as a witness against PKI political bureau member Sudisman in 1965. She protested her hearing had been impaired due to continued beatings. She lifted her batik wrap to reveal scars on her thigh and buttock. She said she did not know Sudisman and had been compelled under torture to sign a document. The judge had no alternative but to dismiss her. She is still under detention, and recently went on trial herself. Four women political prisoners, held since 1966, are now on trial for their lives in Djakarta. They are Sulami, third secretary of GERWANI, Sudjinah who was on GERWANI staff responsible for Education and Culture, Sri Ambar Rukmiati, head of the SOBSI (trade union federation) women's department and Suharti Harsano formerly on the staff of the banned peasants' organise/iior (BTI)When the trial began on February 3, the women had no counsel to defend them. The court adjourned for a week to allow counsel to be appointed. The four women are accused of direct or indirect involvement in the October 1965 leftwing coup attempt, and working after the generals' seizure of power to revive the PKI. They are accused of publishing an underground newspaper, acquiring false identity cards for themselves and others and helping tapols' children. The wives and children of tens of thousands of tapols, many of whom have been under detention for ten years, often live in destitution. Social services are non-existent. Getting a job, enrolling in schools, or moving to a new district depend on having a certificate of non-involvement in the alleged leftwing coup prior to the generals' takeover. Wives and children of tapols do not get such certificates, unless they hide their identity or bribe an official. Tapols receive less than starvation food allowances, and depend on relatives' food parcels to live. Yet their families find it difficult to survive themselves and are subject to continued harassment. In addition, there are severe social pressures against single or unattached women in Indonesia. Wives of tapols are continually pestered by men and pressured into divorce and remarriage. The oppression Indonesian women suffer under the generals' rule must be of particular concern to the Australian women's movement and progressive people as a whole, in International Women's Year when Suharto is feted by Whitlam and seen by him and the Liberals as our most important ally. (Material in this article has been abridged from TAPOL, the magazine of the British Campaign for the Release of Indonesian Political Prisoners (March 1975), available for two pounds sterling a year from 103 Tilehurst Rd., Wandsworth Common, London SW18, Britain.)