In partnership with Sisters For Change
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4 February 2016
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Speaker: Khariroh Ali
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Chair: Jane Gordon
How do women’s groups in Indonesia deal with the challenges of discriminatory bylaws, the rise of religious conservatism and the relationship between religion and state? A leading women’s rights activist will explore these and other issues, including the condition of women’s rights in the post-conflict affected areas of Papua and Aceh.
Khariroh Ali was appointed Commissioner of the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women in 2014. She has been a women’s activist and researcher for over 10 years and has worked on issues of justice and gender equality for various local NGOs, including Puan Amal Hayati, P3M and Rahima. She is also active in the Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama women's organisation. She previously worked for the International NGO IRI (International Republican Institute) where she led a programme to increase women’s representation in Parliament by encouraging women’s participation in politics, supporting the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, training women candidates to build more effective campaigns and conducting capacity building on the creation of gender-sensitive policies and gender responsive budgeting. She has an MA from the Centre for International Studies at Ohio University USA and she also studies at the Department for Women & Gender Studies. She is the author of Challenging Religious Discourse: The women’s movement in Indonesia’s Pesantren. Negotiating Islam, Culture & Modernity (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2012)
The Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) is an independent Commission that promotes women’s human rights by working to create an environment conducive to the elimination of all forms of violence against women (VAW) in Indonesia. Komnas Perempuan was established in response to the so-called "May Tragedy" that occurred in mid-May 1998. In the face of significant gaps and inability of other government human rights institutions, Komnas Perempuan endeavours to increase public understanding of violence against women through publications and dialogue and to challenge all forms of violence against women by advocating legal and policy reform and strengthening strategies for the prevention of violence against women and for dealing with its consequences.
This Centre for Women, Peace and Security event is co-hosted with Sisters For Change an international non-profit organisation (based in the UK) that seeks to make justice work for marginalised women and combat violence against women and girls (VAWG) through legal empowerment and social accountability strategies. Sisters For Change is currently active in India, Indonesia and the UK, working with women garment workers in Bangalore, rural Dalit women in Karnataka State, domestic workers in Jakarta and women headed households in East Java.