Indonesian women assert themselves with martial arts as gender-based violence remains a challenge

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An emotionally and physically abusive marriage of 11 years led Rani Miranti to join a fight club that has trained her in martial arts, enabling her to stand up against violence.

Miranti is one of the growing number of Indonesian women who are taking self-defense classes as gender-based violence remains a challenge in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

“Government protection usually comes after violence has happened, while we never know when it will come,” said the 38-year-old single parent of three children. “Unfortunately, when it suddenly comes, no one can help. So, we need to have self-defense capabilities.”

The National Commission on Violence Against Women, known as Komnas Perempuan, recorded 289,111 cases last year, a decrease of around 12% from 339,782 in 2022, the year when a law on sexual violence was enacted.

However, the commission suggested the latest data represents “a tip of the iceberg” in gender-based violence. The true number of cases is suspected to be significantly higher, it said in the 2023 Komnas Perempuan annual report released in March.

A large number of cases went unreported because of several factors: limited access for victims to complaint services, a weak case documentation system, and a high level of social stigma toward victims of violence, the report said.

Indonesia’s Parliament approved a far-reaching law in 2022 that sets punishment for sexual violence and guarantees provisions, restitution or other remedies for victims and survivors.

The law was passed a week after an Indonesian high court sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them. The girls were between 11 and