The Indonesian Women's Alliance (API) held an action and art performance on Sunday March 8 to commemorate International Women's Day (IWD) 2026.
Held at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Centre (TIM) Grand Theatre in Central Jakarta, during the action they voiced strong demands against structural oppression of women.
The event, which initiated by a coalition of more than 50 feminist organisations, took up the theme "Women United: Fighting Oppression of the Body". Unlike previous years, this year's celebration was packaged as a Women's Stage combining art installations, dance performances and stand-up comedy.
The Alliance emphasised that women's bodies remain the object of structural violence perpetrated by the state through various regulations and programs.
"A system that concentrates on power and elitism has oppressed women", wrote the API in in official statement on Sunday.
Some of the crucial points that were highlighted included:
- The strengthening of militarism and the breakdown of democracy
- The weakening of the rule of law
- The expansion of extractive industries that undermine women's livelihoods
The Women's Stage was divided into three rounds of discussion featuring speakers from grassroots groups, ranging from indigenous women, people with disabilities to transgender women.
Ika Ayu, from the Samsara women's support group, highlighted the difficulty of accessing reproductive health care, which threatens women's lives. "The further women are from accessing reproductive health care, the closer they are to death", she asserted.
Furthermore, issues such as femicide (the killing of women based on gender), the fate of domestic workers (PRT) and the criminalisation of transgender women were also key topics of discussion.
At the end of the event, the API read a declaration containing demands for the government. The main points were:
1. Bodies do not belong to the state: Reject state control over bodies, sexuality and reproductive rights.
2. Recognise state violence as crimes against humanity: Demand the recognition of dark histories such as the events of 1965 and the May 1998 tragedy.
3. Oppose pro-war politics: Reject economic policies that serve militarism and the destruction of living spaces.
4. Systemic change: Demand the ratification of the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers Bill (RUU PPRT) and the Indigenous Peoples Bill, as well as the termination of national strategic projects (PSN) that damage the environment.
The event concluded with a movement sermon by the director of the Swara Rahima Association, Pera Sopariyanti, in which she said that IWD 2026 is hoped to be a moment of reflection and reconstruction of women's strength to be free from all forms of oppression.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Peringatan IWD 2026: Aliansi Perempuan Indonesia Desak Negara Stop Penindasan atas Tubuh!".]
