Song Hong
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It isn’t often that a teenage girl sways the might of the 300,000-strong Indonesian Army, but that’s what Faye Simanjuntak did in helping to bring an end to the senior service’s controversial practice of conducting virginity tests on female recruits.
Using her popular Instagram account, she was uniquely placed to push the case. She is the daughter of Major-General Maruli Simanjuntak, the former commander of the Presidential Security Force and the current chief of the Bali-based Nusa Tenggara regional command.
She is also the fiercely independent granddaughter of powerful Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan, himself a former four-star special forces general who did nothing to discourage the young campaigner, even helping her initiate discussions with some of his colleagues on a practice she describes as “detestable.”
Faye has told friends that without exception, all the female soldiers she came across during the course of her campaign had been subjected to virginity tests. She now believes there should be accountability for those who have defended the practice in the past.
Once part of the military chain of command, the Indonesian National Police quietly ended the tests in 2015, a year after New York-based HRW first raised the issue, describing it as “abusive, degrading and discriminatory.
”Women make up about 15% of Indonesia’s 400,000 service personnel, but the highest percentage are in the navy and air force, which have yet to follow Perkasa’s lead. Says HRW’s Indonesian director, Andreas Harsono: “If there aren’t other factors, I think they will.”
It hasn’t been easy to break down barriers. In 2015, then-TNI chief General Moeldoko, now President Widodo’s chief of staff, claimed the virginity test was aimed at bringing forward the most qualified female soldiers, without bothering to explain the logic behind his assertion.
Using her popular Instagram account, she was uniquely placed to push the case. She is the daughter of Major-General Maruli Simanjuntak, the former commander of the Presidential Security Force and the current chief of the Bali-based Nusa Tenggara regional command.
She is also the fiercely independent granddaughter of powerful Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan, himself a former four-star special forces general who did nothing to discourage the young campaigner, even helping her initiate discussions with some of his colleagues on a practice she describes as “detestable.”
Faye has told friends that without exception, all the female soldiers she came across during the course of her campaign had been subjected to virginity tests. She now believes there should be accountability for those who have defended the practice in the past.
Once part of the military chain of command, the Indonesian National Police quietly ended the tests in 2015, a year after New York-based HRW first raised the issue, describing it as “abusive, degrading and discriminatory.
”Women make up about 15% of Indonesia’s 400,000 service personnel, but the highest percentage are in the navy and air force, which have yet to follow Perkasa’s lead. Says HRW’s Indonesian director, Andreas Harsono: “If there aren’t other factors, I think they will.”
It hasn’t been easy to break down barriers. In 2015, then-TNI chief General Moeldoko, now President Widodo’s chief of staff, claimed the virginity test was aimed at bringing forward the most qualified female soldiers, without bothering to explain the logic behind his assertion.
Indonesia ends virginity tests for female soldiers - Asia Times
JAKARTA - It isn’t often that a teenage girl sways the might of the 300,000-strong Indonesian Army, but that’s what Faye Simanjuntak did in helping to
asiatimes.com