With brooms in hand as symbol for change, Indonesian women join Jakarta protests

Hundreds of women dressed in pink joined protests in Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday against lawmakers’ perks and police brutality, brandishing brooms as a symbol of their calls for reform, while the president flew to China for a military parade.

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The women carried signs with slogans such as “reform the police” and “your sweet promises cause diabetes,” as well as the brooms which protest organizer The Alliance of Indonesian Women said symbolized a need to “sweep the state’s dirt... and the repressiveness of security forces.”

The protests that began in Jakarta last week have rocked the world’s third-largest democracy, with the demonstrations escalating nationwide after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver on Thursday night.