Starting Point
Wallang Perempuan was established in 2007 by women activists in Ambon, namely Ella, Kiki, and Nur. It was formed to fill the void of women-specific crisis centers in post-conflict Ambon, as most of the humanitarian entities were too engrossed in refugee matters. Wallang Perempuan seeks to address violence against women and promote peace.
In tackling violence against women, Wallang Perempuan requires the participation of both Muslim and Christian activists. Ella, a Christian, worked alongside Nur, a Muslim, in advocating for women in Central Maluku. Not only does this principle serve as a means to ensure peace, it also protects members of both ethnicities. Muslims can’t possibly harm a Christian if the Christian works alongside a Muslim, and vice versa.
Peace Journey
Daniella Loupatty envisioned Wallang Perempuan as an educational training center that revolves around cross-cutting issues of violence against women. Concerning climate change, for example, Wallang Perempuan encourages sago-producing indigenous villages to enact a positive law prohibiting the logging of young sago trees. This prohibition helps increase the income of women selling sago-processed goods. Wallang Perempuan also worked alongside Phillips CSR in distributing solar-powered lamps to remote communities, in hope of reducing cases of violence against women.
Regarding stunting, Wallang Perempuan conducted a survey that proved the positive correlation between gender-based violence cases and stunting. Although the sample size was rather small—it was conducted among residents of Kelurahan Benteng and Kelurahan Kuda Mati in Ambon–, the survey concluded that most of the children who suffered from stunting were born from mothers who were victims of GBV. Following the survey, Wallang Perempuan sent a stunting-related policy brief to the Local Department of Health and the local churches.
Success Stories
Ella herself was initially a Muslim who converted to Christianity when she married one during the conflict. It created a complex social identity for her as she wasn’t deemed fully Christian, yet she was already ostracized from the Muslim community for being an alleged defector. She faced a lot of pressure and violent threats from both groups, a few of which she still receives during these past few years of her working as an activist.
Those threats never hindered her spirit when she worked for Wallang Perempuan. The institution worked tirelessly to advocate for the recognition of “anak/mama piara”, a term that refers to the local comfort women who bred children to Indonesian military officials. Those officials—most of which were Javanese—were stationed in Maluku during the conflict, yet their anak/mama piara and their children who were born out of wedlock were never properly recognized nor compensated for. Wallang Perempuan reported their existence and interests to Komnas Perempuan.