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

JAKARTA, Indonesia (news agencies) — 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 14 years old and were raped over several years, drawing public outcry over why he wasn’t caught earlier.

In July, Indonesia’s electoral commission fired its chair after finding him guilty of sexual assault following a complaint by an employee. It was the latest in a series of the country’s high-profile cases of violence against women in a vast archipelago nation of more than 277 million people.

With cases growing, more Indonesian women and girls who feared physical violence turned to alternative ways of ensuring their safety, including self-defense classes and clubs.

For Miranti, whose husband repeatedly attacked and physically abused her, Muay Thai is the most suitable self-defense, as it helps her gain more skills, self-confidence and prevention techniques.

Wearing a red hijab and boxing gloves, the teacher in a Jakarta Islamic primary school demonstrated her skill in pounding a heavy bag and kicking toward her sparring partner. It’s part of her training routine in a mixed martial arts course in eastern Jakarta, where she enrolled almost two years ago after she decided to get out of her abusive marriage in 2018.

With origins in Thailand, Muay Thai is a form of kickboxing that includes knee and elbow strikes, kicks and punches.

“Now, I have a way. … I have the skill to fight back,” Miranti said. “But even more importantly, I have learned to avoid situations by being more aware of my surroundings.”

Miranti’s female coach, Himattul Hasanah, said she was overwhelmed by the increasing demand of women who want to learn martial arts, especially in private training, as female Muay Thai instructors are hard to find.

“Many aren’t going to feel comfortable to be coached by male instructors, or need a private class at home,” she added.

She said that most of the women who have attended her self-defense classes are timid, with some experiencing abuse in the past.

“Learning physical self-defense not only gives the tools to control their reactions to negative situations, but also can build the confidence for mental defense too,” Hasanah said.

Her husband, professional MMA fighter Rizal Zulmi, said the rising trend of women who are learning martial arts shows abusers and criminals that “not all women are easy prey.”

The pair of martial arts coaches opened BKT Fight Club three years ago with around 40 students.