Stop Sudah English-revised-March2012 - International Center for ...

Wam13, Wn
Wn was kicked and punched until her nose and face were bloody. The case was reported to the
police and her husband paid a fine of a pig to Wn’s brothers, but after that Wn was beaten
again. Once Wn was driven away to her parents’ home, but after three days her brothers
returned her to her husband along with two pigs as a sign of apology. That night, Wn was
beaten and expelled again from her husband’s house.
Now [my husband] has become head of the sub-district . . . Although it’s been managed, the problem won’t be
finished because his government position will always justify him. [My husband] has four wives and I am the
third wife. He only pays attention to his newest wife, while the rest of us live in the village with no attention
whatsoever.
BIA28, Bac
BIA 29, Bsd
BIA23, Bx
KJP20, Kt
KJP05, Ke
MIM34, Ta
After Bac husband came home from studying in Java their household was no longer
harmonious. His salary was not as much as usual and the husband was always angry for no
apparent reason. It was several years later before Bac knew her husband had a mistress. Bac
reported this to her husband’s superior, but there was no response. Bac’s husband married and
now lives with the second wife, whereas Bac’s three children cannot continue their education
due to lack of funds. According to Bac, the company where her husband works doesn’t care
about a problem such as this one; many of the employees have more than one wife.
When he gets home from work, Bsd’s husband is often drunk and doesn’t hand over his salary.
He also likes to have affairs. When Bsd admonishes him, he beats her. Because his salary is paid
through the bank, ATM machines and credit cards allow the husband to sleep in hotels or shop
at the supermarket and his wife is the victim. Bsd reported this problem to her husband’s office.
Bsd’s husband is living with another woman and now works in Java. The children are with her
husband, but Bsd does not know where they live or what their circumstances are. Bsd and her
husband divorced in court without any provisions for Bsd.
The perpetrator was an army soldier who wanted to marry Bx even though she already had a
husband, a child, and was three months pregnant. Bx finally left her first husband and married
the soldier. When she gave birth to twins, the problems began. Her (second) husband would
always hit Bx; he once threw a spear at her and it broke a glass window in the house. The
husband wanted to have sex with Bx’s 13-year-old daughter. The child ran away from home and
lives with her grandmother. The stepfather was angry, then left Bx and lives with another
woman.
After living together nine years, Kt’s husband started to be get rough with her in 2001. He liked
to drink alcohol and ask for all sorts of things.
I was threatened, had to surrender my daughter [from my first husband] to be his wife . . . he forced [her] to
satisfy his sexual appetite . . . To hide the shame, I allowed my daughter to marry and live in another city.
Ke accepted her husband’s violence since 2003 because he is a tribal chief (ondoafi). “I was
beaten and threatened by him . . . gave him permission to live with someone else.” Neither did
Ke’s family defend her because of her husband’s status as an ondoafi. “Let it be, what more he’s
an ondo!”
In 2003, 2005, and 2009, Ta experienced domestic violence. Her face and ears were burned and
she had to be hospitalized for two months. The police processed the case to the point of
prosecution, but because she took into account custom and family pressure, the victim
withdrew her case.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 42