Politics · Indonesia · 1 day ago
Women-led protest in Surabaya sets out five demands
Hundreds of people protested outside the Grahadi State Building in Surabaya, with women making up most of the crowd.
The Aliansi Suroboyo Bergerak and Srikandi Suroboyo groups staged speeches, poetry, music and theatrical performances.
They presented five demands, including a full review of national leadership and better government management.
They also called for forest and land fires to be declared a national disaster, with those responsible punished and victims’ rights restored.
The protesters opposed spending they called wasteful and said the military should not expand its role in civilian affairs.
They gave sanitary pads to policewomen to protest taxes on the products, which they said burden women and affect access to a basic health need.
Police were on standby behind barriers, and policewomen responded with red roses.
Hundreds of protesters, most of them women, rallied outside Gedung Negara Grahadi in Surabaya on November 8.
The Aliansi Suroboyo Bergerak and Srikandi Suroboyo groups set out five demands, including a review of national leadership and action on forest and land fires.
They also called for an end to programs they consider wasteful, improved governance and an end to military roles in civilian affairs.
Protesters handed sanitary pads to female police officers to object to taxes on the products.
The demonstration included speeches, protest posters, poetry, theatrical performances and music.
- Who
- Hundreds of people from Aliansi Suroboyo Bergerak and Srikandi Suroboyo, most of them women, took part.
- What
- They held a protest and presented five demands.
- When
- November 8, 2026.
- Where
- Outside Gedung Negara Grahadi in Surabaya, Indonesia.
- Why
- They objected to government leadership and policies, including its handling of forest fires, public spending, governance and military involvement in civilian affairs.
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- Protest groups
- Aliansi Suroboyo Bergerak and Srikandi Suroboyo
- Attendance
- Hundreds of protesters
- Location
- Gedung Negara Grahadi, Surabaya
- Demands
- Five
- Symbolic protest
- Sanitary pads were handed to female police officers
What people are saying
We are giving sanitary pads to female police officers and others as proof that the government dares to tax our wombs, which give birth to Indonesia’s next generation.
If the government understands priorities, things like sanitary pads should not be taxed.
It’s a mix. There are housewives, professionals, medical workers, and academics. It’s complete. I mean, many other groups have joined.