Domestic workers legally recognised in Indonesia after '22-year struggle'

The country is home to some 4.2 million domestic workers - of which almost 90% are women. Indonesia: Domestic workers legally recognised after '22-year struggle' Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A large majority of the country's domestic workers are women Young Asian Muslim woman wearing a hijab and casual daily home outfit holds a plastic laundry basket filled with clothes in the morning Domestic workers legally recognised in Indonesia after '22-year struggle' Indonesia's parliament has passed a law to protect the rights of domestic workers, more than 20 years after it was first introduced. The country is home to some 4.2 million domestic workers - of which almost 90% are women. They were previously not legally classified as workers. They will now be entitled to health insurance, rest days and pensions. Placement agencies will also no longer be allowed to implement wage deductions, and it will be illegal to hire children under the age of 18 as domestic workers. Some wept upon hearing that the law was passed, with one worker saying it was the culmination of a "22-year struggle to gain protection". The Domestic Workers Protection Law was first introduced in 2004 but repeatedly ran up against roadblocks. Discussions on the bill were stopped for years before being brought up again in parliament in 2020. Regulators will now have one year to draft detailed implementation policies. Despite their critical role in the economy, millions of Indonesia's domestic workers were unprotected under local labour laws. Many were employed informally without any legal contract. Some work long hours for little pay and some enter the profession from as young as 12. "It feels like a dream," Ajeng Astuti, one of the domestic workers told BBC Indonesian. "This is our 22-year struggle as marginalised women to gain protection." Jumiyem, a domestic worker from Yogyakarta, said "We've been longing for this [law], and now we can feel it". Some rights groups hailed the law, but warned that more would still need to be done, adding "the struggle is not over". Lita Anggraini, of the Jala PRT rights group, told news agency AFP that a public education campaign would be needed to teach employers about their responsibilities. The group reported more than 3,300 cases of violence against domestic workers from 2021-2024, including cases of physical and psychological abuse. Bang Si-hyuk, who created the supergroup, denies defrauding investors before his $7.3bn company went public. This clears the way for Japan to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries. Mostly female workers have been killed in the blast, which occurred in Tamil Nadu state. The quake struck between the islands of Manado and Ternate. Tsunami warnings have now been lifted. Andrie Yunus, who criticised the army's role in government, suffered burns to 20% of his body. It is the latest country to curb young people's access to digital spaces to try and protect them from abuse. The discovery of two lost species is 'exceptional' and rare, scientists say Kial Garth Robinson and Piran Ezra Wilkinson were both arrested in Indonesia by police last September.