0 Daming and those who laughed must be fired: Activists

Balinese women’s rights activists on Wednesday demanded the dismissal, not just a sobbing apology, of “rape” judge Muhammad Daming Sunusi from his current position — after he made a controversial comment on rape during his recent fit-and-proper test to become a Supreme Court justice. “If he is truly sorry for his remark, he should resign from his current position as a judge. Even those members of Commission III at the House of Representatives, who showed their teeth and laughed at his joke must also resign from their seats. 

The joke maker and those who laughed with him have clearly shown their poor character. It is improper for them to speak about morals and ethics in front of us,” Balinese feminist Cok Sawitri told Bali Daily on Wednesday. When Daming was asked his opinion about the death penalty for rapists, he told lawmakers of House Commission III that: “both the victims of rape and the rapist might have enjoyed their intercourse together, so we should think twice before handing down the death penalty.” 

Cok pointed out that such psychological harassment as the comment made by Daming, currently a judge at the Banjarmasin High Court in South Kalimantan, was just “the tip of the iceberg” of many other forms of harassment against women, children and other minorities occurring in everyday life settings at the office, home and on the streets. “I believe verbal harassment is the worst psychological violence of all. And all this time the government has always tolerated such harassment. 

This judge and the laughing commission members are the product of the state’s neglect,” said Cok. Cok expressed her pessimism at the effort being promised by the Judicial Commission to question Daming on a possible breach of ethics. Previously, the commission had recommended Daming as one of the judicial candidates to be promoted as a Supreme Court justice. Luh Riniti Rahayu, founder and chairwoman of Bali Sruti, a research and advocacy institution focusing on gender equity and women’s political representation, expressed her concern about Daming’s narrow view toward women. 

“While he dares enough to express such denigrating views toward women at a respected meeting, I believe there are many [judges] out there that kept their similar gender insensitive views in silence. Thus, Daming’s behavior must be sentenced hard, as a warning to other judges to be more respectful to women.” “I am very concerned to hear of his statement, knowing that about half of the population of this country are women, and that he was also born from a woman. 

I can’t even imagine how he settled rape and sexual harassment cases throughout his tenure as a judge in Banjarmasin,” said Rahayu. “Nowadays, we have the advances of media technology for our benefit, so that we can witness such incidents. It’s time that we take part in preventing such incidents from reoccurring,” said Rahayu. Her foundation, along with other women’s organizations, including the Bali-chapter LBH Apik and the Integrated Service Center for Women and Children, has signed numerous online petitions to stop Daming’s nomination as a Supreme Court justice. 

“Our organizations are also still discussing whether to file further petitions for the dismissal of Daming from his current position. We don’t need to hear apologetic words, what we need more is for him to be dismissed,” said Rahayu.

source : bali daily