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Anis Hidayah (born 1976) is an
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
activist who works with
migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...
and
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
issues. Her work has been recognized by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
in Toronto with the receipt of the Alison Des Forges Award in 2011 and the
Yayasan Pusat Studi Hak Asasi Manusia Yayasan may refer to: *Kolej Yayasan Saad (KYS), a private, fully residential school at Ayer Keroh, Melaka, Malaysia *Kolej Yayasan UEM, residential college situated in Lembah Beringin, Selangor, Malaysia *Yayasan Al-Bukhari Mosque, in Kuala Lumpur ...
with the
Yap Thiam Hien Award Penghargaan Yap Thiam Hien (Yap Thiam Hien Award) is an award given by Yayasan Pusat Studi Hak Asasi Manusia to people with contributions in human rights issues in Indonesia. The name is based on an Indonesian Chinese lawyer and a human right acti ...
for human rights in 2014. She was listed by
BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women ...
in 2013.


Early life

Anis Hidayah was born on 7 November 1976 in a small village in the
Bojonegoro Regency Bojonegoro Regency ( id, Kabupaten Bojonegoro, older spelling is ''Kabupaten Bodjanegara'', jv, ꦑꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦨꦗꦤꦼꦒꦫ, translit=Kabupatèn Bojånegårå) is a regency in East Java, Indonesia, about 110 km west of Sura ...
of
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
, in Indonesia. As a child, she became aware of how many members of her community had migrated abroad in search of work, leaving their children in care of grandparents. She enrolled in law school and attended
Jember University University of Jember ( id, Universitas Jember, abbreviated as UNEJ) is a university in Jember Regency, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific o ...
in the
Jember Regency Jember Regency is a regency of East Java province, Indonesia. The population was 2,332,726 at the 2010 census and 2,536,729 at the 2020 Census. Its administrative capital is the urban area of Jember, which with 359,184 inhabitants in 2020 is the ...
and became involved in the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement ( id, Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia (PMII)). In 1998, Hidayah learned of the rape of a migrant woman and her lack of recourse. The victim left her job, but her attacker neither had to pay her wages for her broken contract nor did he face any criminal charges. When the victim returned to Indonesia, there was no rehabilitation or assistance for her either, which inspired Hidayah to complete her bachelor's thesis on the plight of migrant workers. Of the seven million migrant Indonesian workers employed in places like
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, six million are women. Most were employed in
domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
or as
nannies A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
. Signing a two-year contract for services, once they leave the country, there are few laws that protect them and no monitoring by the Indonesian government of them or their working conditions. Hidayah joined the East Java Women's Solidarity organization in 1999 and worked with them for a year and a half before beginning her graduate studies. The organization was at the time, the only organization dealing with migrant issues. Hidayah did not complete her graduate degree, because of her involvement in founding Migrant Care.


Career

In 2004, Hidayah co-founded an
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
, "Migrant Care" to advocate for immigrant Indonesians working abroad. The NGO pressed lawmakers to draft reforms to protect migrant laborers and provides legal services for women who have experienced violence or abuse, including situations which place them in
debt servitude Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the per ...
. They also maintain a database and establish service centers in areas with high migrant exodus to educate people about the pitfalls, their rights and have a system to track workers and help their families. Through protests, lobbying efforts with lawmakers and utilizing media to drive reform, Hidayah has become one of the most visible activists for Indonesia’s migrant workers. In 2012,
Indonesian Parliament The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Politics of Indonesia, Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the membe ...
ratified the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is a United Nations multilateral treaty governing the protection of migrant workers and families. Signed on 18 December 1990, it e ...
, making a start to address the problem. Hidayah believes that enough hasn't been done. Authorities are slow to act when abuse occurs. In the run-up to the 2014 elections, it was promised that policies would control trafficking agencies, reform worker protections and improve to legal aid for migrant workers. Hidayah argued that allowing the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
to be carried out in Indonesia, directly impacted the ability to negotiate for release of Indonesian workers abroad. Her concerns were substantiated when two domestic workers in Saudi Arabia were executed without prior notice. In response in 2015, the government announced plans to place a ban on migrant workers. Hidayah spoke against the plan, arguing that discrimination against migrants, which restricted worker's rights would not solve the problems they face. Instead, she urged the government enact laws which required reasonable working and living conditions for workers, restricted their mistreatment and gave them opportunities to improve their economic conditions. In 2016, Hidayah urged lawmakers to create regulations that would eliminate recruitment fees and would require true employment conditions to be disclosed to workers.


Awards and recognition

In 2011, Hidayah received the Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch in Toronto for her advocacy on behalf of women and migrant workers. When the ''
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
'' launched its 100 Women Series in 2013, to discuss in depth for a month the issues facing 21st century women, Hidayah was one of the inaugural women asked to participate in the programs. In 2014, she was selected from a field of nearly 50 nominees, as the recipient of the
Yap Thiam Hien Award Penghargaan Yap Thiam Hien (Yap Thiam Hien Award) is an award given by Yayasan Pusat Studi Hak Asasi Manusia to people with contributions in human rights issues in Indonesia. The name is based on an Indonesian Chinese lawyer and a human right acti ...
, which recognizes the contributions of human rights defenders.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidayah, Anis 1976 births Living people People from Bojonegoro Regency Indonesian women Migrant workers Indonesian women's rights activists Indonesian human rights activists