TEMPO.CO, Bandung – Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise said she was against Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s plans to establish a legal red-light district and certify prostitutes.
“About Pak Ahok’s plans to create a localization area in Jakarta, I have responded to it by saying that I’m a minister who protects women. I want to speak with Pak Ahok," she said on the sidelines of her visit to the courtroom for the underage at the Bandung District Court on Monday, May 4, 2015.
Yohana suggested instead that Ahok build a training center for the capital’s sex workers where they could learn new skills, thus allowing them to look for more decent jobs.
“I suggest a training center for women’s empowerment, so those on the shameful line of work can have more dignified jobs,” she said.
The Jakarta administration, on Ahok’s idea, is mulling over plans to establish a legal prostitution area.
IQBAL T. LAZUARDI