Jakarta – Some 5,000 women staged a rally on Tuesday outside the presidential palace in Central Jakara, protesting the government's decision to increase fuel prices and electricity and telephone rates, Antara reported.

Carrying kitchen utensils and banners, the women, led by the Muslim Women's Solidarity Forum for the Poor, marched along the streets under the hot sun.

They also waved posters, one of which read: Led by a mother, other mothers suffer, referring to President Megawati Soekarnoputri who decided to increase the fuel and utility prices early this year. The rally ended peacefully.

Similar rallies occured across the country. In Medan, North Sumatra, over 1,000 protesters blocked the roads to express their opposition to the hike.

Thousands of protesters, comprising students, workers, and businesspeople, including the blind, also flocked the streets in Surabaya, East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Manado in North Sulawesi as well as Jayapura in Papua.