Educated women think little of Mega: Study<\/p>\n
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Women of high education in Indonesia look down on Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri as the country's first female president, a
\ndissertation found.<\/p>\n
The dissertation was written by doctoral candidate Billy
\nSarwono Atmonobudi of the University of Indonesia (UI) based on
\nin-depth interviews with an editor of national leading newspaper
\nKompas and seven women of different educational backgrounds,
\ncultures and races.<\/p>\n
It reveals that the seven women are of the opinion that
\nMegawati only became president because she carries her father's
\n(founding president Sukarno) name.<\/p>\n
\"They don't think Megawati herself is capable of being
\npresident. To them, without Sukarno, she is nothing. She is not
\nas tough and intelligent as (president Baharuddin Jusuf) Habibie
\nbecause she is a woman,\" the communication expert, popularly
\nknown as Oni, told a public forum at the UI campus in Depok.<\/p>\n
In the debate, she was asked to defend her analysis.<\/p>\n
The seven respondents are wives of young professionals, some
\nhave obtained university degrees and have opted to stay at home
\nto run the household.<\/p>\n
\"Their perception of being good wives to their husbands and
\nattentive mothers to their children is staying at home, bringing
\nup the kids, cooking and doing housework,\" she said.<\/p>\n
This, Oni said, was the result of a patriarchal society, that
\nbelieves a woman's place is in the home, thus, leaving little
\nroom for them to participate in outside activities, let alone
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
She added that for Chinese-Indonesian women, the pressure to
\nstay away from politics was doubled as they were seen as a
\nminority in the country and in their own culture where males are
\nseen as superior.<\/p>\n
\"To them, women work because they need the money and not
\nbecause they want to have a career. As long as their husbands can
\nprovide for them, they feel they should not work and just stay at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
\"Even if some Indonesian women do work abroad, their
\ncontribution is seen as insignificant as they work only as
\ndomestic helpers,\" Oni told the press, referring to Indonesian
\nfemale migrant workers.<\/p>\n
The media, she asserted, played a role in forming this
\nperception as they were the \"myth-maker.\"<\/p>\n
\"The media is reporting news through a male perspective as
\nmost of the reporters and editors are male. Female reporters or
\neditors will have to see things through male spectacles to
\nsurvive in their tough working environment,\" she explained.<\/p>\n
This situation has created another perception that women who
\nhave succeeded in their career must had been very ambitious.<\/p>\n
\"This further shows that when women sit at the top or in good
\npositions, the media often judges them based on gender rather
\nthan their capabilities,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Thus, the ideal solution would be to have a gender perspective
\njournalism. One example, she said, would be to have more women as
\nsources.<\/p>\n
\"With the media reporting more gender-balanced news, the
\nperception that women should stay away from politics will shift,\"
\nsaid Oni.<\/p>\n
I-box<\/p>\n
News on Mega as reported by 'Kompas'<\/p>\n
in Billy Sarwono Atmonobudi's dissertation<\/p>\n
.TB.90\"
\n----------------------------------------------------------------------
\nYear News
\n----------------------------------------------------------------------
\n1993 Mega as the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader.<\/p>\n
The paper emphasized more on her appearance such as her<\/p>\n
light make-up and her role as the wife of Taufik Kiemas
\nand mother of three children, rather than her capabilities.<\/p>\n
1999 Mega as vice president. The paper described a gender-<\/p>\n
stereotyping portrait of her weaknesses such as being<\/p>\n
overly quiet and sensitive toward her supporters. The<\/p>\n
paper closed the article by mentioning her father.<\/p>\n
1999 Mega as presidential candidate. The paper did not give a<\/p>\n
clear explanation as to whether her candidacy as<\/p>\n
president was in doubt due to her lack of ability or her<\/p>\n
gender. When she became the president, the paper called<\/p>\n
her the Sphinx of Indonesia for her quietness.<\/p>\n
2001 Mega as president. Although she was already president,
\nthe<\/p>\n
paper still portrayed her as a woman who stood in<\/p>\n
the shadow of her husband and her father. The paper<\/p>\n
expressed fear that her power might be misused by her<\/p>\n
husband.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/educated-women-think-little-of-mega-study-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }