Faith vs democracy?<\/p>\n
Can or cannot a woman become the president of Indonesia? To
\nmost people this question is ludicrous in its absurdity.
\nIndonesia is a democratic republic and equality before law,
\nwithout regard of race, creed or gender, is one of the main
\npillars of democracy. Indonesia's Constitution guarantees that,
\n"without any exception, all citizens shall have equal positions
\nin law and government and shall be obliged to uphold the law and
\ngovernment". Furthermore, Indonesia ratified the 1953 United
\nNations Convention on the Political Rights of Women and the 1979
\nConvention Against All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.<\/p>\n
Yet, this is precisely the question that is keeping millions
\nof Indonesians occupied at the moment. The logical question is;
\nWhy? The answer is that the secular-nationalist Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), whose leader and
\npresidential candidate, Megawati Soekarnoputri, is a woman.<\/p>\n
Many Muslim ulemas and politicians of rival political parties
\nhave insisted that Islam does not allow a woman to be in a
\nposition of leadership in society. It must be stressed, though,
\nthat this is by no means the stance Muslims in Indonesia are
\ntaking. Muslim ulemas coming from Java, Sumatra, Bali and the
\neastern Indonesian islands during the past weekend, for example,
\nsaid they would support whoever was democratically elected to
\nbecome the nation's president. This is not to mention the vast
\nmajority of nominal Muslims -- the abangan -- who don't care
\nwhether the country is led by a man or a woman, as long as their
\nwelfare is taken care of.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, support for Megawati from non-Muslim quarters
\nis increasing. Many Indonesians suspect that the argument for
\nrejecting Megawati on religious grounds is simply a cover
\nemployed by rival political parties to get her out of the way by
\nwhatever means available. Muslim leaders have pointed out that
\nthere is nothing in either the Koran or hadith (traditions) that
\nspecifically forbids women from becoming state or political
\nleaders. Given that the Muslim-based parties are so far trailing
\nin the vote count following the June 7 ballot, and that the two
\nleading parties -- Megawati's PDI Perjuangan and Golkar -- are
\nboth nationalist\/secular parties, this is an argument that cannot
\nbe simply dismissed.<\/p>\n
Standing in the middle of the controversy is Muslim scholar
\nNurcholish Madjid, whose ever-rational stance is that Indonesians
\nmust learn to accept whatever decision the nation's highest
\npolicy-making institution, the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR), makes. "It has to be that way," he said at a lecture on
\nBatam Island, "or we will never learn to resolve our problems."<\/p>\n
For Indonesians, whether they like it or not, it seems the
\nmoment has come to choose whether they want to become a modern
\ndemocracy or stay faithful to entrenched traditions, religious or
\notherwise. In this case gender discrimination, at least, the two
\nare mutually incompatible. The choice, however difficult, has to
\nbe made. It is, after all, preposterous that Indonesia is still
\nstruggling on a question of whether or not a woman can lead the
\ncountry while the nation is poised to enter the third millennium.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/faith-vs-democracy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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