Many still ask about women's role in society, development<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan and Ati Nurbaiti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Last year Indonesia saw a lot of discussion
\nabout the role of women in society, in keeping with the
\ngovernment's pronouncement of 1994 as the Year of Women's Role in
\nDevelopment.<\/p>\n
Exactly how much progress Indonesia has made on this front is
\na subject of contention, with feminists accusing the government
\nof putting too much emphasis on the traditional role of women --
\nas mothers and housewives -- at the expense of what they consider
\nto be the real issues: equal opportunity, sexual discrimination
\nand the rest.<\/p>\n
Has the Year of Women in Development therefore been nothing
\nbut an empty slogan?<\/p>\n
Some of the discussion, here in Indonesia and abroad, where
\nIndonesia took an active part, have certainly been useful.<\/p>\n
One that made newspaper headlines all over the world was the
\nUnited Nations-sponsored International Conference on Population
\nand Development in Cairo in September. The role of women was one
\nof the most heatedly debated topics.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country with a
\npopulation of over 190 million, half of them women, took an
\nactive part in the meeting.<\/p>\n
The conference came up with a recommendation emphasizing
\nfamily planning for all and recognizing the need to give women a
\ngreater say in these issues. It also emphasized the need to give
\nwomen greater access to education. However, critics said that the
\nconference left out, or avoided, such questions as educating men
\non gender equality.<\/p>\n
In June, Jakarta hosted the Asia Pacific Women's Ministerial
\nConference, attended by 500 delegates from 54 countries in the
\nregion, to pave the way for next year's International Conference
\non Women in Beijing.<\/p>\n
A declaration and plan of action for the advancement of women
\nwas adopted. However, some delegates registered reservations.
\nThey said the plan failed to take a holistic approach to
\nestablishing strategies for the enhancement of women's roles and
\nthe improvement of their well being.<\/p>\n
\"We, not just in women conferences, need to challenge
\npatriarchal, societal structures which oppress women,\" State
\nMinister and Social Advisor Shahnaz Wazir Ali from Pakistan said.<\/p>\n
But just how sincere has the Indonesian government been in
\npromoting the cause of women during the Year of Women's Role in
\nDevelopment?<\/p>\n
Head of the Women's Graduate Program of the University of
\nIndonesia, Prof. Saparinah Sadli, criticized the government for
\noveremphasizing the traditional role of women. \"In their
\nspeeches, government officials keep reminding women time and
\nagain about their role in the family,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said the role of women as mothers often got in the way of
\ntheir ambition to pursue careers outside the home.<\/p>\n
The Year of Women also saw State Minister of Women's Affairs
\nMien Sugandhi come up with some initiatives of her own.<\/p>\n
One which feminists did not particularly welcome was her
\nproposal to extend maternity leave from the three months
\nprescribed by the current labor laws to four months, in order to
\nencourage mothers to breast-feed their babies longer.<\/p>\n
She came up with another proposal which was no less
\ncontroversial: to expose the faces and identities of rapists on
\ntelevision as a way of reducing the number of rapes, which has
\nreached about 1,600 a year in Indonesia. Her proposal came amid
\ncomplaints that the courts of law had been too lenient in dealing
\nwith rapists.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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