My mission is to spread gender equality: Khofifah<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Khofifah Indar Parawansa is decidedly a new
\nbreed as a state minister in charge of women's affairs. Unlike
\nmost of her predecessors, she brings well-defined concepts into
\nan office that was once created as mere lipstick to appease
\nIndonesian women.<\/p>\n
She has taken on issues, for instance, that have long been
\nconsidered sensitive, such as the law on marriage that bans civil
\nservants from taking a second wife.<\/p>\n
She speaks out about the importance of condoms to prevent the
\nspread of AIDS. She speaks out about violence against women and
\ninequality of access to economic opportunities.<\/p>\n
A number of women activists have called her a breath of fresh
\nair in the non-portfolio office. She still admits, however, that
\nshe would not be able to do anything without the cooperation of
\nrelevant ministries, even to push for a revision of the
\nelementary school textbooks which she describes as
\ndiscriminatory.<\/p>\n
\"The authority (to undertake revision) remains with the
\nMinistry of Education, but I do have other missions, including
\nthe popularization of the concept of gender equality and
\nfairness,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
She said her concern about the textbooks was sparked by
\nresearch conducted by scholars at the Jakarta State University.
\nSeveral years earlier, the women's organization Kalyanamitra had
\nalso described what it saw as gender bias in elementary school
\ntextbooks.<\/p>\n
Former elementary school students will easily recall pictures
\nof father reading the newspaper and mother busy at some domestic
\ntask, and the reading drills depicting similar scenes.<\/p>\n
Khofifah added, \"I really would like to invite the textbook
\npublishers -- maybe they could give inputs to the writers so they
\nwould not be gender-blind.\"<\/p>\n
Aware of her ministry's limits, she said her proposal would
\nnot even touch the question of curriculum.<\/p>\n
What is needed, she said, is a different approach in
\npresenting material to students.<\/p>\n
For instance, girls and women should not be always portrayed
\nconfined to the kitchen. (Herry Nurdi, Santi W.E. Soekanto)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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