Sexism persists despite ratification of world convention<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sexual discrimination against women continues to
\npersist, 10 years after the country ratified the Convention on
\nthe Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women
\n(CEDAW), observers of women's issues say.<\/p>\n
\"I would say that we have been walking in the same spot for
\nthe last 10 years,\" said Mely G. Tan, a senior sociologist, at a
\npanel discussion on women's rights held by the Women Studies
\nDepartment of the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The discussion, led by Saparinah Sadli and attended by about
\n100 participants from non-governmental organizations, government
\nagencies and the private sector, was held to commemorate the
\nuniversity's 45th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Participants agreed that rampant sexual discrimination was due
\nto the government's minimal supervision of the implementation of
\nthe convention.<\/p>\n
Many social, economic, political and cultural factors were
\nalso obstacles to progress in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
T.O. Ihromi, a senior professor of law at the university, said
\nthat a large number of companies employing mainly female workers
\nroutinely exploit this lack of supervision.<\/p>\n
They have also benefited from loopholes in the law, she said.<\/p>\n
\"The government forbids discrimination against women on one
\nhand, but emphasizes the importance of protecting the
\nreproductive role of women workers on the other. But they have
\nnot elaborated on how exactly the protection should be provided,\"
\nshe said, quoting results of a study by activist Apong Herlina.<\/p>\n
While policies protect the reproductive rights of women,
\ncompanies respond by saying that the policy implies that women
\nare not the main providers of the family and therefore are not
\neligible for the same salaries, fringe benefits and facilities as
\nmale workers.<\/p>\n
Treatment<\/p>\n
\"Women are always treated as if they have no family to provide
\nfor,\" Ihromi said.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a women's rights activist and
\nformer director of the Legal Aid Foundation, pointed out another
\ncontradiction.<\/p>\n
\"On one hand (the government) has ratified the CEDAW and made
\nit the basis for other laws. On the other hand, they are either
\nreluctant to or have not agreed to ratify other conventions on
\nhuman rights,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"How are we supposed to talk about improving the political
\nrole of women in a country if the state does not even recognize
\nthe rights to assemble, to speak and to have free access to
\ninformation?\" she asked.<\/p>\n
If a country intends to abide by a convention, it should not
\ndo so by ratifying a convention on women only but should also
\nratify other conventions on human rights, she said.<\/p>\n
\"Unless,\" she added, \"women are considered to be some other
\nkind of species.\"<\/p>\n
Miriam Budiardjo, a lawyer and member of the National
\nCommission on Human Rights, said Indonesia has so far only
\nratified four out of the 25 United Nations conventions on human
\nrights.<\/p>\n
\"This is a very poor record, even compared to other Asian
\ncountries,\" she said.<\/p>\n
India has ratified 15 of the conventions, China eight,
\nBangladesh nine, Iran nine, Libya 18 and more than 100 countries
\nhave ratified 10 conventions, she said.<\/p>\n
There have been improvements over the last decade, which can
\nbe seen, for example, in the increasing number of women voters
\nand women holding high-ranking government positions. In reality,
\nhowever, the situation is still far from ideal, Miriam added,
\ngiven that women make up 50.2 percent of the country's total
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
\"Figures show that there have been improvements, but they have
\nbeen very slow in coming,\" she said.(pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sexism-persists-despite-ratification-of-world-convention-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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