Women, power and politics nowadays<\/p>\n
By Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>\n
Today, Dec. 22, is the Indonesian Women's Day. To mark the
\nevent our correspondent Dewi Anggraeni takes a look at the role
\nof women in modern society.<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE (JP): Right from the word go, woman has had an equal
\nshare of tasks and responsibilities to man. The world would not
\nhave been populated without one or the other. Whether it should
\nhave been populated the way it is, is a matter for debate.<\/p>\n
The traditional role of woman as career, nurturer and
\ncompanion of man has been enforced and immortalized. It has been
\nthe source of tear-jerking poetry and songs. However, while the
\nrole of man is continuously redefined and multiplied with the
\nchanging times, a woman seems to have an uphill battle redefining
\nand diversifying her role, beyond that of the object of man's
\npleasure.<\/p>\n
For centuries, those women who want to do more than what has
\nbeen defined by tradition, encounter a great number of obstacles.
\nThey have to break with tradition, squeeze themselves out of the
\nhardened mold, and upset the entourage while doing it.<\/p>\n
The key to this mythical door to the wider world, it seems, is
\npower.<\/p>\n
The last few months have seen various conferences around the
\nworld, where issues relating to women were discussed at length.
\nAt least, two of these, The Population Control Conference in
\nCairo in September, and the Women, Power and Politics Conference
\nin Adelaide in October, emphasize the empowerment of women as an
\nimportant solution to the world problems.<\/p>\n
Knowing what to do, however, is many steps too far from
\nknowing how to do it. Men, who have disproportionate control of
\npower, do not easily see reasons to share it with their alleged
\ncompanions, the opposite sex.<\/p>\n
How do women take part in major projects in life, when in
\nalmost every level, decision making is in the hands of men? How
\ndo women make sure they have their say in issues that not only
\naffect the whole nation, but also affect them mostly?<\/p>\n
Only a minority of women throughout the world, are aware that
\nempowerment is possible. Many in fact, know it is merely a
\ndistant concept. Australia, one of the most democratic nations in
\nthe world, extended the voting right to women only a hundred
\nyears ago -- ahead of Britain and the rest of the world. Power
\nand women are new friends. More often than not, those who have
\naccess to power are not sufficiently informed as to how to
\ndispose of it. It is also unfortunate that some empowered women
\neven collude with powerful men to repress their less fortunate
\nsisters.<\/p>\n
Two major solutions have been aired. First, community
\neducation. This is the softly, softly approach, where men are
\ntold that the world would be much nicer if they let women
\nparticipate in the decision making, while women are told that
\nthey would only get anywhere if there were solidarity among them.
\nIt needs a generation or two to permeate the community. The
\nsecond solution is more immediate, but more abrupt. Like anything
\nabrupt, it causes a great deal of resentment. The efficacy
\ntherefore, is doubtful. Legislate against discrimination based on
\nsex, make women representation compulsory, and make any type of
\nviolence against women a punishable crime.<\/p>\n
Education is more viable in developed nations, where people
\nare more likely to resent legislation seen as too restrictive by
\ncertain groups. The need is also comparatively less urgent. Here
\nwomen are fighting for more representation in Parliament, as well
\nas in management boards of the private sector. In developing
\nnations where millions are still being exploited and made victims
\nof systematic violence, education alone may have very little
\nshort term effect. Legislation, it appears, is crucial. These
\nwomen urgently need protection, before they even dream of
\nempowerment.<\/p>\n
Ironically, where legislative protection is most needed, the
\nenforcement of the law is the least reliable. Take the situation
\nin India. Subashini Ali, a former Indian member of Parliament and
\ncurrently a women movement activist, explained that personal
\nlives including marriages and divorces, and property and
\ninheritance rights, were governed by the laws of their religious
\ncommunities. And in all these laws, women have inferior status.
\nWhile theoretically the law enforcers, who are mostly men, should
\nobserve state laws, they are also members of particular religious
\ncommunities, who have been conditioned to accept the lower status
\nof women as a fact of life. Education may eventually reverse the
\ncommunity attitudes, but how many women will have to suffer in
\nthe meantime?<\/p>\n
Solidarity is a wonderful concept, if it can reach those who
\nare the most needy. It is not easy to convince a battered woman
\nshe should resist her batterer, if she cannot see long term
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
It appears that the gap between the position of women in the
\ndeveloped nations and that of their sisters in the developing
\nnations cannot be bridged in a hurry.<\/p>",
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