Activists lament gender discrimination

DEPOK, West Java (JP): Women activists say they are pessimistic about the prospects of stopping discrimination against women and removing other obstacles to their attaining their desired position in society.

"The existing realities don't give us reasons to feel very optimistic about our effort to achieve the ideals of Indonesian women," senior social worker Sophie Sarwono said in a seminar on women's empowerment here on Saturday.

Sophie and a number of other women's leaders, including former freedom fighter and labor minister S.K. Trimurti, discussed the contribution women made to society during the pre-independence years and their position today.

Organized by the Center for Health Research of the University of Indonesia, the seminar was held to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

The speakers at the event found that Indonesian women still have much to contend with, including backwardness, social injustices and "the disarray of moral values".

Sophie defined "the ideal women" as those who are loyal to their families and to their career, able to stand on an equal footing with men, able to maintain their physical and mental fitness, are devout and have sense of humor.

Unfortunately, women are often blocked from achieving that ideal position because of various conditions, she said. Among those obstacles is the oft-violated Law on Marriage, she said.

"Men often collude with the officials of religious affairs offices to violate the laws which supposedly protect women's rights," she said.

Trimurti, who is 83 and still an activist of the Petisi 50 group of government critics, explained at length women's contribution during the struggle for the independence over 50 years ago. "Women's roles in the struggle were the same as men's," she said, citing the success of the Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani) in penetrating the blockades of the Dutch colonial administration in conducting their activities then.

Trimurti also cited the Indonesian Women Groups Association (PPPI) which in the late 1920s had fought for women's rights, including the improvement of their standing in marriages and the right to education, to protection in the workplace, to vote and to be elected to government offices.

Today, however, women are facing other obstacles, she said. "The backwardness, the ignorance...because of these, village girls are often exploited," she lamented. In addition, "women have to face social injustices."

She also expressed concern about the disorder of moral values affecting the society, including in the form of prevalent extramarital sexual relations, which very often victimize women and children.

"There are horrible things (done to women)...abuse, murder, kidnapping...and the most horrendous is rape," she said.

Difficulties

Sophie, who is also the founder of Muslimin Orphanage in Jakarta, also spoke of the difficulties today's women have to face in achieving equality with men. "We'll have to prepare our daughters and instill in them the true meaning of gender equality," she said.

The seminar also featured noted choreographer Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, businesswoman Martha Tilaar and educator Mien R. Uno.

Tilaar also spoke about the various obstacles women face in their struggle to empower themselves, including those which originate from within themselves. She made special note of the social, economic and political obstacles which hinder women from achieving equality.

"The status of women before the law is the same as that of men," she said. "In the social, political and economic realities, however, women are still second-class citizens."

"Their access to economic resources is limited, and they have yet to gain full say in political activities or to obtain political positions," she said. "Women are limited to positions which are considered 'female specific'...important positions are still elusive for them."

"Women are still powerless when it comes to important decision-making processes in society," Tilaar lamented. (swe)