Addressing gender needs in Aceh reconstruction

Andayani, Canada

Since post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation was officially begun on March 26, there has been a need to call attention to whether women's needs have been appropriately addressed in Aceh. Furthermore, there is also a need to divert attention to ensuring full participation of local women, otherwise the patriarchal social order would be reinforced in this very crucial stage.

Despite the fact that both men and women have obviously suffered, the latter were the hardest-hit in the tsunami catastrophe. As many women's activists have contended, so-called "gender-specific aftershocks" have occurred, giving birth to multiple predicaments that are endured more by females than their male counterparts.

On the eve of the deadly tsunami, women were unlikely to be able to save their own lives as they were never taught to swim, to climb, or to undertake any other self-rescue actions due to gender role socialization. Furthermore, as reported currently by the British-based charity Oxfam International, since women have been indoctrinated as being the primary caregivers for the entire family, more females died, notably in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India.

Women victims were characterized as looking for other family members as opposed to running away to help themselves. This situation was exaggerated by the fact that the tsunami hit on a Sunday when many women were more likely to be at home while males went to work at sea or in the fields.

In general, women deal with two forms of gender-specific issues which are both practical and strategic. The practical entitlements are necessarily required due to the very basic, immediate, and short-term problems which are driven by their specified physical needs. These are usually connected with women's health and reproductive issues, such as pregnancy, menstruation, breastfeeding, and so forth.

On the other hand, the attainment of strategic needs is absolutely critical in order to actualize more equal gender relations in a society. As widely recognized, females in general are in a subordinated position; therefore, fundamental structural transformation with long-term strategies should be undertaken very seriously. Specific projects targeted for women such as income-generating programs whose goal is to provide prompt and fair economic access, for instance, will strengthen their position and role, and in turn can bring about social justice for women.

Either in the emergency or rehabilitation stage, both the practical and strategic needs of women should be given a great deal of attention. However, it could be argued that this rehabilitation stage is an appropriate time to put much more emphasis on deliberate structural changes as the cornerstone of sustainable development for gender equality-related projects.

Income generating activity as part of economic recovery programs is advantageous since women often lack adequate competencies to participate in the work force. Particularly those who subscribe to the traditional household division of labor, they desperately require this program. Many housewives lost their husbands and consequently became the new heads of household and breadwinners.

Strengthening the capacity of local women is critically important, otherwise, prostitution and women trafficking will increase dramatically as an additional consequence of tsunami.

It is arguably true that eliminating violence and sexual exploitation is a critical strategic need that should be addressed. Due to the disproportionate number women who died in the tragedy, women survivors may become susceptible to sexual harassment and forced early marriage, as reported by Oxfam.

In the absence of physical safety, women also lack mobility and hence are becoming more isolated. The situation may be profoundly worsened by social exclusion due to traditional gender norms that only consider male-headed households. Women would not be considered in terms of access to land, since land is under their husband's name. Another problem which may arise is sexual discrimination with respect to equal access to micro-credit and housing provided by the government.

It is recommended that local governments along with non- governmental organizations seek to ensure full participation of women at all levels of planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the programs.

All community-driven initiatives should be encouraged in which women should be represented proportionally. Women's representatives should be involved equally in all community consultations where decision-making about rehabilitation takes place. There is also a need to strengthen local women's groups and organizations with which the governments should work collaboratively in order to really reach the grassroots.

Women truly deserve to be fully engaged in pursuing their strategic needs in a climate of freedom and safety. Unless we are able to ensure that women will be free from social exclusion, discrimination, and violence, we will later be blamed for sharpening gender inequality in post-tsunami Aceh.

The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, and is currently pursuing a Master's in Social Work at McGill University, Canada.