Addressing gender needs in Aceh reconstruction

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.