Betawi women still imprisoned by cultural beliefs

JAKARTA (JP): There is nothing unusual about a woman becoming a top executive in Indonesia. Women run offices in the capital's glittering skyscrapers, seen by some as symbols of modernity and economic success.

But unfortunately, this prestigious status is still out of reach for Betawi women. The culture of Jakarta's "indigenous" ethnic group traditionally sees women as being inferior to men, according to a social studies expert.

The head of the Bogor Agriculture Institute's (IPB) mass communications and post-graduate development program, Aida Vitayala S., said in a seminar held on Tuesday that the reality of Betawi women was represented well in the recent television series, Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Si Doel, the Educated).

The successful TV series was widely applauded not only because it was entertaining, but also because it accurately portrayed the daily lives of typical Betawi people. Many other TV series revolve around wealth, romance and occasional violence.

The four main women characters in the series emphasize the place of Betawi women. Nyak, Atun and Zaenab portray traditional Betawi women, while Sarah represents a modern woman.

Nyak, Doel's mother, is a religious woman loyal to her duties as a mother and housewife. She runs a small shop, which she can close up if her husband wants her to massage him. She is elderly but retains her love of wearing makeup, collecting jewelry and gossiping.

Doel's sister, Atun, could not attend high school because her father would not allow her to continue her studies, although he was willing to sell the family property for his son Doel's education. Atun took a vocational course and started her own business. But then closed it down simply because she felt bored.

Meanwhile, Zaenab, upon graduating from senior high school, was forced by her parents to get married. Sarah, however, is an educated woman with a modern way of thinking.

IPB's Aida said many TV series that use Betawi culture as a background positioned women in the way Si Doel did.

Betawi women are portrayed as technologically inept and bothered more by their physical appearance than intellect, while they are servile to men in the family and treated as inferior.

Aida, who specializes in communications and women's studies, was speaking at a seminar titled "The Role of Betawi Women Facing the Third Millennium."

The seminar was part of four-day workshop on Betawi culture held at IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta in Ciputat, South Jakarta. The discussion, which ended Thursday, was part of a week of activities held by the institute's language and culture center.

Aida said Betawi women lived in a patriarchal society in which men were always given the best opportunities, such as the chance to attend school. The cultural stereotypes, she said, made Betawi women passive and dependent.

"The Betawi woman's highest achievement is becoming a wife or having a husband that can support her life and her children's. And it is no longer a secret that it is common for Betawi men to practice polygamy. Moreover, the higher his social and economic status in the community, the more wives a Betawi man will generally have," Aida said.

It is considered unusual for a wife not to let her husband take another woman as his wife, for fear of losing her source of income and social status.

The city administration's 1997 statistics estimated that Betawi people make up around 2.5 million of Jakarta's population of about 10 million.

A lecturer at IAIN, Nasaruddin Umar, attributed the Betawi community's reluctance to give optimal opportunities to women to cultural and religious traditions.

"Religion is still used to discriminate between men's and women's roles. Men are assumed to be leaders and protectors, while women are seen as creatures under the protection of men. In the Betawi community, there is a belief that men determine everything," Nasaruddin said.

He said that Betawi women who want jobs have to meet not only the formal job requirements but also cultural requirements, meaning that the men in the family would allow them to work.

Aida insisted that the situation has to change. Demand for better living standards has prompted women to participate in earning the family's income.

"So far, in our society, it is considered normal for women to have a greater load of work than men, with longer working hours. There is a saying which goes that the (Betawi) woman has to work from dawn to night, until Bapak (the husband) has gone to bed," she said.

But women, who account for 52 percent of the city's 10 people, are valuable assets and human resources, she said.

She urged the city administration to accommodate the needs of its residents for a fair and balanced treatment of men and women.

She suggested measures to help empower Betawi women by, improving their status, positions and roles, and by providing greater opportunities to receive formal education.

Apart from the discussion, there were also cultural performances, an exhibition, and screening of national and international films. Participating countries include Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Iran, Russia, Thailand and the Netherlands. All the activities are scheduled to be closed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso on Saturday evening.(ste)