Broadcasting Law to improve treatment of women?

Broadcasting Law to improve treatment of women?

By Lucia Esti Elihami

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Television, along with radio and other means
of broadcasting, has an increasing influence on Indonesian
society today. The recent endorsement of the Broadcasting Law by
the House of Representatives, may thus bring forth an expectation
that society will be further protected from the negative excesses
of the ever-growing influential power of the broadcasting media.

It has long been realized that television -- and to a lesser
extent radio -- is a very powerful tool in shaping the opinion of
the public and in forming the attitude of the people. Television
has a far greater ability to reach its audience than the printed
media. Also, as a means of communication, messages transmitted by
television are far more "digestible" than those presented by the
printed media.

Television, as a consequence, has greater potential to
transform society -- either for the better or for the worst. For
this reason, despite the possible danger of being used
excessively by the government to control the broadcasting
industry, the Broadcasting Law might well function as an
effective filter to protect the TV audience from being influenced
by harmful ideologies or values.

Several TV advertisements, which have often infuriated the
public for their offensive messages, provide a good example of
how television may promote and perpetuate the undesirable value
of male superiority inherent in traditional Indonesian society,
especially from a women's point of view.

The best examples are the "Maduranese love potion" Idaman and
the Lingkaran Biru contraceptive. These commercials clearly
suggest women should, at all costs, serve the sexual demands of
their husbands, to comply (say yes or ya-ya-ya) with every sexual
suggestion of their husband.

The advertisements evidently -- and to be sure vulgarly --
portray women as mere sex objects. It is no wonder that the ads
raised many protests from the public. As a matter of fact, many
other advertisements treat women in a similar manner but more
subtly.

Women are no more than ornaments to adorn the commodity being
advertised. Humiliating as this is for women, these ads usually
go unnoticed and raise no protest from the public.

A quick look at existing TV ads show us many examples of this
phenomenon. The Tango candy ad, for instance, sells the product
by showing scantily dressed girls dancing energetically. It is
difficult to find the connection between the candy and the
dancing girls. A rather extreme interpretation may be the analogy
that candies are to be enjoyed like most men enjoy looking at
women.

The exploitation of women's sensual and sexual charm on TV and
especially in advertisements has become common practice, designed
to win the attention of the audience in the competitive world of
advertising. This transgression does not receive sufficient
reaction from the society, because the commercials involved are
usually very well-made and sophisticated. Certainly the person
behind the ads must be praised for their intelligence and
"creativity".

These kinds of ads and TV programs, however, are more
dangerous than Idaman or Lingkaran Biru, since their portrayal of
women as sex objects inferior to men is subtle and gradually
infused into the people's consciousness.

The result of this is what we can see in our daily reality:
rape, sexual harassment, the inhumane treatment experienced by
women workers and domestic violence. All of this is against the
principle of "Humanity which shall be just and civilized", with
poor women suffering the most.

It is with this situation in mind that many women -- and also
men who care about the fate of women, welcome the Broadcasting
Law. For women, the law that will soon be signed by President
Soeharto gives hope that the promotion of ideas or values that
are harmful to women will be stopped.

Now, the task that remains is the enforcement of the law
itself. The government and the House of Representatives will be
responsible for monitoring the interpretations and implementation
of the law and issuing penalties. Nevertheless, the government
should also pay attention to any input from the society.

The government should be particularly aware of matters
pertaining to women's issues, since these issues are delicate and
society's awareness is still low. It might be better to involve
NGOs which are already familiar with women's issues such as
Kalyanamitra, Women's Solidarity, the Association of Indonesian
Women for Justice, and others.

It is hoped the government will generously cooperate with NGOs
in fighting for the women's cause, armed with the new
Broadcasting Law. This cooperation must stop undesirable
attitudes toward women's dignity by using the same medium which
so often misrepresents women -- television. In this way, we can
be sure that television will also be part of promoting better
treatment for women.

The writer is a graduate of Sanata Dharma University,
Yogyakarta.