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.