Cairo summit to focus on sexual rights, abortion

Cairo summit to focus on sexual rights, abortion

JAKARTA (JP): The issues of abortion, reproductive and sexual
health and rights, as well as gender equality, are likely to grab
major attention during an upcoming population summit in Cairo,
says State Minister for Population Haryono Suyono.

The minister called on government officials and activists of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who will attend the
International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) next
month to present a unified stance on the controversial issues.

Opening a preparatory population workshop involving some 70
government officials and NGOs activists yesterday, Haryono said
he was aware of differences of opinion among them but hoped that
they put their "national identity" first.

"I'm asking the NGOs to be partners of the government, instead
of opposing the government," he said after the ceremony.

Haryono's attempt to woo the NGOs, known for their frequent
anti-government criticism, surprised the activists.

"This is going to take me a while to absorb," said Sita Kayam,
leader of the Kalyanamitra women's group.

In his speech, Haryono suggested that government officials and
NGOs activists, who will hold parallel meetings in Cairo, also
have a unified voice when they discuss the concept of family.

"We only recognize the form of family which is based on the
legal marital institution," Haryono said, adding that Indonesia,
however, "respects other nations who adhere to other forms of
family."

A preparatory committee meeting held in New York in April was
reported to have been beset by controversy over the concept of
family, and efforts to separate reproductive rights from sexual
rights.

Some activists participating in the New York meeting have
demanded that the conference recognize the right to choose in
matters of sexual preference, and accept homosexual
relationships.

They also demanded that the United Nations amend the UN
Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) to incorporate, among other things, the
right to homosexuality.

Haryono also suggested yesterday that the activists pursue the
concept of gender equity, rather than gender equality, in Cairo.

Though expressing support for Indonesia's notion of
"harmonious gender partnership," which was endorsed at the recent
Asia-Pacific meeting on women in Jakarta, Haryono warned that
"demanding equality in every respect ... would become a boomerang
for women."

"Equity is a much better concept than blind demand for
equality," he claimed.

Later in the day, several female experts presented their
papers on the controversial issues. Dr. Saparinah Sadli from the
University of Indonesia applauded the inclusion of women's
reproductive health among efforts at population control.

She said the Indonesian family planning program will benefit
by accepting the UN definition of reproductive health as "a state
of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely
as the absence of disease, in all matters relating to the
reproductive system and to its functions and processes."

The other speakers in the workshop yesterday were Enny Busiri
from the Indonesian Women Congress (KOWANI), Titi Sumbung from
Melati Foundation, an NGO, Zubaidah Muchtar from the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, and Haryono's assistant Dr. Abdullah Cholil.

President Soeharto is one of several heads of state scheduled
to address the population summit in Cairo. He is expected to
speak on Indonesia's experience with population development
programs. (swe)