Citizenship bill protects women more than ever

Citizenship bill protects women more than ever

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Had the citizenship bill taken effect over five years ago,
Waty, an Indonesian woman, would not have had to fight in a
Lahore, Pakistan, court for her baby.

Only after a long and complicated trial did Waty win her case
against Ali, a Pakistani businessman who she married and whom
then brought their baby to his home country, as the law allowed
him to do.

The Indonesian government could do nothing for the woman, who
finally received help from two Indonesian and Pakistani non-
governmental organizations in her fight to win custody of her
child.

But her problem did not end with the legal victory in
Pakistan. Since returning home with her child, Waty has had to
renew the baby's stay permit and visa every six months, because
according to Law No. 62/1958 babies automatically are given the
same nationality as their fathers.

The citizenship bill, which will replace the 1958 law, ensures
there will be no more Watys.

"If the House of the Representatives endorses the citizenship
bill, discrimination against women will end and mothers' rights
of custody will be protected," Dewi Tjakrawinata of the
Multinational Rainbow Alliance (APAB) told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday.

Regarding Waty's case, the bill stipulates that her baby will
automatically follow her nationality.

The explanatory appendix of the bill says the current
citizenship law fails to protect the rights of Indonesian women
and their children in mixed nationality marriages. Therefore,
several significant changes were proposed in the bill, in line
with the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women.

Dewi said the current law did not favor Indonesian women
because children's citizenship always followed their fathers',
and when foreign husbands died or divorced their wives, their
children were treated as foreigners and forced to leave the
country.

"As if mothers were incapable of taking care of the children
without husbands," she said.

The current citizenship law adopts the principle of ius
sanguinis, where a child's citizenship follows the citizenship of
the father, as opposed to the principle of ius soli, where a
child's citizenship depends on the country where it was born.

The bill proposes that when an Indonesian woman's marriage to
a foreigner ends because of divorce or death, the woman may
petition the government for her children to be given Indonesian
citizenship. In cases of divorce, the mother must have a custody
order from the court in order to receive citizenship for her
children.

Dewi said the bill would be welcomed by Indonesian women now
that more and more mixed nationality marriages were taking place.

However, there are decrees on immigration that pose
difficulties for mixed-marriage families that need reviewing, she
said.

Dewi said APAB, an organization that fights to eliminate
discrimination against Indonesians who are married to foreigners,
has appealed to the House's Legislative Body to proceed with the
deliberation of the citizenship bill.

The head of the body, Zain Badjeber, said the House would
include the bill on its list of priorities this year.

"So far we have not obtained the bill. But the bill will be
prioritized in our legislation agenda this year. Academic experts
will be involved in the process," Zain of the United Development
Party (PPP) said.

The bill was not on the list of 53 draft laws the House will
deliberate during the current sitting period.

The citizenship bill was drawn up during the term of president
Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000, although the move to revise the
current citizenship law began during the previous administration
of president B.J. Habibie.