City's illiterate women face a confusing world

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Finding illiterate people, even in a metropolis like Jakarta, is perhaps easier than trying to understand how they perceive the world without the ability to read or write.

And furthermore, why they stay that way.

"My older brother picked me up in the middle of my third day at elementary school, carrying a wooden stick and threatening to hit me if I refused to go home," said Sarmi, a 42-year old maid working for a family in South Jakarta.

"That was my last day at school and I cannot read until now," she added.

Sarmi is among the 10.6 million illiterate women in Indonesia. The Ministry of National Education reported that in 2003, the female illiteracy rate of 13.84 percent was twice as high as that of males. The government is designing a comprehensive program to cut this rate by half over the next four years as part of the country's efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

The woman, originated from Grobogan village, two hours away from Semarang, Central Java, was forced to leave school to babysit her younger brother and wait on her family's warung, as her mother had to work in the city.

The incident, that day, has led her into trivial yet irritating troubles due to her illiteracy, such as taking the wrong bus or angkot because she could not read directions, or being yelled at by her employer for buying wrong items because she could not recognize the labels.

"It's lucky I don't have children that I have to teach," the unmarried woman added. Such condition, she admitted, made her feel it unnecessary for her to start to learn how to read and write.

"Sometimes I really want to read what's in the newspapers or magazines," she said. "But, I do not have the time or a tutor."

Several other illiterate women in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta were luckier than Sarmi. Despite living in a very poor part of Jakarta, they caught the attention of a local social worker willing to teach them simple ABCs from the beginning.

"I quit elementary school when I was forced into marriage by my parents," said Noni, a 40-year old native Jakartan living with her extended family, most of whose female members are illiterate.

The mother of two has long had the urge to learn to read and write, especially, when her children started attending school. "I do not know what's on my children's report cards," she said, adding that her older son used to take advantage of her illiteracy by lying about his grades.

Troublesome situations like the inability to fill in her children's school forms made her realize that she needed to learn how to read.

Several of her neighbors, experiencing similar bothersome situations due to their illiteracy, were even less fortunate because they were banned from attending school simply for being daughters, not sons.

"All my brothers went to school but my parents refused to send me saying that I will eventually be a wife," Noni's neighbor said.

The meeting with Herry Insiami Koestiono, a kindergarten teacher cum social worker, had been a blessing for Noni and her neighbors.

"Bu Koes patiently taught us how to read," Noni said, adding that the group of illiterate women from the area gathered in Insiami's house three times a week during the evening.

Insiami, who has been teaching illiterates in Bukit Duri for free since 1968, said that she intended to teach both female and male students. "But, the fact is there are more women than men who cannot read."

Her students, she added, were mostly women over 30 who either had no chance of going to school or were forced to quit school before they were properly literate.

"Teaching them how to read needs more patience, but as they start to gain confidence by gaining ability, the effort pays off," Insiami said.

The group of women are now able to read what their children's report cards say, and the name of the nearby supermarket. "It is nicer to be able to read," Noni said with a grateful smile towards her teacher. (003)