Conservatism still a 'major hurdle' in gender equality

Conservatism still a 'major hurdle' in gender equality

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Muslim clerics continue to be one of the major stumbling blocks
in gender equality in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim
country, hence moderate Muslim leaders need to do more to change
the conservative mind-set.

Legislator and former state minister for women's empowerment
Khofifah Indar Parawansa said Indonesia could learn from Iran,
whose president was active in pushing for revolutionary change
among conservative ulema and society.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was praised for his
intervention in relations between husband and wife, placing them
on an equal footing in marriage instead of recognizing the man as
the sole breadwinner and head of the family.

"He has promoted training for civil registration office heads,
so that they can indoctrinate new families. Khatami has also
gathered all the ulema to 'brainwash' their mind-set, and
consolidate non-governmental organizations to spread the
campaign," Khofifah said at a book launch and discussion of
Kembang Setaman Perkawinan (The Garden of Marriage) on Thursday.

The policy has proven effective in improving women's position
in marriage and society in Iran. Women's representation in
parliament there, for instance, reached 16 percent.

Here, according to Khofifah, there are too many rules and
regulations, but poor implementation to boost gender equity has
made it ineffective.

Patriarchal religious teachings entrenched in the society also
strengthen women's subordination, and even domestic violence, as
a husband is taught that he is allowed to hit his wife if she is
disobedient.

As the result, domestic violence is still rampant and women
remains second-class citizens and among the vulnerable groups in
the country.

Khofifah cited as an example the maternal death rate in the
country, one of the highest in Asia, which is often due to
indecisive pregnant wives.

"They know something is wrong with their pregnancy, yet they
do not dare make a decision to go to the hospital because their
husbands aren't home," she said.

She added that it has been a goliath task to approach ulema
and train them to be more gender sensitive. Many of them even
refused to come to the training, or were furious and called the
activists "infidels".

Former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid encountered
such a reaction when her team wrote a book, a critical analysis
on Uqud Al-Lujjayn, the book on Islamic law which is taught in
Islamic boarding schools all over in the country. She and many
women activists perceived the old book as negating women.

"The content of the book may be relevant to the situation
centuries ago when women were helpless. But now, it's no longer
relevant. However, many ulema became angry and called us
apostates who want to tarnish Islamic teachings," Sinta told the
same discussion.

According to Muslim scholar M. Sobary, such a powerful
institution as the ulema must also clash with another powerful
institution, namely the government.

"Authority must be faced with authority. That's why, for
instance, only people with a respected position such as a former
first lady dares to defy the ulema," he said.

Khofifah admitted that it was very difficult to fight against
conservative ulema but the campaign to introduce them to gender
sensitive issues was important. "If it fails now, we're aiming
for the next generation."