Dad's Day okay, but...

Dad's Day okay, but...

This is in response to an article Indonesian dads get no
appreciation published by The Jakarta Post on Sunday, June 16,
2002, by Carl Chairul.

Promoting Father's Day is a laudable sentiment. However, when
Carl compared Mother's Day to father's, pointed to the rare case
of the father as the single parent, and claimed that mothers only
know to ask for more money, matters became a little more
debatable.

Indonesian women are known to be treated as second class
citizens, receiving lower wages than men. The lifestyles of
mothers and single mothers, especially those fraught with
poverty, apart from giving birth, slaving at the stove, ironing
and laundry, and raising children today, are far from easy, rife
with the responsibility of rearing a competent, well-adjusted,
socially capable being. This task becomes more difficult when a
single mother, whose children have to sleep each evening without
being able to say "good night" to their dads, attempts it.

According to surveys, a father's absence means that children
are: five times more likely to commit suicide, 32 times more
likely to run away, 20 times more likely to have behavioral
disorders, 14 times more likely to commit rape, nine times more
likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse
chemical substances, nine times more likely to end up in a state-
operated institution and 20 times more likely to end up in
prison.

I suggest Carl Chairul take a stroll down around the
Indonesian courts and observe divorce certificates being handed
out to women like hot cakes. Most divorces occur because the
fathers have found someone else. Statistics will even show you
the number of cases in the courts where the fathers have failed
to provide child support and the courts can do nothing. Observe
the shopping malls, hotel lobbies, and the chances are that you
will find fathers with young women that do not look like their
wives or daughters.

In fact, the government should start cracking down on these
irresponsible Indonesian fathers for failure to provide medical
and child support, and their abrogation of the rights of their
children to have quality time with them. Promoting Father's Day
is fine but you should not degrade mothers, for they have long
been fighting for their rights in society. Indonesian culture
tends to support Asal Bapak Senang (just to please the boss).

LOREEN NEVILLE

Mother and Publisher of Roving Insight Magazine

Jakarta