Dharma Wanita issue

For close to three decades, this country has celebrated National Women's Day, which falls on Dec. 22, with ceremonies, plenty of speeches and seminars on the role of women in society, bazaars and social activities, such as paying visits to orphanages and the like. Such routine activities have not been lacking in this year's commemoration, either.

This time, however, a new element has been added: questioning and criticizing the Dharma Wanita organization, an association of civil servant wives founded 20 years ago to promote the welfare of its members through activities outside their homes.

Among the Indonesian public, the role of Dharma Wanita has actually been questioned for some time. This time, however, a new weight and meaning has been added to the public's queries because the most vocal critic was none other than Atiek Wardiman Djojonegoro, who, as the wife of the Minister of Education and Culture, is an executive of the association.

Reminding people attending a seminar of the role of women in development and of the host of problems which the organization is currently facing -- one of which is keeping alive the interest of its members, many of whom have taken up independent careers -- Atiek Wardiman said Dharma Wanita had neglected its main function, which is to educate its members, broaden their horizons and improve their skills. Dharma Wanita, she said, was putting too much weight on social activities.

A number of other people have since joined in the attack. The noted scholar and columnist Mochtar Buchori, who is also the rector of the Muhammadiyah Teachers Training Institute, for instance accused Dharma Wanita of being undemocratic. "Dharma Wanita does not fit our democratic society," he said, questioning the need for this country to have such an organization. In particular, he objected to the structure of the organization, which determines the function of its members in accordance to the ranks their husbands hold in the civil service, while placing the women in an inferior position.

Other critics include Prof. Saparinah Sadli, the head of the Women's Graduate Program at the University of Indonesia, and Syamsiah Ahmad, an assistant to the Minister of Women's Roles. All this constitutes a new phenomenon, and a refreshing one. One could perhaps even say that all this could be taken as an indication that the democratization process -- the questioning of undemocratic (perhaps they could be called neo-feudalistic) practices -- is underway in Dharma Wanita, as it is in our society at large.

The question is, will the critics be able to move the mountain? And the point is that the concept, perhaps a political one, that underlies Dharma Wanita is concerned with how to organize the millions of civil servants' wives and family members and make sure that they become "participants" in the national development efforts. Some critics assert that the preservation in Dharma Wanita of the "follow-the-husband" culture is part of a deliberate effort by the government to control the civil servants through their wives (and vice versa).

And in relation to the mobilizing of large numbers of people, Dharma Wanita has proven its merits over the past few decades. The victories of the ruling Golkar in the past general elections were in part attributable to Dharma Wanita's contribution. And of course it should also not be forgotten that the organization did contribute considerably to women's progress over the past decades.

Considering all that, and adding the fact that many women are also reluctant to revise the more traditional perception adhered to in the group, one might ask whether much can be expected to change with regard to the role of women, particularly civil servants' wives. The obvious answer is that much will depend on the path that our women will choose to follow in the years ahead.