Dharma Wanita issue

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.