'Dharma Wanita lacks democratic values'

JAKARTA (JP): Come the National Women's Day, and Dharma Wanita, the organization of civil servants' wives, is the target of criticism.

The latest criticism came yesterday from noted scholar Mochtar Buchori, who accused Dharma Wanita of being undemocratic.

"Is it still necessary for us to have Dharma Wanita?" the rector of the Muhammadiyah's Teachers' Training Institution said.

"Dharma Wanita does not fit our democratic society," he added.

The organization was founded in 1974 with the objective of promoting the welfare of its members through activities outside their homes. The role of Dharma Wanita has repeatedly come under scrutiny in the last two weeks at various seminars held to mark National Women's Day, which falls on Dec. 22.

Mochtar yesterday made his point in a discussion held by the Women's Support Project and Indonesia in Country Orientation Program.

A retired civil servant himself (he worked for the Indonesian Institute of Sciences), he objected to the structure of the organization which puts members' positions in accordance to the ranks of their husbands.

Mochtar said that the system put women in the inferior position. "Women merely constitute the extension of the husbands," he said.

Head of the Women's Graduate Program of the University of Indonesia, Prof. Saparinah Sadli, who was one of the speakers at the discussion, also observed that there were negative aspects in Dharma Wanita, which was clouded by political elements.

However, she did not agree to the disbanding of Dharma Wanita, saying that the organization had the potential to improve women's conditions through the implementation of programs that were beneficial for women.

She urged the committee of Dharma Wanita to create programs which could improve the condition of women in the country.

"They must have the will to change the program," Saparinah said.

Dharma Wanita operates schools and supports government social development activities.

Last week Atie Wardiman Djojonegoro, wife of the Minister of Education and Culture, admitted there were a lot of problems in Dharma Wanita and she suggested the program be revised.

Syamsiah Ahmad, an assistant to the Minister of Women's Roles, had said earlier that the government should review its policy on the organization.(sim)