Dharma Wanita striving to fulfill its ambition

JAKARTA (JP): Dharma Wanita, an initiative of the late Mrs. Tien Soeharto, is still working to reach its objectives, said Atiek Wardiman, an executive of the organization set up especially for the wives of civil servants.

"Many of Ibu Tien's well-intended ideas, including Dharma Wanita, have not been fully realized," Atiek, who leads the organization under the Ministry of Education and Culture, said yesterday.

"If we check deeper into Ibu Tien's reasons for setting up Dharma Wanita, the organization was not meant to burden women," Atiek said after a seminar on secretarial communication skills.

Some have said that the organization's activities take up too much of the members' time. Atiek was also reported earlier to have said that the organization in practice has failed to educate its members and broaden their horizons.

Atiek chairs Dharma Wanita in her capacity as wife of Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro. Wearing black, she was giving her impressions of the late First Lady, who passed away on Sunday.

The origin of the organization, set up in 1974, was Ibu Tien's recognition of the need for the hundreds of wives of civil servants to socialize and get to know one another. Dharma Wanita also brought together existing organizations in order to better coordinate their programs through one body.

Ibu Tien wanted the organization's programs to widen a woman's horizons and to increase her awareness of the less fortunate. The organization also reflects Ibu Tien's attention to education, women and poverty, she said.

In short, the organization is meant to improve a woman's dignity. But the idea of women playing roles outside of the home has not been readily accepted, Atiek said.

Dharma Wanita's principles, laid down by its founders, including Ibu Tien, state that a woman is not only a wife and mother, but also a responsible member of society.

Ibu Tien's own ability to balance her roles was admirable, Atiek said.

"Her ability to retain her individual identity while appearing to be the all-giving wife (pasrah) is evident in her legacies, one of which was to preserve Indonesian cultures." (anr)