Discrimination against women

Given the persistent complaints that Indonesia is lagging behind other countries in the world in terms of protecting the rights of its women, the observance today, March 8, of the United Nations Day for Women's Rights should serve as a serious reminder of the huge task that lies ahead for the nation in this particular sphere of our social and political life.

It is therefore regrettable to have to note that such little effort is being made, by the government and the national legislature in particular, to overcome the shortcomings that exist.

Advocates of women's rights, for example, have long been campaigning for the adoption of a law that could at least provide a legal basis for action to be taken in cases of violence and injustice against women -- which are far from unusual in Indonesia's traditional, paternalistic society.

True, spurred on by the popular movement for democratic reform that was set in motion by the fall of the autocratic New Order regime in 1998, the House of Representatives, with the assistance of women's rights activists and experts, has for months been working on drafting just such a law. The debates in the national legislature on the draft of that law, which is known as the law on domestic violence (RUU A-KDRT), are now completed and the ratified bill has been forwarded to the government to be signed into law by the President.

Unfortunately, this last step, which would represent such a big stride towards providing a legal basis for the protection of women's basic rights in the country, has been delayed for unexplained reasons. Advocates of women's rights, both inside and outside the national legislature, have been urging the President to endorse the bill as soon as possible, even before the legislative elections on April 5.

As things are, however, with campaigning for the election scheduled to begin in a matter of days and the legislative elections less than a month away, it looks as if even that modest plea is not going to be answered.

Indisputably, though, there is a real need for the enactment of such a law at the earliest possible opportunity. The point is that violence against women, domestic or otherwise, seems to be on the rise. Jakarta police statistics, for example, show that while in 2001 "only" a few dozens of cases of violence were committed against women in the city and "only" 37 were cases of domestic violence, in 2002 the figure rose to 70 cases, of which 39 were cases of domestic violence. And up to August of last year 84 cases of violence, 49 of them domestic, were recorded.

It could of course be, as some observers have alleged, that this apparent increase in cases of violence against women is merely a result of the victims gaining greater courage to report such acts. On the other hand, the observations by women's and human rights activists and groups that the recorded figures represent no more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg need to be taken seriously.

Over the past year alone, for example, the Justice for Indonesian Women's Legal Aid Institute (LBH-APIK) recorded 280 cases of violence against women, 70 of which were cases of physical abuse, 124 of psychological abuse, 85 of economic abuse and one of sexual abuse. Overall, the organization recorded 627 cases, 279 of which were reported in person by the victims.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), for its part, reported a total of 5,934 cases of violence against women committed in 2003, about 46 percent of which were cases of domestic violence or violence within the family, which can range from physical abuse to rape or psychological abuse. It should be noted also that the figure represents an increase over the previous two years -- 3,169 cases in 2001 and 5,163 in 2002.

Just as more women appear to be willing to report cases of violence committed against them to the authorities, many more still seem to be reluctant to do so. The reasons are easily explained: Despite the changes that have taken place in society and the progress that has been made in education, for many women the shame they feel in airing what they perceive as their "dirty linen" in public remains powerful enough to prevent them from reporting cases of abuse against them to the authorities. Also, there are cases where women, particularly poor women, are terrified to go to a police station as there is a good chance they might be abused by the police themselves.

To add to the problem, the issue of domestic violence is only one aspect of the vast and complex fabric of injustices that women (and children) must bear in a traditional, paternalistic society such as Indonesia. It should, however, be noted that Indonesia has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

For that reason alone, the government and the national legislature should stop prevaricating and get rid at the earliest possible opportunity of all laws and regulations that discriminate against women -- or, for that matter, against any of Indonesia's sons and daughters.