Discrimination against women

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.