Education system discriminates against women

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's education system continues to discriminate against women, an expert said yesterday.

Speaking at a seminar on national education and women, H.A.R. Tilaar, a professor of educational planning at the Jakarta Teachers Training College, said text books for elementary schools still play down women's role in society.

"Look at the first grade's book, which portrays mother as someone who goes to the market every day while father goes to the office," he said. "That's a blatant example of the discrimination."

Such books should be revised to take account of the fact that many mothers have salaried employment nowadays, he said.

The seminar was attended by about 100 people, most of them teachers and post-graduate students. It was held as a contribution to implementing the Platform of Action issued by fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing last month.

Tilaar, one of the Indonesian delegates to the conference, said that the Indonesian curriculum still emphasizes male superiority. "Many people think that women aren't able to participate in the exact sciences, such as mathematics and physics, which are usually dominated by men," he said.

The situation was made worse through the government's establishment of model high schools, such as Taruna Nusantara, for boys only. "If boys have top high schools, these should also be built for girls," he added.

Most people think that spending money on women's education is wasteful because women will use half of their energy for activities outside of their paid occupations, he said.

Tilaar, who is also the director of the Institute of Educational Management Development of the college, said teachers also have a big role to play in changing the educational system.

"Our teachers should be provided with a gender perspective," he said.

Teachers should be educated about gender in order to change students' behavior by making them aware of gender discrimination. "We should also change our cultural values, which underestimate women's roles in national development," he said.

Annah Suhaenah Soeparno, rector of the college, told The Jakarta Post that parents have a significant role to play in teaching children about gender. "Parents should start teaching children about doing household tasks, which should be done by both sexes," she said.

If children are taught about gender earlier, boys will not feel superior to girls when they grow up, she added.

Tilaar said that if women are given equal educational and job opportunities, they will be able to contribute a great deal to the country. "Women should have equal opportunities in the political, economical and social domains," he added.

Tilaar urged the government and business to set up a training program for female employees returning from maternity leave.

"After months of absence from the job they may loose some of their professional abilities," he said.

"I think big businesses can afford such a program," he said, adding: "The government could subsidize small companies which can't afford it." (05)