Housemaids deserve better

From Kompas

On Feb. 7 and Feb. 11, Kompas printed a statement from the Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi, saying that many Indonesian women were working as prostitutes in the Middle East. As members of a non-governmental organization, Solidaritas Perempuan, which advocates the plight of Indonesian female servants, we would like to make the following points.

1. We wholeheartedly support the minister's efforts to protect Indonesian female servants in the Middle East. Mien's discussion of the matter and her belief that female workers are not to blame, is an important step toward solving the problem. The minister said brokers and economic constraints put pressure on female workers to become prostitutes.

We appreciate the minister's efforts in the matter, both at home and abroad. Temporary information in our office will be sent straight to her office.

2. We protest the minister's attitude, which we find demeaning and discriminating toward female servants, as in Kompas (Feb. 11). Her attitude shone forth with the words: "When they (Saudi Arabians) see Indonesian women, they think they are servants. If they think I'm a servant, I'll hit them. They take it for granted that female workers are domestic servants. With these looks of mine, they take me for a servant."

These words discriminate against domestic helpers. According to Mien, domestic servants are regarded as second class citizens and are clearly not on the same level of other female professionals (like presidential servants, for instance). Servants also seem to have certain facial features, which differ from the faces of middle class women.

It is because of this degrading view that female servants are vulnerable to human rights violations such as low wages, irregular working hours and abusive treatment. In many countries, female servants are also legally unprotected.

The words of the minister contradict her position. Is not a minister no more than a "servant" of the President and what about a civil servant?

The interests of domestic servants should be better looked after and certainly not sneered at.

INDRIASWATI

Jakarta