'Ibu' Gedong, a model for Balinese women

By Dewi Anggraeni

CANDI DASA, East Bali (JP): We tend to think that because we know a public personality well, so would others.

When a Balinese member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR in its Indonesian acronym), fainted during one of the sessions, some fellow members were heard commenting, "She's a Hindu. She doesn't eat meat", as if that explained everything.

There is a great deal more about the member, known as Ibu Gedong Bagoes Oka, than being a vegetarian Hindu. And when she has not skipped breakfast to spend time meditating, which she did that morning when she fainted, she is usually fit and healthy, because her diet is balanced and adequate. And at 79, Ibu Gedong is not only very lucid and politically and socially aware, but also extremely high-spirited.

She is without doubt one of Indonesia's first feminists, though probably not in the popular sense of the word. She is petite, understated, softly spoken, and her attire is modest to a fault.

But her lack of physical presence is more than compensated by her strong personality, which fills any room in which she is present.

In her room in the Hotel Mulia, immediately after the last MPR session, she was surrounded by a number of reporters and photo journalists. Ibu Gedong was expressing her discontent about the mooted plans to eliminate the Ministry for the Empowerment of Women.

"The Assembly's chairman believes that Indonesian women have achieved the position they were seeking. How untrue!" she said,

"Two-thirds of our population are women, yet they are still regarded as inferior to men. The entire history of humankind has shown that women have always been downtrodden and marginalized. Even in areas where the tradition is matrilineally based, men still make the decisions that matter," she said, her voice soft but emphatic.

Ibu Gedong believes in action, but not necessarily political. "If every woman in this country goes beyond mere planning, mere 'gonna - gonna do this, gonna do that' -, and actually begins to act, they're going to be a formidable force. Start from something very simple, start from self."

She becomes impatient with the tendency to follow, and adhere to, a particular political ideology.

Curiously, she herself is an adherent of Gandhian philosophy, which she stresses is not a political ideology. "Gandhi always said, learn to think for yourself. The Guru can only show you the way, but the power to think is in you. We need the courage to show ourselves," she said.

Ibu Gedong also believes in the balance of man and woman. Each has innate strength which complements the other. She recalled the time she was booed by protesters in the United States after she had said, "My husband is my god," She waited until the booing subsided, then continued, "and I, am his goddess."

"Nothing," she said, "can happen in a man's world without women. As Gandhi said, woman is the mother of man."

Ibu Gedong Bagoes Oka is not all talk. One of her achievements is the foundation of two ashrams in Bali. One is in Candi Dasa, and another in Denpasar. Both are located on her family land.

While the two ashrams base their broad outlines and day-to-day philosophy on Gandhian thought, each has its own characteristics.

The Canti Dasa Ashram was founded in 1976, on a site adjacent to the beach. Asked if she had definite plans about it then, Ibu Gedong confided that apart from a vague concept of implementing Gandhian teachings in her own community, she had no plans. She did not know about keeping accounts, finances or anything remotely resembling business management.

"I just started," she said, obviously putting into practice her belief in "start with something simple."

She had the good fortune of having a network of friends, in Indonesia as well as overseas, who believed in her and her determination, and who also had influence to varying degrees.

Within several years, her Canti Dasa Ashram was known among those who came to her assistance. People began to become committed members.

From overseas and other parts of the country, apart from volunteers who help build up and further develop the Ashram, there are also those who come as paying guests and yet are willing to observe the regulations. These include, among others, abstention from eating meat, smoking, drinking alcohol, making loud noises, and the cohabiting of unmarried couples; things many people take for granted in this modern society.

Ashram members, as far as possible, live on what they make and produce themselves, following the principle of swadesi or self- sufficiency, one major aspect of Gandhian thought. School-age members have their education paid for. Many who have left and gone on to build their own lives outside, still profess to be committed to helping the Ashram whenever necessary.

In 1991, Ibu Gedong converted her own residence in Denpasar into a small ashram. Being across the road from the Udayana University campus where she is a senior lecturer, most of its members are university students.

They too, have their education paid for.

For these young people, Ibu Gedong fills a unique place in their lives. She is feared and loved all at once. They continuously ask as to what Ibu would say about what they have done, especially when they have just made a mistake. They realize that they are expected to take the initiative and not wait for Ibu's instructions, but they cannot bear the thought of her disappointment when they act mistakenly and things go awry.

"But boy, when we do something right, and Ibu smiles, even the frogs in the garden seem to smile with us!" said one member who would rather not be identified.

Knowing Ibu Gedong is like knowing a Balinese institution. And in her, the Balinese people, especially the women, have an unmistakable role model.