International Womens' Day: Eliminating discrimination

Lynda Kurnia Wardhani, Women's Caring Forum, Jakarta

Though the United Nations has issued various important instruments promoting equality of rights of men and women, such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights; extensive discrimination against women still exists until present time. Therefore, the adoption of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981 is expected to improve protection of women.

Discrimination against women violates the principles of equal rights and respect for human dignity. It is an obstacle to the participation of women on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural lives of their countries; and it hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family. It makes the full development of women's potential more difficult.

However, even though 169 countries have ratified the CEDAW, including Indonesia in 1984, discrimination against women is still rampant in various areas such as in households, in workplaces, in public places and in the several war-torn provinces of the country -- where many civilians have been targeted, and where women and children often are the first casualties.

In economic terms, the gender divide is still widening. Women earn less, are more often unemployed and generally are poorer than men. Women's work is still largely part-time, informal, unregulated and unstable. The fact that they have productive as well as reproductive capabilities is also rarely recognized.

Already women form the largest percentage of the agricultural labor force in many parts of the world. Yet, most women are still denied the right to credit, land ownership and inheritance. Their labor goes unrecognized and unrewarded. Their needs are not given priority. Their role, even in household decision-making is usually restricted. Women and girls are the most vulnerable to the spread of AIDS. They are also most often targeted for human trafficking.

In Indonesia, there is a long list of cases related to discrimination and violence against women, such as mass rapes in May 1998 in Jakarta which specifically victimized Chinese- Indonesians. There are even more reported cases of sexual abuse in Aceh, Papua and the former Indonesian territory of East Timor, and none of the above have been addressed by the legal authorities.

Even President Megawati Soekarnoputri faced nasty public discrimination, especially from Muslims, while running for the presidency, as they said it was not right for a woman to be a leader. There are also prevalent cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and exploitation of female laborers.

Women must be educated in order to be able to build the new world and to play their part in the global economy. Education, in other words, is both an entry point for women in entering the global economy and the best defense against many pitfalls.

Women should have access to information they need. They should be well informed of certain important issues related to women such as reproductive health, HIV disease and women's rights. Women should protect and take the best care of themselves in order not to lose out on future career or educational opportunities through early sexual relations, unwanted pregnancy and sexual abuse.

More and more women are engaged in global production from textiles to data processing. But most of them work in appalling conditions for near-starvation wages. This will only change when women are making economic decisions, as managers, entrepreneurs and employers, labor leaders and employment lawyers, and when they are making social and political decisions, as community leaders, negotiators, judges and cabinet ministers.

Indeed, study after study has confirmed that there is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole -- for women and men alike -- than one which involves women as central players.

Especially for Indonesia, the government has to do more to protect women from violence. There should be better cooperation among related agencies and ministries. The government should be continuously lobbied on the matter as the Kaulan Perempuan organization continuously tries to do. Kaulan Perempuan is accustomed to carrying out routine campaigns to stop discrimination and violence against women, revealing that the findings and real facts about rape cases to the President and the State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto, and urging the government to solve discrimination and violence cases by bringing those responsible to the court.

The government needs to pay greater attention to violations of the above Conventions, which it has already ratified, and become proactive towards the existing problems of women's rights violations. Most importantly, the government is expected to be able to create awareness on women's fate in the society.