Law needed to promote gender equality

JAKARTA (JP): Any campaigns to promote gender equality would be rendered useless with the absence of legal infrastructure, observers agreed in a seminar here yesterday.

Legal experts Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, as well as woman activist Syahniar Mahnida lamented the fact that the absence of laws on discrimination against women has perpetuated such acts. "Rampant and blatant discrimination against women is perpetuated because there are no laws against discriminators," said one of the speakers.

Nursyahbani said many legal practitioners, such as lawyers, are ignorant of the main issues of gender equality, including the principal difference between "equality" and "sameness" and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

"Many lawyers are not familiar with the convention. Their insensitivity about the constraint of the existing legal system prevents them from doing their utmost in helping their clients," she added.

Nursyahbani is a founder of a legal support organization for women called the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice.

Seconding Nursyahbani was Syahniar, a member of a working group set up to monitor the implementation of the convention, who said that the government has yet to be serious in its attempt to condemn discrimination against women.

The convention was adopted by the United Nations' General Assembly in 1979.

Indonesia ratified the convention in 1984, but there is no sanction against violators. According to Syahniar, despite the ratification, Indonesia has so far rebuffed other countries' intervention on discrimination cases occurring here.

"There is no law that metes out punishment for perpetrators of discrimination against women," Syahniar said. She pointed out there is only one law mandating equal pay for men and women.

Syahniar cited the result of a study conducted by the Convention Watch working group of University of Indonesia on woman laborers in factories in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi. Out of 61 surveyed, only 9 factories did not condone discrimination against women workers.

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara added that equality between men and women will remain just an ambition unless the Indonesian legal system recognizes and reforms the patriarchal "ideology" and community structures.

Citing Kamla Bhasin, a prominent Indian feminist, Hakim said the deeply-embedded patriarchy, which subordinates women to men, in society is the reason why many discriminative acts go unnoticed.

According to Hakim, change is possible only if governments and people fully understand and adhere to the international bill of rights.

"The bill of rights does not differentiate men from women, and it is impossible to fight for woman's rights when other rights are oppressed, " he said.

The one-day seminar, titled Socializing the Results of International Convention on Women -- a Strategic Tool Toward Gender Equality, was held by the Women's Studies Program at University of Indonesia's Post Graduate School. (14)