Megawati asks women to be more active

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The country observed Women's Day on Saturday in a low-key fashion with President Megawati Soekarnoputri calling on women to take a more active role in all aspects of life.

"I want to see women take a more active role without political or whatever motives," she said in her speech.

It was Indonesia's 73rd Women's Day, observed in remembrance of the first Indonesian Women's Congress on Dec. 22, 1928 which has been written down in history as a significant milestone in female emancipation in Indonesia.

Megawati had her speech read out by State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki as Megawati could not attend the ceremony.

Her doctors said the president has been suffering from the flu, which has been cited as one of the reasons she canceled a Dec. 23 trip to Irian Jaya.

Her main agenda on Saturday was meeting her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) executives at her official residence in Central Jakarta.

The observance received a subdued response. Some women's groups marked the day by organizing discussions on women's empowerment.

The President said the 1945 Constitution guarantees equal rights between male and female citizens and that they are also equal before the law.

Indonesian women have been actively campaigning for a bigger share in politics. Currently, 45 of the 500 members of the House of Representatives are women while just two of the 32-member cabinet are women.

Megawati, who took office in July this year, is the first ever female president of Indonesia. However, activists claim she does not symbolize the increasing power of women as her ascension to power was largely because of her popularity as a populist leader, and of her charisma as the daughter of the first president, Sukarno.

According to the women's program at the University of Indonesia, women make up 52 percent of the country's 210 million people.