Megawati's rise offers hope for women

Megawati's rise offers hope for women

By Nori Andriyani

JAKARTA (JP): When Megawati Soekarnoputri announced her
intention to run for the presidency this writer was filled with
joy in anticipation that she could be the vehicle to bring about
changes for women. But calls to women activist friends to find
out their reaction and to ask whether the women's movement would
support Megawati were met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
They were highly doubtful that Megawati would address the
feminist agenda of empowering women.

The criticism voiced by activists is that Megawati is feudal
because she relies heavily on her father's fame and his outlook;
she has no original reflections. They also condemned Megawati for
her silence, which strengthened public doubts that a housewife
could become a political figure.

But hopefully the activists can think otherwise. Megawati's
ascendancy to one of the highest political positions in the
country has political implications that will benefit the feminist
agenda.

Whether feminist interests are on Megawati's agenda or not,
her entrance into the public political sphere shatters the
patriarchal argument that women can not be leaders. This argument
was vigorously aired by some Muslim groups, and was used as a
weapon to put her down. This statement does not intend to single
out Islam, as other religions are also known for their
disapproval of women leaders. For example, except for in their
convents, the Catholic Church has no place for women in the
church leadership. But in Megawati's case, some Muslim groups
used gender as an issue to subdue the nationalist Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) which she leads.

The rise of Megawati will have a ripple effect on the
shattering of patriarchal arguments, that downplay women's
capability in the politic arena and that also aim to exclude
women altogether from politics. Women nationwide now have a role
model that will be a source of inspiration for a new generation
of women political leaders yet to be born. There has been an
overlong silence from genuine women political leaders. And
Megawati broke that silence by showing that a woman can fight her
way up the political ladder.

Whether she is aware of the fact or is not, Megawati has
actually made an effort to insert the feminist agenda into
Indonesian patriarchal politics. She is introducing feminine
values into the predominantly masculine politics. Megawati has
built an image of a strong mother figure that has come to protect
her children. All Indonesian people are her children. And she has
come to make the peace. Her inauguration speech clearly reflected
this image. Two prominent national dailies picked up on the
mothering theme. On Oct. 22, the Kompas headline was: "Megawati:
'Your Mother Stands Here'" while Media Indonesia ran with: "At
This Speaker's Platform Your Mother Stands."

Megawati was addressing students who had been at the forefront
of the reformasi movement, as well as her party supporters.
However, when it was taken as a headline by major newspapers, the
context of her address was extended; she seemed to be addressing
the whole nation.

Megawati is not alone in this movement to integrate feminine
values into the predominantly masculine politics. Several
Indonesian women groups, particularly the Voice of Concerned
Mothers, have taken this line. Consider the latter's now famous
actions to provide affordable milk for children affected by the
economic crisis.

Another group, Seruni, has promoted an image of women as peace
makers. They have organized peaceful protests at the Hotel
Indonesia traffic circle. Implicitly, such a movement is also
saying that peaceful political methods is a woman's way and that
way will be more productive than the violent approach of the
masculine political players, be it the military, police, or the
men at the forefront of the people's resistance.

Radical feminist Marilyn French argued that to spare the world
unnecessary conflict, feminine values must be reintegrated into
the masculine society's patriarchal ideology (in Rosemarie Tong,
Feminist Thought, 1998).

Looking at the Megawati phenomenon, the Voice of Concerned
Mothers, Seruni and other groups, their call is similar to
French's proposition. Many of these women may not like the idea
that what they have been voicing are feminist and radical
viewpoints. Such connections are often considered
counterproductive in Indonesia's patriarchal and feminist phobic
society.

But labels are not important. What is important is that they
do have feminist implications. That is because they voice women's
interests, they insert women's perspectives, and they demand
changes be made the women's way. For a long time in the New
Order, women were silent and were only bystanders in Indonesian
politics. The reformasi era has created room for Megawati and the
mushrooming progressive women's organizations in the country to
become proactive political players.

In short, there is a intensifying movement today in Indonesia
to introduce feminine politics to counter masculine politics.
Although perhaps unaware of her role, Megawati is now at the
forefront of this movement, because she is striking straight into
the heart of masculine politics. Just by holding her high
political position, and as the second person in command (whose
power may increase considering Abdurrahman Wahid's health), she
now calls the shots for further changes in the feminist agenda.

This is a major shift for women nationwide. In the New Order,
women were only granted token political positions and only given
what were traditionally considered to be feminine posts. During
that time, women were only appointed to the controversial
Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Ministry of Social Services.
This time, Megawati has gained a political position not because
it was granted to her, but because she struggled for it.

Indeed as the bearer of Sukarno's legacy, Megawati had a
better start than other women. But she came to power through an
election. This makes a big difference.

The above arguments are the basis for the call to women
activists to make a concerted effort to reach Megawati and "use"
her to forward women's interests. Megawati and the women's
movement actually need each other. The movement needs her to
promote women's interests at the level of national politics.

Megawati needs to maintain political support from her female
supporters and gain the support of women who remain doubtful of
her solidarity with women's issues.

It is worth noting that Megawati's party was castigated for
being one of the parties that did not provide a clear program for
advancing women's rights. And the party did not seem to care
about this lack because even without the program, many women gave
their votes to her party.

One indicator of this situation was the conspicuous increase
in women callers to a radio station the day of her election to
the vice presidency. Most of them voiced their support for
Megawati. Usually on political issues, fewer women call into
interactive radio shows compared to men. Megawati's party has an
interest in ensuring that more women will vote for her party at
the next election. In 2004 people will vote for their president
directly. Therefore Megawati's performance in successfully
meeting the interests of various groups, including women who
count for at least half of the voter population, will be the
determining factor.

In the mean time, the progressive women's movement must be
proactive in reaching out to Megawati. If the women activist
leaders take a passive position, waiting for Megawati to come to
them, then they will be making the same mistake that Megawati
made. (A factor which she and other PDI Perjuangan leaders may
have realized by now, because had it not been for the support of
the masses countrywide, the silent approach almost cost her the
vice presidency.)

The movement must work together to attract Megawati's
attention to find solutions for major women's issues such as the
May 1998 rapes and the raping and killing of women in violent
regions such as Aceh.

It is high time for the women's movement to be proactive in
promoting women's interests because Megawati now holds the
highest official political position in the country. First Lady
Nuriyah Wahid is also known for her concern about women's issues,
and has more than once joined peaceful rallies against violence.

In the name of women's interests, let us take them by the
hand. The time has come to be more proactive or else the momentum
will slip by. This is not a call to be a Megawati bootlicker; on
the contrary, it is a call to intensify our political stance.

The writer is a lecturer in the Women's Studies Graduate Program
at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.