Minister Tutty wants to make women pillars of nation

The fourth state minister of women's affairs, Tutty Alawiyah, may be the first to come from an activist background. A preacher, rector and businesswoman, she heads the East Jakarta-based As- Syafi'iyah foundation and is on the advisory board of the influential Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals. She recently talked to Ati Nurbaiti of The Jakarta Post to share her views on women, fully aware of doubters targeting her ability to addressing diverse problems and the limits of a state ministry's authority. As the country celebrates Kartini Day today, which marks the birthday of a pioneer for women's rights, Minister Tutty sets out to continue the work of the young heroine.

JAKARTA (JP): There's soon to be a new hotline in town. Anyone with thoughts or reports regarding women can call the Office of the State Minister of Women's Affairs. This is State Minister Tutty Alawiyah's first step to learning and "absorbing public aspirations" regarding women.

The hotline, whose number has yet to be made public, is called Pujianwanita, an acronym meaning the center for information and aspirations of Indonesian women.

The office needs all the input it can get; Tutty inherits a state ministry designed to consult with other ministries on how to incorporate women's needs in their policies.

Many feel it has been feeble in the past. Demographics expert Mayling-Oei Gardiner and sociologist Sulastri once wrote that although the state ministry was in charge of the Women's Role Improvement project across the country, which provided small loans to help the poorest women generate income, only a few groups had benefited.

"The effects on the macro level are virtually unknown," Gardiner and Sulastri wrote in the introduction to Perempuan Indonesia: Dulu dan Kini (Indonesian Women: Then and Now, Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta 1996).

They attributed this to the fact that because the state ministry only had the capacity of a coordinator, it was heavily dependent on related ministries and funds were limited. And fueling their pessimism is that the new minister comes from what looks like a conservative Moslem background.

Pillars

But Tutty, who turned 56 on March 30, remains unfazed by the challenge. After her first 10 days in office, her agenda was already full of meetings with myriad groups.

"I really want to work with those that don't only criticize but actually do something," she said.

Her priority: women of the lower income group. Her aim: women becoming "pillars of the nation". Lofty maybe, but it boils down to the logic, influenced by Islam, that if women, as educators and nurturers of the young generation are strong, then much has been done to ensure national resilience.

Tutty's background is as an educator and preacher raised by her late father, religious community figure Abdullah Syafei'ie, and her mother Rogayah, who read the Koran beautifully, she said.

The Kiyai Haji, as religious leaders are titled, set up a school, the Madrasah Islamiyah As-Syafi'iyah, now the As- Syafi'iyah educational foundation in Jatiwaringin, East Jakarta.

Tutty's father died in 1985 and she eventually led the foundation which now includes dozens of educational institutions including Islam As-Syafi'iyah University and thousands of students at Islamic boarding schools. The As-Syafi'iyah radio regularly broadcasts Tutty's sermons.

The family is of Betawi (native Jakarta) origin, a community labeled poor and uneducated by migrants who took over their land. The Betawi people can now proudly claim they have a minister in their ranks -- and Tutty adds many like her with higher education are no longer exceptions.

Tutty, whose foundation has links with 2,000 women's prayer groups, graduated from the Ushulluddin (theology) department of the state-run Moslem Syarif Hidayatullah college.

Such prayer groups hit the news in August 1995 when 140,000 women, brought together by the Contact Body for Majlis Taqlim chaired by Tutty, packed the Senayan Sports Stadium.

At the event held to express thanksgiving for the country's 50 years of independence, President Soeharto led the takbir, or praises to God.

Heads turned to what suddenly looked like the proximity of such homely women to the political elite -- including the ascending, active Tutty. One magazine labeled it the "New Phenomenon of Eve's Women."

"Never underestimate (such women)," said Tutty, a mother of five. The women's spontaneity at the event, they used their own money for beautiful clothing and tickets, reflected "their sense of belonging," she said.

Priority

Despite the odds stacked against her, Tutty says that by leading a state ministry, "I am more free" to reach out to various parties and all other ministries.

But first, the priority is joining hands to tackle the crisis -- Tutty says she will work closely with Minister of Social Affairs Siti Hardijanti Rukmana.

Ensuring that cheap basic needs reach the poorest women, and that they are involved and benefit from the projects making use of neglected land, are among the first jobs at hand.

The state ministry will also advocate Tutty's concept of her "pillars of the nation" -- Tutty says such women would be strong spiritually, and actively empower themselves and their surroundings through organizational skills.

"One task of this cabinet is to encourage independence -- how can this be achieved if women do not play their part?" says Tutty, whose idea of relaxing is eating seafood with her family.

An illustration of what Tutty means is her reference to the thousands of women struggling aboard to support families.

While her office will continue working with the Ministry of Manpower, among others, to improve migrant workers' training, Tutty adds her special touch: "Such women are in dire need of strengthened spirituality," which makes them vulnerable in the face of unexpected hardships, she says.

The nation's "pillars" -- strong women actively contributing to their surroundings -- are those which take pride in their God- given attributes, their kodrat, says Tutty, a former member of the People's Consultative Assembly.

The kodrat is a subject of much dispute -- are women born just to give birth, breast-feed, nurture children and serve their husbands?

But it is our special gift, Tutty insists. "The kodrat should not be a source of burden."

But Tutty disagrees with the rest of the commonly understood kodrat concept; she insists fathers must join in educating children and the understanding that the man leads the woman "should be limited to the family."

According to religious teachings, Tutty says, "The man has the additional task of providing for the family," hence he is the head of the household.

But there has been a misinterpretation of this teaching which has led to the weak position of women in society, based on the belief that men also lead women outside the home, says Tutty.

Encouraging women to be active is Tutty's measure to correct this perception.

"If the man can understand that his wife is contributing to society through her skills, which are a gift, there would be no need for him to get jealous," she says.

Tutty insists this "pillar" concept demands more respect of women and implies the need for continued efforts for the protection, facilitation and advocacy for social acceptance of more active women.

She maintains it is stronger than earlier concepts: the first official paradigm since the state ministry was established was recognition of "women's role in development, the next embodied women as "equal partners".

The challenges of the next five years render these ideas no longer adequate, Tutty said. Besides, "equal partners" entails the feeling that "women must forever catch up with men" to be equal, she adds.

"Women as pillars of the nation is a whole concept, referring to the dignity of independent women with the equal obligation to develop themselves for the public good." Competition between men and women would be "competition for virtue", she said.

"With strong character ... and as long as women are clear about their goals, men will be more likely to give women opportunities," says Tutty.

The concerns of better-educated women should be enhanced to help empower their sisters; Tutty has just met with highly educated women from Moslem foundations who were working with the poor. "Such concern cannot be bought," she said.

Another measure to reinterpret women's role in accordance with what was originally meant, she adds, should come from more books written by women qualified in religious teachings. "Most of our religious leaders have been men, who wrote most of the books," she says.

Tutty believes the basics of emancipation are already strongly rooted in the State Policy Guidelines and in the Koran, which inevitably remains one of her main references.

"But it is something we must fight for," she said. She looks forward to learning from the "brilliant" women involved in debates and actual work in assisting women and all valuable input including that expected from the hotline.

Her willingness to learn from others, which critics may have overlooked, could become just the clout the state ministry needs.