Nadia hopeful of more progress for women

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For Nadia Chiarina, newly returned to Indonesia after finishing her studies at a prestigious American business school, the appointment of four women as Cabinet ministers is hopeful news indeed.

"Although the social system here remains difficult for women, I hope the women ministers will bring progress," said Nadia, who has just graduated from the Wharton School of Business, the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.

She was delighted at President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's appointment of Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah, State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Minister of Women's Empowerment Meutia F. Hatta.

Nadia, who received the Palmer Scholar Award for ranking within the top five percent of a class of 800 students, also expressed satisfaction that so many women were also becoming activists of non-governmental organizations promoting women's rights, including the right to a good education.

For her, education is a key point for any women to progress within a patriarchal social system that advocates values that create psychological obstacles for women.

Nadia owes much to her supportive father, Mamo Sutoko, a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and her mother, Tustine, a housewife, who always encouraged her in her pursuit of higher education.

Nadia, who was born on Feb 27, 1977, in Bandung, still remembers how some of her friends and relatives questioned her intention to get a masters degree in Business Administration in the United States.

"You don't have to look far to run into that kind of attitude. Even in my circumstances, I had to counter the same kind of thinking that limits women in less privileged environments. Imagine, they questioned why I should travel so far away from home to study," she exclaimed.

She complained that too many people still think it is not necessary for a woman to have higher education as this will make it difficult for her. For instance it will be hard for her to get a life partner. Some even say that a woman should look for a spouse with higher education and income instead of trying to achieve those things herself.

"Some of my friends say so, but I don't. The values that I got from my parents are not like that. Women should be progressive," said Nadia, who will marry her sweetheart in December this year.

"My parents supported me in pursuing a masters degree and my father is now asking when I plan to start working on my doctorate," she said.

Mamo was very strict in supervising his daughter's studies, refusing to let her stay out until midnight.

Sometimes, she was sad that she could not attend her friends' birthday parties until late at night. But she realized that it was ultimately for her own benefit.

After graduating from ITB's industrial engineering school in 1999, Nadia, who is interested in corporate strategy and management, joined the international consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Jakarta as an analyst.

She then applied for the Kellogg Business School and Wharton Business School three years ago. After a series of tests, including TOEFL and GMAT (assessment of ability to study in the English language), and interviews in Jakarta for Kellogg and in Hong Kong for Wharton, both schools accepted Nadia.

Kellogg and Wharton are among top three business schools in the U.S. The other is the Chicago Business School.

After much consideration and consultation, she then decided to choose Wharton. She then applied for a scholarship at the Sampoerna Foundation.

"The scholarship was very meaningful. Without it, I could not have reached my dream. It would have been impossible to afford the thousands of dollars for the cost of study," she claimed.

Although the number of Indonesian students in the business school was very small, they are very bright. Lack of scholarships probably accounts for the rarity of Indonesian students in business and other schools abroad.

She was of the opinion that the achievement of Indonesian students continuing their studies abroad proved that the quality of education in Indonesia was not as poor as experts claim.

Based on Nadia's educational background, quality basic education is not always expensive.

Nadia graduated from the BPI private elementary school, SMP 5 State Junior High School, SMA 3 State Senior High School and ITB, all in Bandung.

"My schools were very affordable, even though there are many expensive private schools," she said.

After finishing her master degree, she return to BCG as a consultant. She preferred to work at the firm since she had to study continuously to sharpen her analytical skills.

Nadia, who has two younger brothers, leaves her apartment to work at 8 a.m. and often returns late at night. Sometimes, she even works on weekends.