Nane Annan graces meeting of women leaders

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): Although they were visibly delighted to have Nane Annan among them, the glittering galaxy of Indonesian women leaders wondered why Kofi Annan, her husband and the United Nations secretary-general, had not come to see them.

"I am really disappointed that the secretary-general did not find time to meet with us," regretted Mely G. Tan, the chairwoman of the Atma Jaya Catholic University's Research Institute and member of the National Commission for Violence Against Women.

"The secretary-general should have spent some time with us as well. We are, after all, half the population of the world," said another guest, who is involved in an aggressive movement for the education of young girls, many of whom are victims of continuing social and religious conflicts in different parts of the country.

During her two-day visit to Jakarta, Nane met with a group of over 30 women all involved in an effort to empower as many women as possible through education, information technology and income- generating activities.

Nane, who received numerous invitations, especially to attend various conferences scheduled around the country on women's issues, was also complimented on her good looks and resemblance to a French actress.

The Swedish-born Nane, who trained as a lawyer and worked on legislative projects like the Swedish Commission on Ethnic Discrimination before she joined the United Nations High Commission for Refugees as a legal officer, smiled at the warm welcome she received here, adding that she was thrilled to be among a group of women who were able to express such a richness of ideas. She was also overwhelmed that so many women were sharing so much of themselves with other women less fortunate in society.

While working as a professional in Sweden, she often found she was a minority, surrounded mostly by male colleagues. However, the advantage of being with the United Nations is to find oneself part of a family in different corners of the world and to meet many more women involved in public life.

The tall and slender Nane agreed that education of women was the key to a healthy and peaceful world. She said without education, women could not hope to participate fully in life. She hoped that women who are caught in the middle of conflicts would one day see themselves not as mere victims but also as crucial peacemakers, who can actually prevent conflicts before they get bloody.

She graciously listened to complaints made about her husband's absence at the meeting and promised to report to him the sentiments expressed by Indonesian women present there.

Speakers pointed out that women represent under 9 percent of members in the present legislature. Iris Indira Murti, a legislator, said 50 percent of voters are women but when it comes to their representation in legislature the number shrinks. She saw the gross under representation of women in the legislature as a flaw in the country's democratic movement.

Marwah Daud Ibrahim, another legislator, said that once 17 percent of legislators in Indonesia were women. "The number went down to 12 percent and in this new era of reformation and democracy, why has it been slashed to less than 9 percent?" she questioned.

She also wondered if Nane could help organize an exchange program between women legislators here and in Sweden to find out why the number of women in government in most Nordic countries remains so much higher. She wanted to know how the United Nations could help women in Indonesia to use information technology to better their lives.

Desi Anwar, the attractive media personality, agreed that knowledge is power and was also the answer to linking the country to the rest of the world, especially to that part where information technology is already a way of life.

Debra H. Yatim of Komseni, the spokeswoman for the arts group, invited Nane to an all women's conference in Aceh to be held for the first time in 400 years.

"Women have been living with armed conflict and cruelty for 10 years. The conference will give them an opportunity to decide how women want to live their lives in the future, and the kind of peace they are looking for in Aceh," Debra said.

National Police Col. Irawati Harsono, a senior lecturer in criminology at the National Police Academy, regretted that just 3 percent of the police force consists of women and most are employed only in the lower ranks.

She would like to see the Police Academy open up to women as well.

Miranda Goeltom, the deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, wanted a proper policy that allowed more women to hold top jobs in bureaucracy.

Erna Witoelar, a minister and one of the organizers of the meeting between Nane and prominent Indonesian women, also dreams of seeing more women in public life as prominent leaders and decisionmakers. She reminded women that those who are already in power also need empowerment.

Anne-Brigitte Albrectsen, the deputy resident representative of the United Nations Development Program, added that work had started with a group of women in the troubled Maluku islands who are committed to overcome religious issues.

"If anyone can then it is this group that has the potential to bring about peace or at least play a leading role in the peace- making process in the area," she said.

As some participants refused to get over the fact that the UN secretary-general did not attend, the other important "K" who was conspicuously absent at this extraordinary meeting on women's issues was Khofifah Indar Parawansa, the state minister of the empowerment of women.