President points to RI women's plight

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie marked Women's Day on Tuesday by drawing public attention to how modernization has not spared women from violence, harassment, or abuse of their rights.

Addressing a ceremony attended by First Lady Hasri Ainun Besari Habibie, State Minister for Women's Roles Tutty Alawiyah, the wives of Cabinet ministers and 200 other participants at the State Palace, Habibie said the turn of the century should herald a restoration of women's dignity.

The President said how the modern age, marked as it is with rapid scientific and technological advancement, was often blamed for a process of dehumanization that strips human beings, especially women, of their dignity.

"This dehumanization can take place if science and technological advancement are not accompanied by strong religious faith," he said.

He cited business activities which often used women as mere objects for commercial purposes. "Respect for women must be restored," Habibie said. "There should no longer be any gender- based domination because the survival of humanity depends on the two sexes."

Habibie also called for greater attention to be paid to the fact that more women died during childbirth in Indonesia compared to the other Southeast Asian countries.

Minister of Health Farid Anfasa Moeloek said last month that every year, 20,000 women die of aseptic labor, bleeding, poisoning during pregnancy and as the result of poor nutritional intake which is 50 times worse than in other ASEAN countries.

The mortality rate, Moeloek said, is "equivalent to a Jumbo jet full of expectant mothers crashing every week."

The Women's Day is commemorated to mark the beginning of Indonesian women's awareness of their existence and contribution to the nation. On Dec. 22, 1928, Indonesian women activists established the Indonesian Congress of Women to foster unity among women's organizations.

The day was also commemorated in many other places. In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, for instance, Governor Gusti Hasan Aman promised to give greater opportunity to women to develop their careers in various sectors, especially in the administration.

He acknowledged that much of women's potential was still untapped, Antara said. "Let women become heads of offices, bureau chiefs, village heads, regents, mayors, and even governors," he said.

The question of women presidents was brought to the surface last month when a group of Muslim scholars proposed that Indonesia's next president must be male and Muslim.

"Please heed the voice of our women," Gusti Hasan said. "It would be undemocratic if their aspirations were eclipsed by the male domination in politics, economics, legal affairs and other areas."

In Purwokerto, Central Java, dozens of female students from various universities marked the day with a street rally. Calling themselves the Association of Women for Justice, the students marched down several streets.

Their posters said, among other things, "Reject mobilization of women for political interests" and "Kartini (national heroine) rejects Karmila, Air Mata Ibu."

The last two are the titles of popular television series. (45/swe/prb)