Saparinah Sadli, building bridges

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Saparinah Sadli might have wanted to spend the day quietly in the coolness of the mountain air, where she usually enjoys a well-deserved weekend with her husband Mohammad Sadli.

But this time, her friends wouldn't let her go. "Stay put," a friend told her, "don't go anywhere." The reason is that today is Saparinah's 75th birthday, a milestone that calls for celebration.

No, no, not in the usual way, for she is not an ordinary person.

Modest but multifaceted, boldly outspoken and creative with strong personal integrity, noble ethics and highly tuned to justice, she is also a democrat who welcomes the views of others.

What better way to honor her than by focusing on her all- encompassing concern for the benefit of the wider public? A seminar on the importance of placing women center stage in decision making is highlighted by distinguished human rights champion Madhu Kishwar of India.

The launching of the Anugerah Saparinah Sadli (Saparinah Sadli Award) seeks to develop women matching Saparinah's virtues, substantiating all that she strives for: peace and a society governed by the upholding of human dignity.

The dignity of humankind, of which women constitute the major part, has been her obsession for much of her long and rich life. Early on she discovered how girls were treated differently from boys. Discrimination? That might be too strong a word, but the impact was the same.

"My brother could do whatever he wanted, that was just fine with my parents. No questions asked. But I had to seek permission beforehand, explaining in detail who my friends were, where they lived, etc."

She often wished she were a boy. "When I grow up, I want to be a father," she often said.

However, books were all she really cared for, favoring those about Madame Curie, the polish-born French scientist who paved the way for nuclear physics and cancer treatment. Curie became her role model and left an indelible mark on Saparinah. But it was her study of the human psyche that opened her eyes.

Saparinah finished primary and secondary school, and even pursued higher education, although her mother might have wanted her to do something more "feminine". Sending her to the Dutch- based van Deventer school for Dutch girls and daughters of Dutch- speaking civil servants did not help much, though she later appreciated the iron discipline.

At her mother's insistence, she studied chemistry and worked briefly in Jakarta. She later switched to psychology, and discovered with great astonishment that in scientific and psychological studies, women were no more than a footnote.

The psyche of women then became a fostered interest, as did the study of disparities in gender relations. Her findings made her realize the enormous consequences if prevailing conditions and perceptions were to continue.

She married the man of her own choice after turning down several candidates proposed by well-wishing relatives, and interrupted her studies to accompany him when he got a scholarship to study in the USA. Upon their return, she continued her study at the University of Indonesia (UI) and obtained her PhD in 1976. In 1980 she became a professor of psychology.

As head of Indonesia's first postgraduate program on Women's Studies at UI (1990-2000), she pushed the program's way through sexism related hurdles in the university itself, and even managed to help establish a postgraduate program in Makassar.

Bringing new energizing strengths wherever she went, she expanded networks, and cooperated with senior experts abroad, thus bringing the program to fruition. Likewise, when she entered the National Human Rights Commission in 1997 she brought with her a fresh wind of new dynamics. However, her strong personal integrity made her leave the commission in 2002.

Respected by both the government and NGOs, she became a mover of sorts, excelling in creative visions and bridging differences across age, gender, class, ethnicity, politics and religion.

At times of turmoil and fear she dares to stand up boldly against gender-based oppression and violence. Examples of her courage abound. She was particularly instrumental in having then president Habibie publicly denounce the mass rape of ethnic Chinese women in 1998. Launching a campaign, she got over 4,000 supporters, then strategically composed a delegation of 22 women of the most diverse groups, and marched to the palace in an unprecedented event to successfully urge Habibie's public denouncement of the rapes and to equally successfully insist on the establishment of an investigative team and a National Commission on Violence Against Women.

Her unwavering commitment to human dignity made her accept the difficult task of chairing the Commission (1998) that includes young and older people. The work with her team, however, mostly remains unseen, due to its confidential nature.

The commission's stature, however, is evident in various areas, such as their cooperation in such cases like the investigation of rape by a UN rapporteur on Violence against Women, the establishment of a Women's Desk in the police structure, the one-stop crisis center at general hospitals, and increased understanding of the gender dimension of human rights.

She rallied for peace in Aceh, Maluku, and Papua and flatly opposed the dispute on women's leadership. Her inspired persistence in fostering gender-justice and strengthening marginalized groups must be seen in this light.

Marie Curie once wrote "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful."

There are no better words to describe the life and actions of Saparinah Sadli.