Saparinah Sadli, building bridges

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.