Sinta criticizes traditional Kartini Day celebrations

JAKARTA (JP): As part of the commemoration of Kartini Day, which fell on Saturday (April 21), First Lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid held a press conference on Wednesday and several TV talk shows.

The first lady said the Kartini Day celebration should be focused on more substantive activities like gender equality campaigns. She openly criticized the usual celebrations, where women wear traditional costumes, and the flower arranging and cooking competitions.

As a part of the celebration, Sinta and her 12-strong team will launch four books containing the results of their five-year reconstruction of the Kitab Kuning (literally means yellow texts, classical textbooks on Islam written by traditional Islamic scholars hundreds of years ago), which are widely used, particularly in Java's rural areas.

The group's study reveals that many parts of the books contain gender-biased teachings, which unfairly place men in a much higher position compared with women.

She cited several examples, including a remark that the angel will condemn a wife who does not quickly serve her husband who wants to have sex with her.

The first lady separately talked to The Jakarta Post's Cornelius Purba about gender equity and her activities to promote women rights.

Question: Gender equity as you are now promoting it doesn't appear in our school text books that are actually important entry points for children to acquire the right perception on this issue. What do you think?

Answer: I think, you are right. In many official school text books, from elementary to senior high school level, we can easily find pictures, explanations or illustrations that indicate that women do not have an equal position to men. Images that women should stand back must be ended.

You just talked about Kitab Kuning, could you elaborate further?

Struggling for gender equity is not easy, we must pass a very long and winding road. That is what we started from the reinterpretation of the text books, to prove that real Islamic teachings are not gender-biased. Gender equity is deeply appreciated in Islam. We can find many examples in the Koran.... There is no difference between men and women. Mankind is judged from deeds, and not from sexes.

Do ulemas (Islamic scholars) realize the real teachings?

Only a few ulemas realize that and question the facts. However many of them still do not realize that many of the interpretations are weak or even fake, because there is still no survey, research or study about the books. We are the first group to initiate such study. I hope that with the launching of our book, people will have a deeper understanding about the problems.

Do women face obstacles from outside to achieve equal positions with their male counterparts?

The greatest obstacle comes from women themselves. Usually out of the pesantren (traditional Islamic boarding schools), all of the teachings in the text books are regarded as authentic, that the teachings which deprecate women are correct, and that women must serve men. The women enjoy the teachings that I regard as deceptive.

Recently, there was controversy over the banning of a woman from becoming President. What is your opinion?

It is a male-biased opinion. Such a judgment was written by men, therefore the role of men was very crucial.

They often consider women irrational. Women cannot rule the country because they use their emotion and natural instinct in making a decision, and then they conclude that men must be leaders.

The real situation is not like that. We can see that women are tougher and patient in facing problems. In Islam, there were many examples about this in the past when men tended to prioritize their own interests. There was a story about Queen Sheba who was able to create social welfare for her people. This proves that a woman could also lead a state.

How about gender bias in the government

There is plenty of discrimination against women in the ministries. Many ministries are not yet gender-conscious. I have received many complaints about such discrimination, especially in relation to higher positions in the government, where gender sexism is strongly felt by women. It happens in all ministries.

In my opinion, most of the male officials in government institutions already have a good understanding about gender equality. They just worry about their own position, that they might be replaced by their female colleagues. And they are not ready for this.

Who should be the most responsible people to promote gender equity in society?

The most important role is played by the father and mother. They must set up an example with their own action, to show their children that father and mother have equal positions. They should work together at home, including bathing their children. From the parents, then children learn about equality. Every good and bad thing starts from home.

Gus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid) is the only man in your family because you have four daughters. How about his own gender consciousness?

Alhamdulillah (thank God), Gus Dur never discriminates against women. I do not know precisely, but based on my analysis, Gus Dur himself experienced that his mother was left by her husband who died when her youngest child was still two months old in her womb. He saw how his mother struggled to raise her children.

What is your view about polygamy

The Koran implicitly does not allow polygamy, but it is always misinterpreted when it is believed that such a practice is allowed. In reality it imposes very strict conditions on polygamy. It is stated that you can marry one, two or three women provided that you are fair and honest. If you feel you cannot fulfill these requirements, you had better not do it. It is implicitly revealed in a Koran verse what kind of men do not want to apply or understand the real content. They only partially accept the verse.