Sjamsiah, figure behind success of meet on women

Sjamsiah, figure behind success of meet on women

By Ati Nurbaiti

JAKARTA (JP): As delegates of a regional conference on women
held here prepared to leave following their verbal tug-of-war,
the conference chairperson, Sjamsiah Achmad, is one person who
can at last breathe a bit easier.

A red rose and gifts with attached cards signed by foreign
names lay on the table of her temporary office in the wing of the
Jakarta Hilton Convention Center last Saturday afternoon.

Earlier, delegates at the last day of the Senior Officials
Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Conference on Women had congratulated
and hugged Sjamsiah for her skillful leadership of the regional
forum.

"I'm so proud of you," said a House speaker, Nafsiah Mboi.

Sjamsiah, 61, an assistant to Minister of Women's Affairs Mien
Sugandhi, chaired plenary meetings which followed drafting of two
documents that formed the main focus of the Conference - the
Jakarta Declaration on the Advancement of Women in Asia and the
Pacific and the Regional Plan of Action. The documents were
submitted to the two-day Ministerial Meeting on Monday and
Tuesday.

Sjamsiah had asked quarreling delegates to resolve their
differences privately before finding a compromised stand.

"Our main principle," said Sjamsiah, "was to keep on the track
toward improving women's welfare within the existing political
(conditions)." Matters of politics and security, she added, must
be discussed in other forums, for which the Conference on Women
had no authority.

This approach admittedly could not satisfy delegates from all
53 countries, more so their non-governmental organizations
lobbying for stronger substance before and during the conference.

Members of the Asia-Pacific Action Network (APWAN), a
coalition of NGOs, said The Jakarta Declaration "ignores the
voice of women" and reflects more the voice of governments.

Delegates pointed out that women's fate seemed inseparable
from the wider political context. The condition of women was
cited as being most vulnerable in crisis situations.

While they wanted stronger statements against authorities
which they said were responsible for these situations, the
agreed-upon sentence in the Plan of Action was that "governments,
intergovernmental bodies, other relevant UN bodies...should be
urged (some delegates wanted "must") to take all possible steps
to eliminate violence against women...."

"Delegates and observers may forget that we have to issue
statements acceptable to all governments, as this is a government
meeting," Sjamsiah reminded.

A review of the documents, however, reveals thoughts and
phrases that, though not quite new on the international level,
are still largely unheard of to many respective governments and
seem only to come from annoying NGOs.

Self-discipline

Understanding the way the UN works, derived from 11 years at
UN headquarters in New York, the U.S. and the UN office in
Vienna, Austria (1978 to 1988), coupled with self-discipline in
attending many courses before office hours ("including drafting
of documents"), helped Sjamsiah better deal with events of the
past few days.

"I had to recall all my knowledge and experience," she said on
Saturday after an exhausting day. "I haven't been involved in the
UN for quite some time."

Her curriculum vitae lists a trail of teaching beginning at
the age of 16 and research posts at government institutions,
including the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

She holds a master's degree of Arts from the School of
Education of New York University, "and my friends have called it
a doctorate."

But all that has nothing to do with understanding women's
issues."

Indeed, knowledge and training alone does not explain
Sjamsiah's staunch support for concepts of women which sound
radical in this society, where there are only four kodrat
(destined roles) of women, and these are all biological;
menstruation, pregnancy, delivery and breast feeding.

A brief sketch of her childhood in Sengkang, Makassar (now
Ujungpandang), South Sulawesi, reveals the backbone of her
beliefs, her father, the district attorney in Wajo, also South
Sulawesi. Her mother died when she was six.

"He stressed that women must be as good as men, that they must
get a good education," said Sjamsiah, the fifth of nine children.
Her father Achmad, she added, "would get very angry if he knew
boys bought me things."

Until now she has remained single, "not that I never wanted to
get married."

Expressing optimism, she said that for her generation it was
"unimaginable" that a husband would support his wife's career by
going so far as to accompany her abroad, thereby putting him in a
position akin to wives. "But husbands of the young generation
must not be ashamed of this," she said.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs is working on a system which
may eventually eradicate obstacles for women who aspire to
meaningful lives outside the home. "The family, not the state,
will decide if a husband or wife wants to accompany his or her
spouse on an assignment abroad," Sjamsiah said.

At present, for example, most married female employees of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been unable to develop careers
as diplomats while others have opted to quit.

"I agree with President Soeharto who believes that for now we
can only send female diplomats who are either single or are
widows, because our males cannot yet accept having a wife with
such a high position (abroad)...We will not get anywhere if we
rush things."

Although several conference participants remain unsatisfied,
many advocates of women's rights here count heavily on Sjamsiah
to disseminate what seem like strange vibes emanating from the
Ministry of Women's Affairs.

There have been expressions of anxiety that her tenure at the
Ministry is nearing the end - official pension age is 55 - but
the good news is that her already extended period has been
stretched until next year.