To men of Indonesia

To men of Indonesia

The Bali Post is planning to hold an art exhibition entitled
Great Indonesian Painters in Bali to celebrate Indonesia's
development in the arts, and to raise funds for charity. Very
praiseworthy, you may say, in this the Year of the Role of Women
in Development here in Indonesia. The only problem is, yes,
you've guessed it, this show plans to have works by thirteen men
and zero, yes, zero, women.

What is it, guys, that stops you from recognizing that women
can be great artists as well as men? Indonesia has a great and
proud tradition of women artists, starting with Emilia Soenassa,
right down to today's young and exciting artists. You should
celebrate this enormous, rich resource of this wonderful country,
rather than denying it. You should be so proud that our country
has produced artists of such stature, regardless of sex, and you
should work together to proclaim these talents to the world, put
the spotlight on them, rather than shutting them out in the cold.

Development is the current buzzword, and in danger of becoming
just another slogan unless we realize how and when we can make a
real contribution to the fact of development in our daily lives.
We must realize that continuing to hold on to old, discriminating
attitudes is a real barrier to development -- you men must
welcome women as your equal partners in the process, or condemn
development to failure, since a development which only works for
48 percent of the population (the male) on the basis of one out
of two chromosomes being different is a farce and a mockery.

MARY NORTHMORE

Director

Seniwati Gallery

Gianyar, Bali