Understanding womens's problems in depth

Kajian Wanita Dalam Pembangunan (Studies on Women in Development) Edited by T.O. Ihromi Yayasan Obor Indonesia 549 pages Rp 19,500

JAKARTA (JP): There are not many books which address issues concerning women written by Indonesians. One of the latest, Kajian Wanita Dalam Pembangunan (Studies on Women in Development), is a collection of writings published by Yayasan Obor Indonesia.

It is edited by T.O. Ihromi, a professor at the University of Indonesia's School of Law and an honorary professor of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, and the Jakarta Police Academy.

Both men and women have a part to play in national development. But why should we undertake studies that differentiate between the two sexes' role in development?

Asking such a question is like asking: Why do we have terms like "working women", "career women" and "working mothers", but not "working men", "career men" and "working fathers"?

Many people believe men are the breadwinners. Men are supposed to work outside the house. People take it for granted that all men are working men and all fathers are working fathers. Because men are supposed to be the ones that work outside the house, it must be men who are involved in development activities.

Women are expected to play the traditional role as family nurturers and stay at home.

Times have changed however and now many women work outside the house. This means they too play an increasingly significant role in the fulfillment of the national development program. But not everybody is aware of the contribution made by women.

In the first chapter of the book, anthropologist Yulfita Rahardjo points out that not only is the role of women in development often belittled, development projects often bring disadvantages to women. Some development activities even risk strengthening the traditional role of women, to do the routine household chores and take care of the children.

Developed nations, in an effort to help the countries they once colonized, came with concepts focusing on economic development based on "sex-male bias" decisions, according to Yulfita, head of the Research and Development Center, at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and alumnus of the Australian National University.

Discrimination against women, which strongly prevails in society, is obviously one of the factors which needs to be seriously addressed.

It is also discrimination against women which has inspired the establishment of a Women's Studies course at the University of Indonesia. Or so says Saparinah Sadli, the course head, in Chapter 2 of the book.

"Even though the gender stereotype has started to change, women's aspirations have not supported the change. Many still choose work which traditionally suits them," Sadli says on page 22.

Studies on women have long been undertaken, but they were not written from a woman's perspective, she said. Women's studies are necessary to correct and provide a balance to the traditional studies which treated women as little more than objects.

Western feminist perspectives are discussed in chapter 5 by Siti Hidayati Amal, a sociologist who graduated from the University of Essex. She analyses the approaches of liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, radical feminism, psycholanalitical feminism and socialist feminism. At the beginning of her discussion, she mentions Kartini, a pioneer campaigner of the Indonesian women's movement. But the writer does not discuss Kartini's perspective. She does not say either, if the Western feminist perspectives are suitable for application in Indonesia.

The issue of the feminist movement -- or women's movement as it is called in the book -- in Indonesia is brought up by Sukanti Suryochondro, a sociologist, in Chapter 3. The first women's movement in Indonesia emerged in the 19th century when women took part in the physical struggle against the Dutch colonial government, she says. Kartini was different as she believed that education was the key to female emancipation. Unfortunately, Kartini herself became a victim of the unfair treatment against women as she was unable to resist when her parents told her to marry a married man.

Of course, there are many things other than education, which can be used as a means to empower women. In Chapter 13 Ihromi underlines the importance of legal instruments to improve women's position in society. In 1984 Indonesia ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women, which was a good start to improve women's position. But ratifying the convention alone is not enough. The government should study existing domestic legislation and review laws which are not in accordance with the spirit of the convention.

The next four chapters are about working women and related issues. According to Kristi Poerwandari, a psychologist, the aspirations of young working women are to have a job (not necessarily a career), independence, companionship and a balanced life. She says that a balanced life is the dominant theme but it seems impossible to have a balanced life in the sense that a woman wants a good job and a good family.

Even though women contribute a sizable share of many families' income, they often feel they merely help their husbands, like the workers in a sugar cane plantation, according to Keppi Sukesi, a sociologist from the University of Brawijaya, Malang, East Java. (Chapter 15). Those women had what the writer called "hidden power."

"In the sugar-cane plantation business, there is a general stereotype that it is men who know most.... In fact, as the interviews went on, it emerged that many of the women answered the questions. But they always asked for the husband's permission...," she said.

Some problems facing working women, like different wages for men and women and the lack of adequate legal protection are addressed in the book. The need for day-care centers is mentioned, but the discussion on it is not very extensive. There is no discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace even though this is often experienced by women.

Domestic violence, an issue which is not talked much in the society, is discussed by Isbodroini Suyanto, a graduate of Ohio University, in the last chapter of the book. Domestic violence is often regarded as a silent or hidden crime as most victims are reluctant to report it.

Society does not really care about domestic violence because most people believe that it is a private issue. The authorities will not take action unless they receive reports from the victims. There are several reasons for domestic violence. In some cases, men might feel that they have the right to beat their wives. But there are also men who abuse the wives because of their inferior feelings, according to Suyanto.

Physically, women might be weaker than men. Biologically, they are different. But this is not an excuse to discriminate against women. People should respect womens rights. Both men and women should work hand in hand to carry out development activities.

Reading the book will help one understand the problems facing Indonesian women. Only people who understand them can be expected to respect the rights of women and treat them as equal partners in national development.

-- T. Sima Gunawan