Understanding womens's problems in depth

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