'Woman must have a role in politics'
Every Dec. 22, the country celebrates Women's Day in recognition of the critical roles Indonesian women played during the struggle for independence. What has been the role of Indonesian women after the country declared independence in 1945? The Jakarta Post interviewed residents here on the issue.
Dian A. Ramadhani, 25, is on the public relations staff at Bina Nusantara School in West Jakarta. She lives with her family in the Daan Mogot area of West Jakarta.
I think the role of women in Indonesia continues to improve. We see that more and more key positions in business or government offices are held by women. We even see that jobs traditionally done by men, such as taxi drivers or bus crew members are now being done by women.
The government must continue to protect women's rights. For instance, we still find that the salaries of women are lower than those of men, even if they hold the same position in companies or government agencies.
I believe that if both women and men have the same skills and capability and hold similar jobs, then they should get the same amount of salary.
However, a woman should not be viewed as so powerful that a man becomes afraid of her. I think this is not appropriate as a woman still has to respect a man, or her husband.
Aditya, 28, works for a non-governmental organization in Central Jakarta. He lives with his wife and children in Tengerang.
The government should definitely give more of a role to women in politics or government agencies. I think we have wasted our key resources so long by limiting women's role to certain sectors. Our country's backwardness, I believe, is caused by a lack of women's touch in solving the country's problems.
Women are blessed with sharp intuition, gentleness and deep insights on lots of things. If, for instance, we let women handle the conflicts in Maluku or Central Sulawesi, then I believe the conflicts can be resolved quickly and amicably.
This is because women will handle the conflicts like they are taking care of their children. They will treat conflicting parties with love and care. The criticism that women are indecisive has not been proven, as we have not given them adequate opportunity. One woman president has not told us anything.
--The Jakarta Post