Women preserve their place in Indonesian military history

By Lela E. Madjiah

BANDUNG (JP): Women have always been part of the Indonesian military tradition.

Old kingdoms produced great women warriors who fought alongside their male peers against colonialists. Among them was Keumalahayati, admiral of the fleet of the Kingdom of Aceh during the reign of Sultan 'Ala al-Din Ri'ayat Syah, more popularly known as Sultan Al Mukammil (1589-1604). Before her appointment as admiral, Keumalahayati was commander of the women's armed forces in the Kingdom of Aceh.

War against the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonialists dragged on well into the 20th century, involving more women fighters who usually took up the places of husbands who had died in battle. Preindependence war throughout the archipelago gave rise to great fighters, including Cut Nyak Dhien (1850-1908) and Cut Nyak Meutia (1870-1910) from Aceh, Martha Khristina Tiahahu (1800-1818) from Nusalaut, Maluku and Nyi Ageng Serang (1752- 1828) from Serang, West Java.

These women were an inspiration to their successors, who refused to remain on the sidelines of the armed struggle during the war for independence from 1945 to 1950.

In peacetime Indonesia, women have remained in the military, although they no longer wield arms. Instead, they mostly serve non-combat functions.

In 1961, in line with increasing demands for professional women in uniform, the Indonesian Army opened a training center for female recruits in Lembang, Bandung. Called the Army's Women Corps Training Center (Pusat Pendidikan Korps Wanita Angkatan Darat, Pusdik Kowad), the center offers training for non- commissioned officer candidates (Sekolah Calon Bintara, Secaba), officer candidate school graduates (Sekolah Calon Perwira, Secapa) and first school for professional officers (Sekolah Pertama Calon Perwira Karir Wanita, Semapekawan). The first two schools are open to high school graduates, while the third one is for university graduates. Training lasts from five to 11 months.

Since 1972 -- after 11 years and three male commanders -- the center has had female officers at its helm, beginning with Major Arismiyati Nasution, who served from 1972 to 1973. The center has also undergone several name and organizational changes. In 1997, it resumed its original name and was put under the umbrella of the Army's Training and Education Doctrine Command (Kodiklat).

Interestingly, today's recruits share a uniform reason for joining the military: their love for ABRI's discipline.

It is a love they have usually nurtured since an early age.

"I have wanted to become an ABRI member since I was in junior high school. At the time, ABRI members were working in my village as part of the ABRI Civic Mission to Villages program (AMD). I was very impressed with their physical fitness and their overall conduct, and I decided I wanted to be like them," said Secaba recruit Netty Nurainah, 20.

Hailing from Butoh, a village 2.5 kilometers from Banda Aceh, Netty was the province's athletic champion from 1992 to 1997. The second child of six siblings, Netty said that by joining the military she hoped to embrace ABRI's virtues, such as discipline and physical fitness.

Similarly, I Dewa Agung from Bali, Fidelia Fransiska Kainakaimu from Merauke, Irian Jaya, and Ni Luh Putu Setiawati, also from Bali, were drawn into the military by its discipline and regulations.

"I was impressed with ABRI's simple way of life and its perfect discipline. It's full of regulations, but they are all for our own well-being," said I Dewa Agung, 20, the youngest and only girl of three siblings. Her two brothers are also in the military, the eldest with the Army's elite forces, Kopassus, while the second is with the police.

Despite reports of human rights violations by ABRI members in Irian Jaya, Fidelia Fransiska had a childhood experience that has remained with her.

"To my knowledge, ABRI members are responsible people who show perfect discipline. I discovered that when I was still an elementary school student, during an AMD program," said Fidelia, who was Merauke's champion runner from elementary school until she graduated from high school in 1997.

When she graduates from Pusdik Kowad, Fidelia hopes to join the health unit, as she has always been interested in health matters.

"After I graduated from high school, I worked for a foundation that helps AIDS patients. I want to dedicate my life to helping people," she said.

Of course, parents play an important role in helping their children realize their dreams. Recruit Ni Luh, 21, an only child, was lucky to have her parents' support for her decision to join the military.

"I first told them of my decision in 1995, after I was chosen as a member of the regional team assigned to hoist the national flag on Independence Day. Not only did my parents say yes to it, they also supervised my preparations for the test," said Ni Luh.

The recruits are also bound by a drive to dedicate their lives to the country and the people.

"Of course we can do it outside the military, but I think ABRI is the best place to do it," said Netty.

Non-combat

Indonesia's male and female soldiers serve different tasks. Male soldiers are trained to perform in combat, while female soldiers are trained mostly in administrative skills. Since 1981, female soldiers are also trained in a number of fields previously open to men only, such as finance, protocol, law and topography.

Although the main task of Indonesia's servicewomen is non- combat, the center provides training in basic combat skills.

"This means that we are ready to become combatants when duty calls. Here, too, there are differences from those skills male soldiers have to acquire. For example, a male soldier must be able to carry a load of between 10 and 20 kilograms, while a female soldier only has to carry between eight and 15 kilograms," Col. Kartini Hermanus, the center commander, told The Jakarta Post in an interview in conjunction with the school's 37th anniversary on Nov. 10.

She admitted that many of her students were shocked when they first underwent field training.

"They have to crawl, climb, run, carry loads, use firearms and hand grenades. At first they are usually scared that the hand grenades will explode in their hands, but after we explain that they are using training grenades, they relax," she said.

Listening to Kartini talk about how women in uniform train, may lead one to believe that female soldiers are all muscles and sweat.

"On the contrary, our female soldiers must maintain their feminine characteristics. They must not at all look like men," she stressed.

Kartini herself always looks feminine. She wears makeup and makes sure that she appears neat and bright.

"The Army provides makeup allowances for its female soldiers. It's not much, but enough to buy local brands of powder and lipstick. Our female soldiers do not have an excuse not to appear beautiful. And many of them are beautiful, although beauty is relative," she said.

In her one-and-a-half year stint as head of the training center, Kartini finds that her biggest challenge comes from the fact that students come from diverse family and educational background.

"As ABRI members, they must be guided by one vision, one perception and one conception. This is a big challenge, given their diverse family and educational backgrounds. Many come from ordinary families, some are poor, while others are rich, and they are expected to act as one," said Kartini.

To overcome the problem, the center provides direct mentoring for its students, each mentor is responsible for any kind of problem a student may face. Mostly, new recruits are overwhelmed by the tough physical training.

"Although they have passed the psychological test, they are still shocked. This is where our instructors step in to provide them with mental guidance. For example, students from rich families are not used to hard work, they don't even know how to wash their clothes. We show them how to do it," said Kartini.

Today, after 37 years of existence, the center has yet to gain popularity among the people.

"We have to admit that despite publicity about our existence and activities through the media and direct campaigns at campuses throughout the country, not many people know about us and this has affected recruitment," said Kartini.

Java

Understandably, recruits come mostly from Java, although the number coming from other regions, including Irian Jaya, has continued to increase.

"In the 1970s, there were a few cases where parents asked their daughters to return home. It turned out that some recruits lied about their parents' approval. You see, one of the requirements is for students to have their parents' approval before they can begin their training. They were afraid their parents would forbid them from joining the military, and instead asked their uncles or aunts to sign their approval," said Kartini.

Despite the constraint in attracting recruits, the center has enjoyed significant progress since it first opened in 1961.

"Academically, the curriculum has remained the same, except for a number of adjustments to keep up with the changing environment. Today, for example, we have courses on human rights, the environment and ABRI's sociopolitical role. We also provide training in anti-riot procedures, and dedicate more hours to mental guidance," said Kartini.

Facilities are also a lot better.

"We have computers and our barracks are better. However, I have to admit that in terms of facilities we are far from professional. We realize that this is due to financial constraints and the Army, with its limited budget, has other, equally important things to take care of, not just us," said Kartini.

However, Kartini never feels the center is last on the list of the Army's priorities.

"In my one-and-a-half years as head of this center, never once have I felt that we are being forgotten. On the contrary, the Army leadership has always been responsive to our needs," she said.

Kartini is particularly happy with the Army's response to the center's request that it allows the top ten graduates return as instructors.

"We have a monitoring system that allows us to follow the development of each student from the start. We continue to follow their performance in their respective units after they graduate. Based on our evaluation, we submit a proposal to the Army to assign them as instructors and the Army usually agrees with our suggestion," said Kartini, adding that unless the Army provides the best personnel as instructors the center cannot expect to produce quality graduates.

To further improve the quality of its graduates, the center is planning to set up an evaluation system that will monitor the performance of its graduates throughout the country.

"By monitoring their performance we hope to find out our deficiencies and how to improve the quality of our training," Kartini said.