Women should be given significant roles in reconstruction of Aceh
Women should be given significant roles in reconstruction of Aceh
Aguswandi, Banda Aceh
No matter which political camp or organization you belong to
in Aceh, there is one similarity throughout: Women are not
significantly involved anywhere. Women's potential and actual
roles have been neglected across the board in the huge rebuilding
efforts in post-tsunami and post-MOU Aceh. Neither the government
institutions, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Aceh Monitoring
Mission (AMM), BRR, nor anybody else is taking the issue of
women's participation in social and political life seriously.
Aceh is becoming an increasingly male-dominated culture.
This is also the case even within many civil society groups
that are claiming to represent the interests of the people of
Aceh. It is not true that the quality of male friends of mine,
many of whom hold positions of significant responsibility in
Acehnese institutions, are much more talented than many women in
Aceh. The problem, however, is that women were never granted the
opportunity in the first place to take such positions. Under-
representation of women in Aceh will ensure that women are never
able to access those opportunities. There is no such thing as
serious equal opportunity here.
I don't really like to advocate for positive discrimination.
Normally I would agree with the argument that the quality is far
more important than quantity, that women should be involved due
to their individual qualities and skills rather than simply as a
member of a collective called "women". But seeing how the
potential of women is being neglected in Aceh now, at this
critical time, it is necessary to actively pursue the inclusion
of women over men. Positive discrimination might be an option.
Take for example the many reconstruction institutions, such as
the BRR which was established in post-tsunami Aceh. How many
Acehnese women are involved with or occupy positions in these
organizations? Very few. Does one really think that the men
occupying the majority of office chairs are better equipped than
women at making reconstruction plans for Aceh? No, definitely
not. Or look at the process leading up to the signing of the MOU
and the executing parties implementing the MOU. Women's input and
roles within these processes or implementing bodies has been
negligible.
Even more disturbing are elements of the MOU that have the
potential to strengthen and increase such male monopolization and
domination. Neither provisions around the government of Aceh nor
those around political participation have made any clear
statements concerning women's involvement in the processes. I
asked friends about whom they thought might be chosen for the
post of Wali Nanggroe (the cultural leader of Aceh's government).
Of all the names suggested, all were male. It was clearly
inconceivable for them to think an Acehnese woman might occupy
this position.
When it was suggested to them that women's right to compete
for these positions should be encouraged and clearly stated, they
were insulted and said that there was no need for such a
provision on the grounds that Acehnese women, have already
occupied significant historical roles as queens and military
leaders. They seemed to think that as a society where women have
historically held prominent and powerful public roles women will
eventually once again hold these roles and that there is no need
to actively insist on their involvement. They have begun to take
the important role of women for granted.
But can the Acehnese afford to take this for granted now? Many
cite women's primary or powerful roles within the family
structure in Aceh. But such important roles in the family cannot
necessarily be translated into the assumption that Acehnese women
will be able or willing to take on this role in society. The most
common solutions emerging from local groups in response to the
question as to how to help Acehnese women be more included in
post-tsunami and post-MOU reconstruction are to teach women
skills such as handicrafts, sewing or pastries. It is unclear how
people think that women will be able to return to the political
sphere if they are suited, or merely equipped, to achieve such
labor-intensive, low return employment.
What can be done? Many groups and agencies working in Aceh
should insist on women's participation in the work they are doing
or are funding. Funding agencies in Aceh for example should
scrutinize any projects or proposal submitted to them by local
groups and question as to how their projects have a positive
impact on Acehnese woman, or how many woman are actually being
involved. This is especially important in the case of religious
groups who are usually less interested in involving women.
The stakes are actually very clear. Until we get Acehnese
women more involved we will not be able to improve conditions in
Aceh. Building the future for post-tsunami and post-MOU Aceh must
also mean building the future of women. The continuation of many
problems in Aceh right now is often due to the failure of the
male-dominated politics in the province. It might just be the
time to give Acehnese women a chance to be in the forefront.
The writer is a human rights advocate. He is currently based
in Aceh and can be contacted at agus_smur@hotmail.com.