Women's equality with men remains distant: Minister

Women's equality with men remains distant: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): Women have much to overcome before they can
equalize their roles with men's, State Minister of Women's roles
Mien Sugandhi said yesterday.

"The are so many variables in society which block their
efforts, such as society's reluctance to accept and recognize
women's greater role," Mien told journalists at her office.

According to Mien, some men and women do not seem ready to
accept a greater role for women, especially in leadership.

"It is obvious among married couples that most husbands want
to defend their traditional role as the breadwinner. They stop
women becoming independent," she said.

Men generally consider women as inferior, she said. But there
are also women who subordinate themselves to men and the
patriarchal system which defies the whole purpose of promoting
the concept of women in development.

"Equality is something which should be achieved through
struggle," Mien said.

Equal partnership between men and women, according to Mien,
means mutual respect for one another, a value inherent in
Indonesian culture.

"Equal partnership, however, does not mean that each sex
should abandon the roles that have been socially constructed to
suit their natures," Mien said.

Mien said it was more important to educate women so that they
participated more in decision-making processes. (14)