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)