Women's health, reproductive rights still neglected

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia remains remiss when it comes to addressing shortcomings in women's health and reproductive rights, prominent physician Kartono Mohamad says.

The chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association told a seminar on women's rights here Saturday that despite the country's success in reducing infant mortality rates, the maternal mortality rate remains the highest in Asia.

Most pregnancy related deaths are caused by anemia, hemorrhaging and complications after illegal and often unsanitary abortions.

The maternal mortality rate here is 450 deaths for every 100,000 births.

Kartono said these problems persist in the face of a decades old program (KIA) intended to improve maternal and infant health that has not addressed issues of respect for women and the right to control their own bodies.

In many parts of the country, decisions on pregnancy or contraception are often made by husbands or mother-in-laws, he said.

"Many people here still see women's biological destiny to be pregnant and give birth as a duty, without rights," he told some 250 participants at the seminar which sponsored by the magazine Femina.

He said women should have the right to say no to sex, to decide when and if to get pregnant, to chose their own contraception based on fair and adequate information, and to have access to reproductive health care services and information.

He rejected the suggestion that discriminatory acts against women stem from religious teachings, particularly Islam. He quoted several Koranic verses which clearly protect and respect women's reproductive rights.

Only few

Unfortunately, few Moslem woman leaders dare to speak up about the misperception, an attitude which in turn causes political leaders to feel reluctant to make decisions which benefit women, he said.

"What's even more ironic is that many women leaders who occupy high-ranking political positions take a male's stance and point of view," Kartono said.

"The attitude stems from the women's sense of insecurity, a feeling of inferiority compared to men, which prompts them to identify themselves with and be more like men," he said.

Held in conjunction with the Kartini Day, Indonesia's women's day, the seminar also presented lawyers Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara and Nursyahbani Katjasungkana. Both spoke about legal protection of women's rights, something which is not yet fully established despite Indonesia's human rights campaign.

Kartono cited a special example of abuse of women's reproductive rights in rural areas where village officials, in their eagerness to gain credit from their superiors, force local women to use contraceptives. (swe)