Women's rights

Women's rights

I read with interest the celebration of International Women's
Day at the British Council, led by leading Feminist Julia
Suryakusuma and many high Diplomatic names.

Yet the real issue is on what is faced daily by the common
people.

It would be great feminist hypocrisy if issues like the rights
of the children of Indonesian women, married to foreigners and
have no election to follow the mother, are not resolved by these
high sounding women.

Following the strict application of the Ius Sanguinis
principle, as explained in a letter by Hario Subayu of the
Immigration Department (March 6, 1995) in reply to ES Webber's
letter, is further complicated by the application of the
Indonesian Agrarian Laws, wherein a mother's property cannot be
passed on to her 'bastard' child.

Discussions followed by cocktails will not bring justice, nor
photo sessions with the newspapers resolve this fundamental human
rights violation perpetuated on Indonesian women.

The Indonesian woman has no first rights towards custody of
the child in the case of a divorce with the foreigner husband as
the child is a foreigner by definition of the Indonesian law.

The Ius Sanguinis principle is meant to apply where both
parents are foreigners with a child born in a foreign country, as
where an Indonesian couple has a child in another country can
claim Indonesian citizenship.

I believe there has been an administrative interpretation and
implementation of a legal principle. This has been performed
without regard to the implications and proper spirit of the
principles which have important legal consequences and reduces
human decency.

The result is to punish the Indonesian mother and child, and
waive their rights.

This administrative ruling is abhorrent and needs to be
addressed urgently by so-called famed feminist like Julia
Suryakusuma and Daradjat Natanegara (UNESCO).

M. SEAN

Jakarta