Women's rights can rebuild nation
Women's rights can rebuild nation
From Media Indonesia
Dec. 10, 2000 heralded the observance of International Human Rights Day. This should increasingly strengthen our resolve to enforce human rights and uphold democracy and justice in Indonesia.
Hurdles are caused because this nation is not yet ready to abandon its New Order culture, a feudalistic culture left behind by the colonial ruler. Cultural and political breakthroughs are needed in the running of the state to ensure gender equality and speed up the civilization process.
The women's movement is a cultural movement, in the context of a cultural revolution, to put an end to overly masculine and militaristic ways of thinking on the part of the nation and the community. The security approach can no longer be used to deal with the challenges of today, including separatism.
Our national crisis in morality is also attributable to the emasculation of the political rights of women during the New Order era. Dharma Wanita (organization of women civil servants and employees' wives) and the Indonesian Womens Congress (Kowani), for instance, were co-opted by the government.
Because of this, some women have taken the easy road to achieve their goals. Hence, the culture of consumerism, hedonism and materialism. As a result, the nation is morally destroyed and the young are poisoned with drugs and narcotics. They resort to juvenile delinquency and crime in many forms.
All of these matters are yet to be raised as common problems, because, actually inherent in family problems are human rights. Namely, the protection of womens' rights.
Therefore, the presence of the Indonesian Military/National Police in the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly is a hurdle to womens' progress. Because of this there is no room for non-party women activists to have a bigger quota so that they can voice the aspirations of women in building up a civil society of the future, an undertaking which must start right now with a new paradigm emphasizing the civil national resilience.
RA BERAR FATHIA
Alliance of Women
and National Partnership