Women's struggle against gender injustice continues

Women's struggle against gender injustice continues

JAKARTA (JP): A few weeks ago I got a cartoon postcard from
London depicting a woman in bed asking a man to read her a fairy
tale. "Read me the one where women and men work the same hours,
do the same jobs and get equal pay... I LOVE fairy tales!"

The cartoon is a reflection of the inequality between men and
women. Despite women's long struggle for emancipation, many of
them are still discriminated against and treated as the second
sex. Such things happen everywhere in this male-dominated world,
including Indonesia.

True, not all women are oppressed. Some enjoy equality, having
the liberty to fully develop themselves. There were also times
when Indonesian women gained full state power. In the 7th
century, the Kalingga Kingdom in Central Java was ruled by Queen
Sima, who was greatly respected for her sense of justice. Another
Javanese female ruler was Ken Dedes of the Singosari Kingdom in
East Java, who governed in the 13th century. Queens who headed
kingdoms outside Java include Sultanah Safiatuddin of Aceh, in
the 17th century, and the Buginese monarch Siti Aisyah We
Tenriole of the Kingdom of Ternate in South Sulawesi, in the 19th
century.

Many women took part in the war against the Dutch colonial
government, which had occupied the country for 350 years before
Indonesia gained independence in 1945. Cut Nyak Dien and Cut
Mutiah from Aceh, Christina Marta Tiahahu from Ambon and R.A.
Ageng Serang were among those who went into battle.

The "official" heroine of Indonesian emancipation is Raden
Ajeng Kartini (1879-1904), whose birthday on April 21 is
commemorated nationally as Kartini Day. Kartini, a member of a
Javanese royal family, questioned gender discrimination and the
values which restricted women's freedom. Despite her strong
objection to polygamy -- a common practice in her society -- she
was an obedient daughter and married a regent who already had
three wives and six children. Kartini expressed her feminist
ideas through her letters to her friends in the Netherlands. The
letters were later published in a book entitled Door Duisternis
Tot Licht (After Darkness Comes Light). At home, she opened a
school for women action in an effort to promote equality between
the sexes. Similar schools were later opened by Dewi Sartika in
West Java and by Rohana Djamil and Rahma El Junusiah in West
Sumatra.

The first Indonesian women's organization, Putri Mardika
(Independent Women), was established in Jakarta in 1912, followed
by the establishment of several other such groups in other parts
of the country over the following few years. Some of them
produced publications promoting women's rights.

On Dec. 22, 1928, the first Indonesian women's congress,
involving about 30 women organizations from around the colony,
was held to discuss strategies for the emancipation of women. The
organizations agreed to merge into one, which was named the
Federation of Indonesian Women. Its name was later changed into
the Federation of Indonesian Women's Organizations.

Dec. 22 was later proclaimed Women's Day.

During the Japanese occupation, from 1942 to 1945, there was
only one women's organization, Fujinkai, which was under the
control of the occupation government.

Shortly after independence, the Union of Women of the Republic
of Indonesia (Perwari) was established with the main aim of
taking part in the defense of the young republic.

In 1946 Perwari fused with the Association of Indonesian
Protestant Women and the women section of the Indonesian Catholic
Party. The new organization was called Kowani, or the Corps of
Indonesian Women, later renamed the Congress of Indonesian Women.

Kowani's activists included Maria Ulfah Santosa, the minister
of social affairs from 1946 to 1947, and S.K. Trimurti, the
minister of labor from 1947 to 1948.

This organization worked hard to improve women's situation
through the empowerment of women and the elimination of gender
inequalities. It combated illiteracy among women and polygamy. It
struggled in the cause of equality at work and in marriage.
Kowani even staged a demonstration in protest against the
practice of polygamy by Indonesia's first president Sukarno.

In 1950 Trimurti and several other women who had taken part in
the struggle for the Independence established Gerwis (the
Indonesian Conscious Women's Movement) with the objective to free
people from all forms of oppression. Gerwis was anti-imperialist
and anti-capitalist. As it developed, Gerwis changed its name
into Gerwani (Indonesian Women's Movement) and joined the
Indonesian Communist Party despite the objection of some of its
leaders, including Trimurti. Gerwani was banned following the
abortive communist coup in 1965.

A big non-governmental organization, Kowani continues its
struggle for emancipation, although its policies have changed.
Chaired by Enny Busiri, Kowani fully supports the government's
strategy of promoting equality between the sexes without
confrontation.

The women's section of Muhammadiyah, Aisyiah, which was formed
in 1917, and the women's section of Nahdlatul Ulama, Muslimat
Nahdlatul Ulama, which was established in 1957, remain active
today. Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama are two influential
Moslem organizations in the country. Aisyah deals with education
and social affairs while Muslimat concerns itself with
sociopolitical factors.

As feminists established themselves in the West in the 1970s,
no new women's organization appeared in Indonesia. The first NGO
set up during the New Order Government, Annisa Swasti Foundation
in Yogyakarta, was formed in 1982. At least eight other NGOs,
including Kalyanamitra, were formed in the 1980s. At least 17
NGOs have been set up in the past five years in answer to the
burgeoning interest in feminism. Among them are the Association
of Indonesian Women for Justice, the Foundation of Independent
Women, Women's Solidarity of Human Rights and Kalyanamitra.

Unlike Kowani, activists of the independent NGOs do not
hesitate to criticize government policies which they consider
harmful to women.

One of their criticisms of the government is the requirement
that civil servants' wives join an organization called Dharma
Wanita to support their husbands' careers. The organization also
conducts activities in the fields of health, education and social
welfare.

The Armed Forces also has a similar organization, Dharma
Pertiwi, whose members are the wives of the military personnel.

The New Order Government gave birth not only to Dharma Wanita
and Dharma Pertiwi, but also to the Family Welfare Movement
(PKK), which involves only women. Introduced by the government in
1971, the PKK is quite popular in rural areas. Wives of village
chiefs or administrative officials automatically become leaders
of the PKK groups in their areas. The PKK central office in
Jakarta is headed by Mrs. Yogie S. Memet, wife of the minister of
home affairs.

Many people support the PKK because it has proven effective in
reducing the mortality rate, combating illiteracy and improving
family health and welfare. Some, however, complain that the
program emphasizes the traditional role of women as nurturers who
take care of children and the household.

Differing perceptions among Indonesian feminists have been
clearly apparent at the recent NGO forum on women in China, held
parallel to the UN's Fourth International Conference on Women.
There has been a cold war between Kowani and the independent
Indonesian NGOs. Kowani has frowned upon independent feminists,
including Nursyahbani Kacasungkana and Sita Aripurnami, who
arrived armed with posters depicting women in shackles. Kowani
also criticized some activists who brought up the issue of
violations of the rights of women in East Timor.

Not all feminists think alike. Some are liberal, some radical.
Some are socialists while others are conservatives. Yet they all
have the same objective: the emancipation of women. The Beijing
international conference will be over in a few days. But women
will keep on struggling against gender inequalities. (sim)