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)