Women’s Conference

“Orang perempoean sadja kok mengadakan Congres. Yang hendak diremboeg di sitoe itoe apa?” (Women even want to hold a congress. What will they talk about there?)

This is one of the comments of a woman who was invited to the first Women’s Congress in Yogyakarta in 1928. The congress was held two months after the Youth Pledge Congress, October 1928.

Celebrating Mother’s Day every Dec. 22 also means celebrating the spirit of Indonesian women, who since the colonial era have been active in improving awareness on the life of the nation and state. We can read that the Women’s Congress had been inspired by a young woman named Soejatin (who was 21 years old) and was still single. According to historic records, she was the one who proposed to Nyi (Mrs.) Hadjar Dewantara and Mrs. RA Soekanto – they were wives of national figures of their era – to hold the women’s congress.

The patriotic spirit of the three women, who were of different ages and different marital status, was apparently inspired by the struggle of RA Kartini and nationalist figures of that era.

The first Indonesian Women’s Congress was attended by about 600 participants as representatives of various women’s organizations. The participants were women of different background, age, ethnicity, education and religion, including aliran kepercayaan (Javanese mysticism). Ten years later, in 1938, the Indonesian Women’s Congress set Dec. 22 as Mother’s Day, and in 1950, President Sukarno made Mother’s Day a national big day.

Up to the present, the date of Dec. 22 is celebrated in various ways. In the New Order era, if we still remember, it was commemorated by supporting the spirit of Dharma Wanita, all female students of elementary schools celebrated it by wearing the traditional kebaya. It was amusing to see them, even though, actually, it was also to strengthen the position of women in sumur, dapur dan kasur (well, kitchen and mattresses).

1928 Women’s Congress

What is the state of the Mother’s Day celebration amid the progress of the era and the “discussion” in the first national Women’s Congress? The Women’s Congress of 1928 discussed various things related to women, who still had to struggle for quality of life and the advancement of the nation. The issues discussed included the need to tackle early-age marriage and maternal mortality. At that time there were, of course, no supporting statistical figures on these issues. Those two problems persist to the present, and they are still worth fighting for, now with the support by figures and research results.

The two problems, which were raised and discussed at the 1928 Women’s Congress, turn out to have been followed up by current women’s rights activists. Today\'s women activists, perhaps without linking

them to the first women’s congress, have become the nation\'s female fighters. Their struggle basically rests on the belief that "women\'s rights are human rights."

Today\'s women fighters have also succeeded in fighting for the issuance of several new laws, specifically relating to the abolition of inhumane acts against women and girls. Meanwhile, the results of existing research describe the complexity of overcoming the issues of early marriage and maternal mortality, from traditional values as well as sociocultural and structural problems of poverty to the way men and women of various ages behave in their various roles. It turns out that it is difficult to bring down the early-marriage rate.

This, which happens either because girls become pregnant or because the fathers force their daughters to get married for various reasons, is a reality. Reducing maternal mortality is also a complex issue, a sociocultural condition that remains symptomatic, even though it is now considered a violation of women\'s human rights, which is also a violation of human rights.

That is why we cannot deny that, in the midst of the various advancements women enjoy today, two issues related to the fulfillment of women\'s reproductive health rights, which have been fought for since the First Women’s Congress, still need to be fought for to move the nation forward.

Celebrating Mother’s Day in 2018

What is the connection between all of this and the celebration of Mother’s Day in 2018? The two issues show: Taking care of the female body, up to the present, still requires a joint struggle, especially the issue of improving women’s reproductive health. It is quite astonishing how the two issues are related to women’s rights to protect and care for their bodies, which have got special attention since the 1928 Women’s Congress.

The two issues of maternal mortality and early marriage of women cannot be separated from the care and protection of the female body, especially concerning reproductive health. It is a miserable fact that, to this very day, the two issues are still rolling. These two issues also show the importance of improving women\'s reproductive health up to the present.

These two issues still remain not because the women fighting for women\'s reproductive health rights (HKRP) are now less determined to fight for them. It is a fact that there is still a tendency to marginalize it as the women\'s issue. In reality, more female activists care. Another fact is that not all stakeholders (formal or informal, male and female) consider the reduction of maternal mortality and the early-marriage rate issues that require mutual support and care, from men and women, young and old, officials and the general public.

This means tackling maternal mortality and early marriage still requires the press for change, because it needs actions toward a change of social values. Until now, the issue of fulfilling the women’s reproductive rights is still regarded a women’s issue rather than an issue for men and women to address together for the advancement of the nation.

SDGs and the celebration of Mother’s Day in 2018

Indonesia is one of the countries supporting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda. The goals include gender equality and women\'s health (goals 3 and 5).

What do these two goals mean in relation to the celebration of Mother\'s Day and the issues of early marriage and maternal mortality? Or, what is the connection between celebrating Mother\'s Day and the appeal of the SDGs to "leave no one behind"? Basically, Mother\'s Day 2018 is Women\'s Struggle Day regarding the quality of life and progress of the nation, or, in Pancasila, the value of public welfare. I underline the connection with celebrating Mother\'s Day, the call can be realized by inviting women and men of various age, ethnicity, education, religion and mysticism. All these layers of society participate to show their shared commitment toward achieving goals 3 and 5 of the SDGs.

This at the same time positively interprets the Marriage Law of 1974, where men are positioned as leaders. This means, increasing gender equality and women\'s reproductive rights needs to be established as the joint obligation of women and men. Give meaning to Mother\'s Day 2018 by showing the importance of men -- fathers and prospective fathers -- without exception, to actively participate in fulfilling the 3rd and 5th goals of the SDGs. Leave no one behind.

Happy Mother’s Day! Have a good fight for progress and unity of the nation.

(Saparinah Sadli, Professor at the University of Indonesia; Co-founder of Magister on Gender Assessment of the University of Indonesia; Activist on Women Issues)