Gender Inequality Persists

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Women hug their mothers at an event to celebrate Mother\'s Day in Tanjung village, Nguter, Sukoharjo, Central Java, Friday (20/12/2019). The activity was held as a form of gratitude for the services of the mothers in the family.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Indonesian history shows that women have had a role no less important than men in the nation’s progress. Nevertheless, gender inequality remains a persistent problem.

“President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia must leap forward. However, how can we make this leap when women still see themselves as nothing more than the konco wingking [backseat passenger] of men?” said Megawati Soekarnoputri, former Indonesian president and chairwoman of the Agency for the Implementation of State Ideology Pancasila [BPIP].

She made the remark in her keynote speech at the “Great Women for Progressive Indonesia” seminar on Sunday (22/12/2019) in Jakarta.

Other speakers at the event, which was held by the BPIP and Kompas TV to commemorate Mother’s Day, were Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, presidential expert staff Angkie Yudistia, women’s empowerment activist and the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, Yenny Wahid, BPIP education and training deputy Baby Siti Salamah and businesswoman Dumasi M.M. Samosir.

Megawati said that women showed during the independence movement that they were as strong as men. Many women joined the struggle and even sacrificed themselves. In the Constitution, the founding fathers did not differentiate women and men and instead viewed them as having equal rights.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

The wife of Vice President Ma\'ruf Amin, Wury Estu Handayani (second right), and Women\'s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister (second left) Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawanti take a photo with a recipient of an award at the commemoration of the 91st Mother\'s Day, in the Old City area of Semarang, Central Java, Sunday (22/12/2019). Three village heads, representing western, central and eastern Indonesia, received awards for their gender-responsive village budgets (APBDes).

Minimal political participation

Based on history and the spirit of the Constitution, women today must have the confidence to show the world that they are equal to men.

Lack of confidence among today’s women, Megawati said, was evident in their minimal involvement in politics. “I feel lonely. Not many [women] want take the plunge into politics, as they see it as taboo. Politics is often seen as the domain of men,” she said.

This was despite the state providing women the latitude to enter politics, including a 30 percent quota in the legislature and political parties.

Meanwhile, Baby Siti Salamah said that women had an important role to play in grounding Pancasila’s values. Women had taken up this role in educating their children. Instilling Pancasila’s values in the home could then be implemented on a wider scale.

Yenny Wahid said that achieving gender equality remained a huge challenge. “The state must invest in women. Women’s empowerment will have a positive impact on state revenue,” she said.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

A number of Semarangan dancers perform a dress rehearsal for the 91st Mother\'s Day celebration, in the Old Town area of Semarang, Central Java, Sunday (22/12/2019). The celebration, which was attended by a number of Indonesia Onward Cabinet ministers, was held with the theme "Empowered Women, Advanced Indonesia".

Separately, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati said on Sunday during the 91st Mother’s Day celebration in Semarang that injustice against women remained commonplace. However, the ministry had continued to launch numerous efforts to fight this, including through women’s empowerment programs down to the village level.

“We can address different problems year by year. However, one thing remains consistent: women are warriors,” she said. (JUD/DIT)