Never Forget the Women of Papua

KOMPAS/TRI AGUNG KRISTANTO

A resident of the Kimyal tribe in Korupun valley, Yahukimo regency, Papua, Monday (25/2/2019), holds her baby in a noken (Papuan knitted leather bag), while speaking to other residents on the terrace of the Siloam Clinic in Kampung Korupun. Women in the Kimyal tribe are currently relatively equal to the men, both in the fields of education and health services.

“Every person shall have the right to develop him/herself through the fulfilment of his/her basic needs, the right to get education and to benefit from science and technology, arts and culture, for the purpose of improving the quality of his/her life and for the welfare of the human race.”

These are the words of Article 28C Point 1 of the 1945 Constitution. The article speaks about human rights.

The constitutional stipulation clearly guarantees the basic right of all Indonesians to get education and to improve the quality of their lives, especially in health. Education and health are the basic rights of all people, inalienable and indivisible. Both directly improve citizens’ quality of life.

However, the stipulation in the 1945 Constitution, reaffirmed in Law No. 39/1999 on human rights and other regulations, seems ironic in the face of the reality faced by women in Papua. Many women in the 316,553-square-kilometer province have no access to proper health and education facilities.

It is not entirely the fault of government policies. In line with local traditions, around 3.32 million people in the province, according to 2018 Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, live in tribes. The Papua administration’s official website shows that there are 255 indigenous tribal groups in the province, most of which place males as superior members.

KOMPAS/TRI AGUNG KRISTANTO

A number of Yali tribal women in Mamit village, Tolikara regency, Papua, Tuesday (26/2/2019) sell agricultural produce and other processed food near the village\'s runway. Yali tribal women still do not get priority in education and health services, like those in the majority of other tribes in Papua.

Under local traditions, women work on farms and nurture children and cattle. Women are nothing more than men’s “possessions”, to be owned even when they are still in their mothers’ womb. This can be seen, for instance, in the Korowai tribe that resides on the Danowage plains in Boven Digul regency.

Almost no girls in the Korowai tribe go to the Lentera Harapan (lanterns of hope) school that was established in the area three years ago. Female students at the school are from other tribes, especially the Lani tribe, that send their girls to school in Danowage.

Lentera Harapan school teacher Merry K. Tobing said that Korowai girls rarely went to school. Many are still children when they get married to much older men. Local traditions allow child marriage.

Unborn female babies in Korowai can even be betrothed to a man. The man would give valuable goods to the unborn baby’s family for safekeeping. When the baby is born, she will never enjoy freedom. She will already belong to the man and be married to him one day.

Sri Haryati, a medical doctor and Siloam Clinic coordinator in Papua, said that most tribes in Papua had similar traditions to the Korowai. Girls in the Moi tribe in Daboto hamlet, Intan Jaya regency; in the Meg tribe in Nalca region, Yahukimo regency; and in the Yali tribe in Mamit region, Tolikara regency, suffer a similar fate. They cannot go to school freely like local boys.

People in the Kimyal tribe in Korupun valley, Yahukimo regency, are more open to ideas about equality. Sri Haryait said the women of the Kimyal tribe enjoyed more opportunities to get education and many had become local reformers, especially in public health initiatives. Many women in Korupun have become public health campaigners.

“Kimyal women can achieve progress not only in education but also in health. Women become the main drivers in public health initiatives. Korupun has an almost zero maternal mortality rate, thanks to the local mamas [women],” said Sri Haryati, who has worked for 10 years in Papua. Nevertheless, in 2015, Papua’s maternal mortality rate was still 489 in every 100,000 births, higher than the national average of 305 per 100,000 births.

Welhelmina Soll, a women member of the Meg tribe in Nalca, said that health and education awareness were improving among locals, in line with increased campaigns involving missionaries, government officials and concerned locals. An old tradition says that livestock owners should cut off their fingers if any of their animals die, as a show of personal sorrow and to drive away evil spirits.

“I once cut off my finger when 17 of our pigs died,” Welhemina said, while showing her left index finger with two knuckles missing. She promised herself not to do that anymore as she now sees her body as precious. She sends her children to school so that they will no longer be disadvantaged. The Papua BPS reported that the average number of years of schooling for women in Papua was 10.24 years in 2017, still lower than 10.65 years for Papuan men.

Tribal wars

Aileen Hambali Riady of the Papua Hope Education Foundation (YPHP) said Papuan women used to be prohibited from going to school as they would be married at 10-12 years old. In Daboto, there was once a women who was sent off to be married at a young age, but she ran away and returned to her mother’s house. Her husband then got angry and killed her.

“Women in Papua used to work in fields and care for their children as their husbands were busy with tribal wars. Nowadays, tribal wars no longer exist but the tradition of women caring for children [and cattle] persists. This is despite many of their husbands being unemployed,” said Aileen, who has worked in education and health in Papua for eight years.

Papuan women should no longer be left behind, especially in education and health. There must be partiality toward Papuan women, both by the government and everyone concerned about Papua, especially on International Women’s Day on March 8.