Ikrar’s Inspirational Story: Making Impacts through Education

Inspirational Story in Teaching in 3T Areas

Feminist Society - The quote “everyone is a teacher and every place is a school” may aptly describe what Ikrar Aruming Wilujeng — a pengajar muda at the Indonesia Mengajar program who dedicates herself to teach children in the 3T (Tertinggal, Terdepan, and Terluar) area, is doing. Ikrar was placed in Kampung Menarbu, Roon District, Telok Wondama Regency, West Papua.

During the assignment period, Ikrar has been seeing directly the educational problems that exist in the assignment area. One of them is the condition in which students often skip school because they go with their parents during working. It brought Ikrar to an extraordinary idea, instead of forcing students to come to school, Ikrar came up with the solution of bringing the school (learning to teach activity) to where the students were. Ikrar believes that the essence of learning is not that we should go to school buildings or wear school uniforms, but rather how people can learn and get access of education. It prompted Ikrar to hold a class far away on the beach of Rowor (where the student's parents worked) with the aim that the students could continue learning.

What Ikrar did is an image of an unsung hero who not only pays attention to education but also participates directly in the efforts to advance Indonesian education. Ikrar’s passion for education has been ingrained in her even since childhood when she sat in a primary school through her father who was an education consultant at that time serving in Papua and her mother who was a volunteer teacher. A life attached to education from a young age is what makes Ikrar want to dedicate herself to teaching.

Before attending the Indonesia Mengajar program, Ikrar was an assistant professor at Universitas Islam Indonesia and Universitas Widya Mataram. At the time of becoming an assistant professor, Ikrar was pretty much dealing with students from the 3T areas. At that point, Ikrar began to realize firsthand that there was such a lame literacy gap between those from 3T areas and those from urban backgrounds who were supported with adequate access to education since they were children. That triggered Ikrar to join the Indonesia Mengajar program in order to be able to see firsthand the condition of children in remote areas and to be able to help reach out for efforts to enlighten the life of the nation as stated in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution.

In joining the Indonesia Mengajar program, Ikrar had to go through a long and not-easy selection process that took about 4 to 5 months. Initially, Ikrar had to go through the administrative stages that must complete the dossier, after which Ikrar had to go through the stages of creating an essay and answer a series of questions. After going through the process, Ikrar’s journey was not finished, Ikrar still had to make a program plan. Where the remaining registrants were given a case study relating to an issue in the placement area, then they were required to resolve the issue with a program plan they had created. After qualifying in those stages, Ikrar must pass through an online direct assessment stage where the remaining participants discussed via Zoom Meeting to discuss the program plans they had created. When completing these stages, Ikrar still had to go through offline stages such as interviews, psychological tests, and assessments to conduct persuasive communication with stakeholders.

You can also read: Emanuella Malonda's Steep Journey in Fighting for Women's Rights: A Feminist Activist Who Struggles to Fight Against Intimidation

After going through such a long selection process, Ikrar was finally able to qualify as one of the 33 people who were selected as the pengajar muda in the Indonesia Mengajar program. All 33 chosen people were then arranged to be placed in the assignment area. Where the placement of pengajar muda was based on the needs of the village and the criteria of each pengajar muda that had been assessed during the training period. During the assignment period, besides teaching, Ikrar and other pengajar muda also have a mission to be able to find educational actors in the area with whom they can cooperate and network together to support and develop education in the assignment area. There are five parties that are the direct partners of pengajar muda during the assignment period, namely student’s parents, teachers, principals, the community, and the government.

During her assignment in Kampung Menarbu, Ikrar saw many educational problems. In terms of teaching process, phenomena such as the presence of teachers but no schools or phenomena where there are schools but inactive teachers are actually common. The lack of guaranteed teacher welfare often makes teachers inactive in teaching because they have to work in the fields to meet their daily needs that cannot be covered by their income as teachers who receive less attention. This condition used to make Ikrar to teach and handle students at school alone.

Meanwhile, from the student's perspective, there are also various problems and challenges. In addition to the condition of skipping school because of the reason of following parents to work, there is also a very concerning problem of access to school. There are still children whose distance from their homes to school must take a full day. This condition forces them not to be able to go to school.

Therefore, in carrying out her duties and networking, every effort and dedication made by Ikrar as a pengajar muda, no matter how small, is always considered meaningful. Even something as simple as being able to encourage teachers to come to school to teach or as simple as being able to convince parents to allow their children to go to school is considered an extraordinary achievement.

Ikrar's story and experience are proof of how important a program like Indonesia Mengajar is to support efforts to equalize education in Indonesia. Hopefully, Ikrar can be an example for all of us to take part in efforts to improve education in Indonesia. As simple as creating a safe and comfortable space for children to learn and develop themselves is more than enough. We can move to carry out similar teaching programs based on communities or individuals in our environment. We can also contribute directly by joining the Indonesia Mengajar program which is routinely opened every year and can be registered for those who meet the requirements such as having completed a bachelor's degree, not married, and under 30 years old. In addition, we can also contribute indirectly through Iuran Publik Indonesia Mengajar as a communal movement Where the public can donate through the indonesiamengajar.org/iuran page as an official channel where people can donate to support the Indonesia Mengajar program and give birth to other Ikrars.

In that session, we agreed on two things. First, Feminist Society will continue to support social movements that aim to benefit the surrounding, such as efforts to promote educational progress through teaching programs and human empowerment. Second, we agreed to continue to coordinate and collaborate in the future in advocacy and education efforts.

Programs like Indonesia Mengajar are also one of the factors that motivate Feminist Society to hold the Feminist Society Mengajar Program in rural areas in several provinces in Indonesia which has been running for the past few months.

If you have any case related to gender equality or feminist issues and you need either advocacy assistance, counseling, support for campaign media, or some kind of that, feel free to contact us by this section. All of those things are free, you do not need to pay anything, it is our commitment to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights through education and advocacy.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                  : fem.official7@gmail.com

Patriarchical Views and Women's Exploitation Practices through the Prohibition of Sectio Caesarea on Childbirth and Contraceptive Use for Married Couples

Addriana Della Nasution

Sectio Caesarea on Childbirth and Contraceptive Use

Feminist Society - Women have a vulnerable position even when they have been stair-bound. The existence of taboo views on certain things to a view of patriarchy that still thickens in social life makes women unconsciously inclined to be ostracized by their own families and partners. Especially in the context of her role as a mother, women from the very beginning have experienced many difficulties.

Women as mothers will experience the process of pregnancy and childbirth which is certainly not very easy. A woman needs to conceive for 9 months (37-42 weeks) in her womb and when in the process of giving birth she has to fight by risking her life. After going through this process, a mother also needs to breastfeed and care for her baby while her condition is still in the postpartum recovery period.

To date, there are two methods in childbirth that can be performed by pregnant women: normal and Sectio Caesarea (SC). The normal method is the process of vaginal delivery. The Sectio Caesarea (SC) method is a surgical procedure on the abdomen and uterus to remove the fetus and placenta. Sectio Caesarea (SC) has also become an alternative to childbirth because it is considered easier and more convenient for a mother. This is also due to the fact that under certain conditions the normal delivery process can endanger the life of the mother and her baby, such as when the fetal position is transverse/breech, bleeding, premature rupture of amniotic fluid, pre-eclampsia, umbilical cord entanglement, hypertension, and others. It is safer to use the Sectio Caesarea (SC) method.

However, the presence of the Sectio Caesarea (SC) method does not necessarily answer the anxiety of pregnant women. This is due to the stigma in the main society in Indonesia if a woman does not give birth normally then she cannot be said to be a full mother. This view is in fact very dangerous for the permanence of mother and child in the process of childbirth that under certain conditions it is necessary to undergo the procedure of Sectio Caesarea (SC). In fact, there are many cases of fetal death due to not choosing the Sectio Caesarea (SC) method in Indonesia. If the condition is not treated with the Sectio Caesarea (SC) mechanism, it can potentially cause the conceived fetus to die.

You can also read: Catcalling: A Form of Sexual Harassment

The other patriarchal view is also common to the use of contraceptives for married couples which tends to be considered taboo. In fact, the role of contraceptives is very influential in carrying out pregnancy prevention for the mother. This certainly has a positive impact for married couples to carry out pregnancy prevention programs both because they are not prepared mentally, financially, or to provide birth gaps. Giving birth distance is important because a mother's body after childbirth needs at least 12-24 months to recover until she can get pregnant again.

American content creator Hannah Neelman and her husband Daniel Neeleman have eight children whose birth distance between each child is very close, because Daniel does not allow Hannah to use contraceptives because it is considered unnatural and uses chemicals. In addition, Hannah had no nanny so she raised 8 children alone. He cooks food every day without any of the instant ingredients, thus processing it from raw materials. This caused him to become so sick from exhaustion that he was only ever bedridden for one week.

The existence of events such as the case above is certainly of great concern. This proves that cases can still be encountered that harm on the part of women. A woman after marriage is often positioned as a weak party and must obey the decisions of her husband. Whereas the essence of marriage itself is to unite men and women in a bond so as to build a harmonious family in it. In the presence of cases such as the above, it is important to educate the public that Sectio Caesarea (SC) and the use of contraceptives is a natural and safe thing for a woman. Later, no similar cases were encountered. On the contrary, prohibiting the existence of both practices indicates the principle of patriarchy that in this case does not think about the interests and survival of mother and child.

If you are interested in issues related to gender equality and in-depth discussion about feminism, let's join with Feminist Society. Feminist Society aims to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights activism through education and advocacy. To get related articles, please visit the page feminist-society.blogspot.com.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                     : fem.official7@gmail.com

View More:

Komarijah, Nurul, Setiawandari, and Yuni Khoirul Waroh. “Determinan Kejadian Persalinan Sectio Caesarea (Sc) Di Rsud Bangkalan.” Prosiding Seminar Nasional Hasil Riset Dan Pengabdian, 2023, 2513–22.

Nisak, Ana Zumrotun, Diah Andriani Kusumastuti, and Munawati Munawati. Perbedaan Metode Konvensional Dan Eracs Dengan Tingkat Nyeri Pada Pasien Post Sectio Cesarea. Jurnal Ilmu Keperawatan Dan Kebidanan. Volume 14. Number 1. https://doi.org/10.26751/jikk.v14i1.1689.

https://www.suara.com/lifestyle/2023/06/17/095500/viral-ibu-hamil-sudah-pecah-ketuban-malah-dilarang-mertua-dirujuk-ke-rumah-sakit-endingnya-bikin-warganet-emosi

https://www.liputan6.com/global/read/5658937/8-fakta-hannah-ballerina-farm-sosok-viral-yang-dijuluki-trad-wife?page=4

 

Emanuella Malonda's Steep Journey in Fighting for Women's Rights: A Feminist Activist Who Struggles to Fight Against Intimidation

Feminist Activist's Experience in Fighting against Intimidation

Feminist Society - “A lawbreaker who wants to provide legal aid, want to atone for sins?” “Be careful when choosing a legal aid, if I'm not mistaken this woman has committed violence” — those are the intimidating words that Emanuella Malonda, — a Sulawesi Utara feminist activist, received when she fought for women’s rights while providing legal aid to a child who was a victim of rape.

The existence of these intimidating words stems from Emanuella's personal problems in the past, having been a victim of a toxic relationship with her ex-boyfriend who at that time was almost brought to the legal realm (it was completed peacefully). With this past incident, Emanuella became an easy target to be attacked as if she was portrayed as someone who had legal problems, so it was not appropriate to provide legal assistance. In fact, the problem had been resolved peacefully. The intimidating verbal attacks came from a group of men who were friends of Emanuella's ex-boyfriend and also suspected members of the Law Enforcement officer. The worst thing is that they were all men, which seems to illustrate how women have a very vulnerable status in our society.

The intimidation began with a case that Emanuella and her Law Firm were trying to handle. In January 2024, they were suddenly asked to be legal counsel in a case of sexual violence against children that occurred in an area in North Minahasa Regency. Where it is suspected that a minor was raped by 9 men.

Before Emanuella and her law firm handled the case, the case had actually been reported to the authorities. But unfortunately, the case was stalled in the process with various obstacles, so when Emanuella and her law firm handled the case, in March 2024 they ultimately decided to hold a press conference with the intention of being able to draw public attention to the case so that it could help the law enforcement process.

It is validated that with the press conference and the case being blown up in the media, the case became a boom and could become a public concern. The press conference finally bore fruit, where after the case boomed, the law enforcement process that had previously stalled became clear where the case process finally ran. From 9 alleged perpetrators, 1 has reached the trial stage of witness examination, 4 people (adults) are at the investigation stage, and 4 others (children) are still at the suspect determination stage. This shows the significant role of Emanuella and her team in helping the case progress.

But unfortunately, with the little bright spot, it does not mean that Emanuella and her law firm's steps in providing legal assistance can run smoothly. From the booming case, it turned out to end with Emanuella being verbally intimidated. Emanuella deeply regrets when there are people who want to fight for women's rights but receive discriminatory and intimidating treatment. Moreover, these actions were carried out by alleged law enforcement officers who in essence should provide good examples and should not provide intimidating remarks that are tinged with misogyny that are very detrimental to women.

With this, Emanuella felt that she had been discriminated against and even criminalized by the alleged law enforcement officers. In fact, in this case, Emanuella was doing a noble thing to fight for the rights of other women by providing legal aid. The incident left Emanuella devastated and even traumatized because her past problems were brought up again which actually had nothing to do with the case she was handling. At that time, she almost decided to withdraw and stop overseeing the case because she felt traumatized by the attacks. However, with the support of the people around her, Emanuella re-strengthened her determination and goal to continue to be on the front lines of the struggle in defending women's rights and protecting oppressed women.

Conditions such as the continued prevalence of gender bias, lack of public awareness regarding the importance of gender equality, and the vulnerability of women are things that motivate Emanuella to continue to actively voice and fight for women's rights with the aim that people around her can be helped and educated.

You can also read: Revealing Ika Lailatun Nikmah's Struggle in Pursuing Higher Education: Challenges for Javanese Women in Accessing Education

In an interview session with the Feminist Society team, Emanuella hopes that more people will understand the importance of gender equality, both the government and society in general. Then Emanuella also hopes that in the future more youth will be involved and moved to fight for women's rights. In addition, Emanuella hopes that cases such as sexual violence against women, femicide, and so on can decrease in Indonesia in general and in North Sulawesi in particular.

In that session, we also agreed on two things. First, the Feminist Society will remain firm in supporting all movements that fight for women's rights, therefore the Feminist Society strongly condemns any acts of intimidation against those who fight for women's rights. Second, we agreed to continue to work together and coordinate between Emanuella and her law firm with the Feminist Society in voicing and fighting for the rights of women and those who are oppressed. Where if in the future there are developments in related issues, both parties will continue to coordinate with each other.

Feminist Society also encourages law enforcers who handle all stages of the law enforcement process in the related case to be able to have a more victim and human rights perspective so that the case can be clarified. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence which mandates that investigators, public prosecutors, and judges who handle cases of sexual violence must have the competence to handle cases from a human rights and victim perspective.

If you have any case related to gender equality or feminist issues and you need either advocacy assistance, counseling, support for campaign media, or some kind of that, feel free to contact us by this section. All of those things are free, you do not need to pay anything, it is our commitment to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights through education and advocacy.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                   : fem.official7@gmail.com

 

Revealing Ika Lailatun Nikmah’s Struggle in Pursuing Higher Education: Challenges for Javanese Women in Accessing Education

Women's Struggle in Pursuing Higher Education

Feminist Society - Questions and statements such as “Why do women go to college” and “Women don’t need to go to college, because men will feel inferior” are common things heard by Ika Lailatun Nikmah (familiarly called Ela) who grew up in a neighborhood that still views women as only having 3 tasks, namely masak, macak, and manak (cooking, dressing up, and giving birth to children). These views are a challenge for her in achieving higher education.

Ela is the first daughter born into a simple Javanese family, where getting an education up to college is the most expensive dream. Since she was a teenager, Ela has often seen how women in her area are considered less equal and do not have the same opportunities to access higher education as men. Ela sees a misconception in society that seems to place the right to education only for men. This is certainly contrary to the mandate of the constitution, where every citizen has the right to receive an education as mandated by Article 31 paragraph  (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

In her area, women are also often considered troublesome if they intend to continue their studies to college because the family must pay for their studies. Even worse, women in her area are often objectified as if they are used as a tool to improve the family's economy by being married to rich people.

This view is what strengthens Ela’s determination to continue her education to college in order to break the stereotype. Although at the beginning of the struggle to go to college, Ela faced many difficulties, such as parental blessing and also tuition fees. At first, her parents did not give her permission to continue college, where they thought that college was only for the upper middle class. So if she chose to go to college, her parents were worried that they would not be able to pay for her college until she finished, which would make the costs that had been spent also be in vain.

Based on these challenges, although in 2018 Ela had passed SPANPTKIN at one of the religious universities in Central Java, due to the very expensive tuition fees, she had to give up the campus and was willing to take a gap year to work in order to be able to finance her studies later.

At that time, Ela worked at a photocopy shop near her house for about 1 year. From that job she was able to save money to prepare for college fees and could meet other needs such as buying equipment needed in the college process later. In the second year, she decided to resign from her job and enroll in one of the religious colleges in Central Java. From that process, Ela was finally accepted at the campus with a KIP Kuliah scholarship that could fully finance her education and living expenses for 8 semesters of college.

Ela proved her efforts that women cannot be underestimated, even in her educational journey, she gave a very good record. She completed her studies in 3.5 years with Cum Laude predicate GPA 3.80 out of 4.00. In the process of her studies, Ela was a student who was active in organizations and participated in various competitions at the local, national, and international levels. She was able to balance her academic and non-academic affairs during her studies.

In fact, she once made an extraordinary achievement when she and her team participated in the Student Creativity Program (PKM) in Entrepreneurship in 2021. Where they made an innovation in transferring carved media onto fabric in the form of a hijab with a typical Jepara carved motif decorated with a quote from R.A Kartini's letter in the book "Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang". This innovation succeeded in getting them a grant and was successfully registered as Intellectual Property Rights by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia.

Currently, Ela is doing an internship at one of the institutions on her campus, while continuing to hone her skills in writing. In 2024, Ela successfully published a journal on the perspective of gender equality published in the Journal of Gender and Social Inclusion Studies. Apart from scientific works, she is also active in writing short stories and poems which she often publishes on Wattpad and Blog.

From this incredible journey, it finally led Ela to become the first graduate in her family. Ela managed to prove to her parents that education is important and with knowledge we can change the situation. As the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidzi:

"Indeed, the Prophets did not pass on dinars and dirhams, in fact, they only passed on knowledge, whoever has taken it, has taken a large portion".

You can also read: ARN’s Journey Goes Beyond the Comfort Zone: From A Teenage Who Received Verbal and Physical Bullying to Becoming A Career Woman Who Is the Backbone of the Family

Ela always advises women out there who are trying to achieve their dreams to never give up easily in achieving their dreams and continuing their education. "Dreams will never fail, they just look for the right time and wait for us to be ready" — said Ela.

Ela’s extraordinary journey in proving herself, in breaking the stigma of women is a movement for women's emancipation that must continue to be voiced and continue to be an example for all women out there. That education is everyone's right regardless of whether they are male or female. Women must have equal access to education. Hopefully, Ela’s struggle in continuing her studies to college will continue to echo in every corner of the inner eyes of other women.

In our section with Ela, we finally agreed on several crucial things, where Feminist Society will always support her and we also agreed to collaborate in the future in advocating and voicing the right to education for women.

If you have any case related to gender equality or feminist issues and you need either advocacy assistance, counseling, support for campaign media, or some kind of that, feel free to contact us by this section. All of those things are free, you do not need to pay anything, it is our commitment to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights activism through education and advocacy.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                  : fem.official7@gmail.com

Catcalling: A Form of Sexual Harassment

 Nindy J. Bachtiar

Catcalling is a form of sexual harassment.

Feminist Society - Have you ever been in a public place such as on the street, on public transportation, and so on, and received unpleasant treatment with the intention of lowering your dignity such as whistling, teasing, and various other comments from the opposite sex? This is known as catcalling. Nowadays, cases of catcalling are increasingly rampant and increasing in society, even many of us normalize it on the grounds that it is just a joke and not a form of sexual violence, in fact it is a form of sexual violence that is classified as non-physical sexual harassment.

In Article 4 paragraph (1) of Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence, it is explained that one form of sexual violence is non-physical sexual harassment. Then in Article 5 of the a quo Law, it is further explained that anyone who commits a non-physical sexual act aimed at the body, sexual desire, and/or reproductive organs with the intention of degrading a person's dignity and honor shall be punished for non-physical sexual harassment, with a maximum imprisonment of 9 months and/or a maximum fine of ten million rupiah.

Understanding Catcalling

Terminologically, Catcalling is a term used to describe when someone makes unsolicited comments, whistles, or gestures, often of a sexual nature, towards another person, usually on the street. While some might dismiss it as harmless or playful, catcalling is a form of sexual harassment that can have serious impacts on the victim. Catcalling often involves strangers making loud comments or noises directed at someone passing by. These comments are typically sexual and objectifying, focusing on the person’s appearance. For example, a man might whistle at a woman walking down the street or shout remarks about her body.

Why is Catcalling Harmful?

1.       Unwanted Attention

Catcalling is unwanted and unsolicited. It can make the person being targeted feel uncomfortable, unsafe, and violated. Victims tend to feel uncomfortable when they receive catcalling, especially from strangers they do not know.

2.       Power and Control

Catcalling is often about exerting power over the other person. It can make the victim feel powerless and objectified, reducing them to mere objects of sexual desire rather than respecting them as individuals.

3.       Fear and Anxiety

Repeated experiences of catcalling can lead to feelings of fear and anxiety. Victims may start to avoid certain streets, change their clothing, or even feel unsafe in public spaces. Even worse, catcalling can cause mental health problems.

The Impact on Victims

Many victims of catcalling report feeling a range of negative emotions, from annoyance and discomfort to fear and trauma. Over time, the constant barrage of unwanted attention can take a toll on a person’s mental and emotional well-being. It can affect their self-esteem and their ability to feel safe in their own community.

You can also read: Forced Marriage: A Violation of Human Rights

What Can Be Done?

1.       Education and Awareness

Raising awareness about the harmful effects of catcalling is crucial. Educating people about what constitutes sexual harassment and why it is unacceptable can help change attitudes and behaviors. By knowing exactly what it is not supposed to be will drive people’s perception not to normalize catcalling.

2.       Speak Up

If you witness catcalling, consider speaking up. Letting the harasser know that their behavior is not acceptable can make a difference. However, it’s important to do so in a way that does not put anyone at risk.

3.       Support the Victim

If you know someone who has been a victim of catcalling, offer them support. Listen to their experiences and validate their feelings. Encourage them to report the harassment if they feel comfortable doing so.

4.       Active Role of Law Enforcement Officers

The law enforcement officers must be alert in taking action when there are reports. In addition, they must also take the perspective of the victim so that they do not take catcalling lightly. According to the report from ActionAid in 2018, 68% of women worldwide who have been sexually harassed have not reported it to the police since the police tend to regard it as a trivial matter. These statistics show how sexual harassment is seen as normal, part of everyday life, and that women fear they won't be taken seriously if they report it. It is part of a spectrum of violence against women and girls that holds them back and prevents them from achieving their potential. Therefore, there should be an active role by law enforcement officers to take catcalling into consideration as a serious crime.

Conclusion

Catcalling is not just a harmless compliment; it is a form of sexual harassment that can have serious consequences for the victim. By understanding the impact of catcalling and taking steps to address it, we can create a safer and more respectful environment for everyone. It is time to move beyond dismissing these behaviors and recognize them for what they are unacceptable and harmful.

If you are interested in issues related to gender equality and in-depth discussion about feminism, let's join with Feminist Society. Feminist Society aims to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights activism through education and advocacy. To get related articles, please visit the page feminist-society.blogspot.com.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                   : fem.official7@gmail.com

View More:

The Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence.

https://www.alittlebithuman.com/what-is-catcalling/

https://www.actionaid.org.uk/blog/voices/2018/04/11/catcalling-not-a-joke-not-a-compliment-its-harassment

 

The 30 Percent of Women's Representation in Parliament is not only a Matter of Numbers but also Inclusivity

 Efer Musa Tamungku

Women's representation in parliament is crucial to achieve inclusivity in the law-making process.

Feminist Society - All political contests in Indonesia from various periods show that women's involvement in parliamentary seats tends to be less than men, this provides evidence that there is still a gender gap between women and men in politics. This social life phenomenon is common, especially concerning basic rights between men and women, there is a gap that is proven by the patriarchal life system that is still rooted in which men are considered more dominant than women in various aspects of life. Conditions like this give rise to injustice towards women.

The issue of gender disparity in representative institutions or parliaments is still a concern in several countries, including Australia. Australia was the first country to recognize the right to vote and sit in parliament in 1902 after the enactment of the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 (IPU, Women's Suffrage).

The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 was the law that gave most Australian women the right to vote in Australian federal elections. The act stated that all persons not under the age of twenty-one years, whether married or unmarried, who had resided in Australia for 6 (six) months continuously and who were indigenous or non-residents who had acquired citizenship as determined by the monarch, were entitled to vote and be elected in Australian federal elections.

This provides concrete facts that developed countries in implementing the concept of legal development that places equal rights regardless of gender can make their countries advanced. The Inter-Parliamentary Union reported that on October 1, 2017, the ratio of women to men who became members of the Indonesian parliament was still below the world average where Indonesia was ranked 100.

Basically, Indonesia has the spirit to fight for women's political rights as marked by the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This agreement is considered as the International Charter of Rights for Women which was established by the United Nations (UN) in 1979 and came into force in 1981.

The basic principle mandated in CEDAW is that the participating countries of this international convention are obliged to ensure equality or equal participation between women and men in various fields such as politics, economics, social, culture and civil. It is stated in Article 7 of the convention that participating countries must take action to guarantee political rights for women such as the right to vote and be elected in general elections and the right to participate in the formulation of government policies.

Women's representation in legislative elections in Indonesia is regulated in Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections, where women's political rights are channeled through political parties, this channeling can be done through women's participation in building a political party or becoming part of a political party. Although women's representation in parliament continues to show an increase in each legislative election, the 30% threshold as mandated in the Election Law has not been met. This is one of the problems that must be immediately resolved.

You can also read: The Importance of Women's Participation in Politics

The need to increase women's representation can be accommodated in Politics as reflected in Law No. 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections. Article 245 states that the list of prospective DPR and DPRD candidates submitted by political parties must contain at least 30 percent female representation. The consequence of the concept of women's representation in parliament is a form of coercive regulation, because there is a disqualification mechanism as an election participant if the management at the central level of women does not meet the 30% quota.

The regulation provides instructions to force political parties to meet a minimum quota of 30% women. In principle, there are four reasons why women's quotas in elections are important. First, it demands the principle of justice for men and women. Second, it offers a role model for the success of female politicians. Third, it identifies the special interests of women that are not visible. Fourth, it emphasizes the differences in women's relationships with politics, while also showing their presence in improving the quality of politics. This mechanism is a form of Go Politics from women, not only as an activity to enter the process, mechanism, institution, and political system (crafting democracy) but also as a form of participation in women's political representation that is able to expand the constituent base (broadening base). In this effort, affirmative action is important for building women's political strategies.

In the future, it is hoped that the 30% threshold mechanism for women's representation as members of the People's Representative Council can be fulfilled purely and consistently, in order to realize an inclusive political system through optimal women's representation in parliament.

If you are interested in issues related to gender equality and in-depth discussion about feminism, let's join with Feminist Society. Feminist Society aims to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights activism through education and advocacy. To get related articles, please visit the page https://feminist-society.blogspot.com/.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                   : fem.official7@gmail.com

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The Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections.

Azizah Ratu Buana Khan & Ruli Agustin. The Judicialization of Politics on the Testing of the Constitutionality of the Age Limits of Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates by the Constitutional Court. Journal of Law, Politic, and Humanities. Volume 4. Number 4. (2024). https://dinastires.org/JLPH/article/view/433

https://giwps.georgetown.edu/why-ratifying-the-convention-on-the-elimination-of-discrimination-against-women-cedaw-is-good-for-americas-domestic-policy/

Alpha Girls Is not just A Series, There Is A Real Picture of Patriarchy in Our Society

Auliana Sakinah Putri

Feminist Society - Alpha Girls is an Indonesian original series that premiered on the streaming platform VIU on Friday, 5 July 2024. Alpha Girls is a series of family dramas with elements of comedy. In simple terms, the series tells the life of a successful businessman named Alpha (Tanta Ginting) who has two wives, Nova (Tessa Kaunang) and Luna (Yeyen Lidya). From the two wives, Alpha was gifted two daughters named Ivy (Tissa Biani) and Sierra (Jihane Almira).

As a spectacle, the series provides enough entertainment with elements of tickling comedy and is relatable enough to be prepared because it raises the theme of family. But behind this quite entertaining story, it is clearly captured how patriarchal it is still rooted in Indonesian culture. The synopsis of the story seems to want to normalize the culture of patriarchy and the domination of men over women. There are several issues that can be highlighted in the series.

Normalizing Polygamy

From a religious perspective, especially Islam does allow polygamy under certain conditions. However, this does not necessarily make it easy for men to commit polygamy. A man who commits polygamy must obtain permission from his first wife and perform it when there are biological conditions that cannot be met by the first wife such as the need for conjugal sex and for procreation. Polygamy can also be based on the purpose of raising orphan women or poor widows with a legitimate path according to Sharia in the form of marriage for the sole purpose of increasing devotion to God. But the reason for polygamy from Alpha is completely at odds with religious values and does not indicate any such urgency. Revealed in the story, Alpha's goal of continuing to marry is because he only wants to acquire a son who can carry on his company. Such reasons are subjective and indicate only the nature of male egoism.

Commercializing Women's Self-Esteem

In the series Alpha Girls are also told the conditions where Alpha's first wife and second wife always do not get along and compete continuously. One of the most interesting is Alpha's attitude in persuading his two wives when there is a dispute. Where Alpha often apologizes to his wives by seducing them into giving away luxury items. As seen in episode 7 where Alpha is discovered by his two wives to have remarried to the wife of the third. On the basis of this, both wives are angry with Alpha and leave the house, unwilling to meet Alpha. In the episode, Alpha persuades Luna (his second wife) with the lure of being bought the latest Hermes bag. It shows how women's self-esteem can be bought with money and luxury as if commercializing women's self-esteem and perceiving women as objects. The depiction also seems to belittle the condition of infidelity, which seems to be a minor mistake and can be easily forgiven simply by buying things as an apology. However, infidelity can also have an impact on families, where children will tend to be depressed and mentally disturbed when they find out their parents are cheating, let alone end up in divorce.

Underestimating Women's Abilities

Alpha's main reason for continuing to marry was to find sons in order to carry on his company (Alpha Corps). The premise of the series seems to illustrate that women can't lead companies and shouldn't be running public jobs. In practice, this does not only occur in the context of companies or private institutions but also includes government institutions. Although today the number of women in the Civil Apparatus of the State (ASN) is more than men, the women who occupy the seats of the High Leadership Officials (PPT) are still under 20 percent.

You can also read: Gender Bias in AI: Mitigating Strategies

If you are interested in issues related to gender equality and in-depth discussion about feminism, let's join with Feminist Society. Feminist Society aims to promote progress in gender equality and women’s rights activism through education and advocacy. To get related articles, please visit the page feminist-society.blogspot.com.

You can also contact us on:

Instagram            : @feministsociety.id

Email                   : fem.official7@gmail.com

View More:

Muhammad Syarif. Dampak Perceraian terhadap Psikologis, Emosional, dan Mental Anak dalam Perspektif Hukum Islam. SYARIAH Journal of Islamic Law. Volume 4. Number 2. (2022). http://dx.doi.org/10.22373/sy.v4i2.580

https://lestari.kompas.com/read/2023/08/30/080000086/perempuan-di-level-pejabat-pimpinan-tinggi-masih-di-bawah-20-persen

https://www.dailysia.com/alpha-girls/