Competencia potencial

Generally speaking, women’s rights are highly appreciated in the state regulations. By law, women have the same rights and obligations as their male counterparts. The 1945 Constitution Article 27 Verse 1 clearly states that ‘All citizens have equal status before the law and in government and shall abide by the law and the government without any exception.’ Furthermore, as can be seen in Table 12 below, this principle of gender equality has been accommodated in a number of laws and other regulations. Besides, a number of strategic policies have been also made by the government to accelerate gender equality in Indonesia. In 1998, a special commission was formed to eliminate all forms of violence against women. Several years later, gender inequality was officially included in the National Development Plan (Propenas) 2000–2004. Not less importantly, the government in 2000 renamed the Ministry of Women’s Roles to the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment. It was hoped that, with a new name, the ministry would approach women’s issues in Indonesia in a way that concentrates more on root causes. More recently, an affirmative action has been taken to ensure women’s representation in the DPR by issuing a gender quota for female lawmaker candidates. In the 2009 general election, the regulation stipulates that political parties should ensure that their candidate lists include 30% women nominees.

Table 12: Laws and Regulations on Gender Equality in Indonesia

Law Legal Stipulation

Law 7/1984 on the Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Article 2(b) stipulates that the state ‘shall make appropriate regulations and other measures, including suitable sanctions, to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.’

Article 2(c) states that the state ‘shall provide legal protection of all women’s rights on the same basis as men’s rights, and ensure through a competent, national judicature system and other state agencies effective protection of women from all forms of discrimination.’

Law 39/1999 on Human Rights Article 20(2) stipulates that slavery or slave trafficking, trafficking of women and all other type of actions with a similar purpose are prohibited by law.

Article 48 states that women are entitled to education and teaching at all levels or types of education.

Article 48 states that women have the right to choose jobs or professions. By law, they also have the right to legal protection from any threat that may affect their safety or health in their work or profession.

Presidential Instruction 9/2000 on Gender Mainstreaming

This instruction requires the mainstreaming of gender issues in state agencies and their programs.

Source: Noerdin, 2006.

Nevertheless, it is apparent that these laws and regulations cannot guarantee the elimination of gender inequality in all aspects of women’s lives, as their effects are very much dependent on their implementation. Furthermore, the extent to which programs consider gender inequality depends on the capacity of government officials as program implementers to integrate gender concerns. Gender awareness among state departments varies. Some departments show significant concern for gender issues in their programs, whereas many others appear to have no awareness of gender inequality or the potential gendered impacts of their programs. This results primarily from the influence of cultural norms or practices that belittle the role of women, and a lack of awareness of the importance of gender equality for effective program outcomes. A number of new laws to enhance gender equality often do not really matter in comparison with the embedded nature of cultural practices. Meanwhile, In order to implement gender equality awareness more effectively, another instrument is needed to oversee and ensure the process of translation of policy into actual programs. A number of key informants suggested that Presidential Instruction 9/2000 on Gender Mainstreaming is not effective on its own and needs supervision. Such a role should be played by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment, but relatively limited capacity in the ministry is a key constraint. In social protection in particular, inclusion of gender perspectives has varied across different programs. Gender-specific vulnerabilities have been taken into consideration in the design of certain programs but neglected in others. This has been enforced primarily by donors, international organizations and NGOs. Under such circumstances, awareness may also be highly dependent on a program’s implementation. It may disappear with the termination of the program or its replacement by other programs. During the 1997/98 crisis period, for instance, gender components were included in social safety net programs, such as the provision of food supplements for children and pregnant/lactating mothers and the specific allocation of scholarship for female students. Unfortunately, these components disappeared with the replacement of social safety nets programs for the health and education sectors by Jamkesmas Health Insurance for the Poor program and BOS, respectively.

Among a number of government-implemented social protection programs, the integration of gender can be seen particularly in the Kecamatan Development Project (KDP), which in 2007 became the model for PNPM Mandiri as a national poverty reduction program, and the PKH conditional cash transfer program. The latter is modelled on conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America in terms of the way the allowance is transferred, specifically to women in the household.

In KDP, specific attention is paid to women by taking affirmative action in favor of female villagers. In KDP Phase I, the program guidelines required that women be invited to village meetings or involved in decision-making. This requirement has been further enhanced in Phase II by establishing a specific meeting for women’s groups. The program also requires that, out of three projects implemented, one project should come from a women’s group. Finally, 25% of the budget should be allocated to microcredit for poor women.

Meanwhile, unlike in the BLT unconditional cash transfer program, PKH guidelines state that that the allowance should be received by wives or adult female members of recipient households. Using such features, it is hoped that the program will increase women’s access to resources, which will result in increasing their position and allow them greater decision- making in the household.