Económico

In both Tapanuli Tengah and Timor Tengah Selatan, traditional norms on gender and household chores have affected women’s participation in both economic activities and public life. Traditional gender roles maintain that it is wives’ responsibility to do the household chores as well as caring for children. Men acknowledge that some household work should be done together as a couple, like fetching water or wood and caring for the children, but in practice women do the majority of the household work. Consequently, women have to spend a significant part of their time managing domestic matters and taking care of the children, whereas men usually spend just a few hours a week helping their wives clean the house or care for the children. Meanwhile, both husbands and wives have to work to obtain an income. As Table 8 shows, no fewer than 85% of female respondents in Tapanuli Tengah reported economic activities as their main daily activity. In contrast, only 6.5% claimed that their main activity is managing domestic matters. For many women, the double burden of earning some money and managing household chores has resulted in time poverty. Some also reported that responsibility for the household chores and for caring for the children has kept them from getting a better job. One respondent stated that she stopped working as a trader because of increased domestic responsibilities after her second child was born.

Table 8. Main Activities of Poor People in Tapanuli Tengah

Activity Husbands (%) Wives (%)

Subsistence farming 49 66

Commercial farming 17 4.5

Agricultural work 17 13

Daily waged employment (not regular/permanent) 5 2

Regular waged employment 0 0

Household chores 0 6.5

Care of household dependants 0 0

Unemployed 5 2

Other 7 6

Source: Calculated from the household survey.

Working hours in Timor Tengah Selatan are more flexible, as people usually work their own land. Women go to the field after finishing the cooking and other domestic chores. Moreover, women’s works usually reaches a peak only during the harvest period, which is usually in February at the earliest and April or May at the latest. From August to December, the land is prepared by men for the next year’s production, so women’s workload is not so demanding. It is in this context that the results of the household survey on villagers’ main activities, especially female villagers’ activities, should be read. Data collection was conducted during the land preparation period, so is subject to a time bias: it appeared that 45% of women in Timor Tengah Selatan had household chores as their main activity (Table 9). Nevertheless, in Timor Tengah Selatan domestic chores are unlikely to prevent women from participating in economic activities.

However, the attitude towards this labor division, that household chores management belongs to women and income generation to men, poses some problems for women in relation to engaging in economic activities. Whereas women in Tapanuli Tengah can undertake paid employment, women in Timor Tengah Selatan cannot, as paid jobs are usually taken by men.

For example, it is difficult for women to do casual work, like construction work, as this is usually given to men, although women can also do such work. Women can only open small stalls in front of their house or weave clothes to get money. Even so, some widows have to prepare the land themselves, in spite of the commonly held view that this work is suitable only for men.

Table 9. Main Activities of Poor People in Timor Tengah Selatan

Activity Husbands (%) Wives (%)

Subsistence farming (1) 91 46

Commercial farming (2) 2.5 0

Agricultural work (5) 0 0

Daily waged employment (not regular/permanent) (11) 0 0

Regular waged employment (12) 2 0

Household chores (16) 0 45

Care of household dependants (17) 0 5

Unemployed (15) 2.5 0

Other 2 4

Source: Calculated from the household survey.

In Tapanuli Tengah, traditional views on men’s and women’s roles obstruct women’s economic activities to a certain degree, especially in terms of getting better wages for their work. According to local tradition, as shown earlier, male workers are paid more than female workers, even for the same type of work. The common view is that this is because men are stronger than women. In fact, physical strength is not the only determinant of a good worker. One key informant, male, said that in the paddy fields he prefers to employ women, because they are usually more patient than men. Men also stop to smoke and therefore rest more than female workers. “People here think that men are stronger. But for me, I prefer to hire women, they do not smoke … if you take male workers, they smoke …They often take cigarette breaks. In contrast, women take fewer breaks (male villager, Tapanuli Tengah, 2009).”

Another social risk is women’s limited participation in public decision-making, which usually occurs in hamlet or village meetings. In Timor Tengah Selatan, if not by hamlet or village leaders, community decisions are usually made by male villagers without involving female villagers. Some female respondents said that this may have resulted from the prevalence of a patriarchal culture that often sees women as merely complementary to men. If women are involved in meetings, their role is usually limited to preparing food.

Different factors restrict women in Tapanuli Tengah from participating in community meetings. In Muara Dua, the head of the village acknowledged that, even though women are also invited to meetings, because they are usually conducted at night very few women can attend. Night is the best time for male villagers, as they have to work during the day, but women find it difficult to leave home at night, as they usually have to take care of their children. If meetings are conducted during the day, women can participate and be more involved in the decision-making process. For example, according to interviews, under the National Community Empowerment Program (PNPM Mandiri), at least 50% of meeting participants had to be women. By changing the time of meetings to during the day, women could participate and, in fact, more women than men started attending meetings.