Indonesia is among developing country, which adopts gender mainstreaming as a national policy. Indonesia is among 189 countries that ratified the conference’s Platform of Action of the World Conference on Women, which urged the government to promote gender mainstreaming all policies and programs. The government of Indonesia was also committed to the United Nations Convention on the Political Rights of Women ratified by Law 68/1958 as well as implemented Law No. 7/1984 on eliminating gender discrimination and the Presidential Instruction No. 9/2000 on women participation in politics and development. These laws have instructed that all department and agencies in all levels have to promote and integrate gender
109 mainstreaming strategies within their planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of development policies and programs.
Gender equality is also fundamental for the nation as it has been expressively stipulated in the national constitution called UUD 1945 in Article 27, with statement “all citizens have equal status before the law.” The government of Indonesia stated the importance role of women in national development through the concept of the Panca Dharma (five main roles) of women: supporting her husband’s career and duties, procreating for the nation, caring for and rearing the children, being a good housekeeper, and being a guardian of the community (Sunindyo, 1996). Some national symbols have been used within development policy discourse in the country to represent gender equality. The words of “kodrat” and “martabat” that mean natural talents and proclivities), peran ganda (women’s dual role), and mitra sejajar (harmonious gender partnership) are used by government to claim equal position between women and men in Indonesia’s development Indonesia is also among countries which established specific ministry for delivering women empowerment and development.
The Ministry of Women Empowerment is responsible for managing gender mainstreaming strategies in the country. This ministry has responsibility for supporting the officials during policies formulation, to establish the coordination of policies implementation, to manage the public properties assets, to supervise the poverty eradication programs, to deliver advice and considerations about women empowerment in the country. This institution works together with other ministries and departments both at national and local government level to do their jobs. For example, in cooperation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, this ministry has established women’s bureaus both at the provincial and district government levels to establish a coordination system over the policies implementation, also monitoring and evaluation system over policies and programs. Currently, there are more than four hundred national and district government bureaus across the country. As consultation media in the district and provincial level also be established working groups on gender mainstreaming.
The gender mainstreaming program has been implemented throughout 33 provinces and 430 district goverments since 2004. These programs include combating violence against women, increasing women participation in politics, family planning, and reproductive health, and gender based district development budget. From 2004, all provinces in Indonesia adopt women empowerment policies in the document of development planning. These are stepping stone to promote and to integrate gender mainstreaming into local development policies
110 4.6.1 Gender and post-disaster reconstruction policy
The integration of gender mainstreaming strategy within national disaster management policy in Indonesia has begun since 2007 following the Aceh Tsunami 2004. It realised that the Tsunami have impacts women severely. The National Disaster Management Agency or BNPB (2005) for example found that female death toll made up about 70-80% of all fatalities during the Aceh Tsunami. Further, they also found that reconstruction efforts in some Aceh districts increase women mortality and poverty. Statistics show that women mortality is double compared to men following reconstruction, while women poverty in Aceh Besar and North Aceh is about 40% higher than men (National Disaster Management Agency, 2009). Women lack housing, clean water, and sanitation, as well as foods and health services, are found in those areas. The economic loss of women is also significantly higher than men following reconstruction. Across regions in Aceh, the estimated total damages sustained by women because of the Tsunami were larger than men at about 456 million USD (National Disaster Management Agency, 2016). This situation brings awareness and concerns of the government as well as an International donor to address gender issues within reconstruction.
Accordingly, the gender mainstreaming strategy has been adopted within the national disaster management policy plan since 2007. In this policy plan, it is stated that gender mainstreaming strategies should be integrated into plans for post-disaster reconstruction within local government and national government, as well as in the short and longer development plans, also annual and strategic plans. In this way, gender mainstreaming strategies will not stand by themselves but will be mainstreamed across post-disaster reconstruction programs and activities. It is supposed that gender mainstreaming will assist the recognition of risk sensitivity development and community resilience. Furthermore, a particular approach will be adopted to promote the integration of this strategy within disaster management including disaster risk reduction programme that can be done through special programs for women and girls. Also, more concerns also are given to the poor people, minority groups, marginalized communities, and disabled people or those who have special needs, to reduce their vulnerability while it increases their resilience to disaster.
About reconstruction, the integration of gender mainstreaming within the national disaster management has four pillars. These pillars include (1) enhancement of rule and organizational capacity; (2) integrated post-disaster management planning; (3) training and education; and (4) competency or capacity building and society in the post-disaster reconstruction process. Table
111 4.1 presents programs and gender mainstreaming priority focus of each pillar within this post- disaster reconstruction policy in the country.
Table 4.1 Four pillars programme and gender mainstreaming focus within post-disaster reconstruction policies in Indonesia
Pillars Gender mainstreaming focus
enhancement of rule and organizational capacity
Establishment of operating procedures, local management or regulations, and strategies for gender mainstreaming that designate gender mainstreaming instrument or mechanism, focusing on the task, authority, and resources distribution along with its coordination.
Formation and strengthening of gender mainstreaming institutions at local level and their several forms of facilities that support reconstruction programs.
Capacity improvement of gender human resources in technical disaster management and availability of adequate volunteers Enhancement of universities or other higher education facilities to facilitate capacity building for gender mainstreaming within reconstruction programs
Synchronization and Coordination of planning, decision making and implementation of gender mainstreaming at the ministries and agencies for reconstruction
Integrated post-disaster management planning
Formulation of gender mainstreaming plan across disaster affected region.
Mainstreaming gender within reconstruction programs
Building gender disaggregate data for planning across district governments.
Education and training Capacity improvement of the gendered staffs for education of disaster
Sharing of knowledge and cross-learning between areas and other regions and countries related to gender mainstreaming and reconstruction
Education for public by distributing information about gender and disaster
Capacity building and community
Capacity building and improvement of women participation in reconstruction in national and district governments
Enhancement of volunteers and stakeholders’ participation for promoting gender across reconstruction areas
Development of community based reconstruction programs Diversity of women income and social safety net for women in disaster prone regions
Introducing and developing finance system for disaster (insurance for disaster) specifically for women
Public facilities and infrastructure recovery along with housing reconstruction for women
Source: The Ministry of Women Empowerment and National Disaster Management Agency, 2016
112 To achieve the goals all government offices which gain a main and relevant role in reconstruction should be involved. The main institution (i.e. the Ministry of Women Empowerment, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), and Bappenas or the National Development Planning Agency) have the responsibility to coordinate with other relevant agencies which have a role in assisting the main institution in achieving the goals. The most crucial element in the gender mainstreaming implementation in national reconstruction policy and the programme is the agreement and participation of all government departments and agencies so that in the preparation of mainstreaming gender plan all agencies have a significant role. Accordingly, the next section discusses institutional framework for gender mainstreaming within post-disaster reconstruction in Indonesia.
4.6.2 Institutional framework of gender mainstreaming within post-disaster reconstruction
The institutional framework of gender mainstreaming within post-disaster reconstruction in Indonesia involves key institutions both at the national and district government level. Figure 4.3 shows organization structure of gender mainstreaming within disaster management in Indonesia. At the national level, the responsibility is under the Ministry of Women Empowerment and National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) along with National Development Planning Agency. The main function of these national institutions is formulating national policy guide for mainstreaming gender across affected regions. Meanwhile, at district government, the responsibility is under the District Women Empowerment and District Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) along with District Development Planning Agency. These institutions have the main function to formulate and to implement local policies for promoting gender in their regions. Because integrating gender within reconstructions involves many departments related to reconstructions and built environments, in their works gendered institutions at national and district government cooperate with other departments such as the National and Local Reconstruction and Development Department.
Disaster management in Indonesia was very much influenced by the spirit of the decentralisation reform in the country which started in 1999. The reform preceded to some important changes within Indonesian governmental system, both administratively and politically. Under Local Autonomy Law No.22/1999, district governments have more substantial power and authority to manage their resources, problems, and issues. Also, the government was also established the National and Local Disaster Management Agency or called “BNPB Pusat dan Daerah” to response increasing natural disaster since Aceh Tsunami. The role of District BNPB is vital in the
113 decentralised Indonesia which has the main role in the formulation and managing disaster risk reduction. The district BNPB consists of collaboration among district stakeholders including district health agency, district search, and rescue unit, army and police, and NGOs.
Figure 4.3 Structural organization of gender mainstreaming within disaster management in Indonesia
The set-up of this decentralised disaster management structure at all government levels ensures that district governments have responsibility and authority to implement disaster management policy that meets local needs and concerns, including gender policies within reconstruction
The President
The Ministry of Women Empowerment BNPB Governor District BPBD Mayor Provincial BPBD Provincial Women Empowerment Agency
Head of sub district
Head of village Community National Province District Sub District Village
Other departments and national agencies
Other provincial departments and agencies
District Women Empowerment Agency
114 regions. Moreover, the implementation of disaster management will be more effective, comprehensive, directed and efficient due to the existence of disaster management institutions in both local and national level.
Because this research takes post-earthquake reconstruction as the contexts, the next section discusses the characteristics of post-earthquake reconstruction that may challenge for gender mainstreaming efforts.