It takes a whole village to raise a child Delita Sartika  ;   The writer is researching Islamic feminism in Indonesian pop culture for her PhD at Monash University

JAKARTA POST,  16 Desember 2014

                                                                                                                       

Even though women’s issues were not a top feature of the presidential campaigns in this year’s election, they have risen to be some of the most dynamic discourses around the performance of the new government. The announcement of the Working Cabinet by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Oct. 26, which features eight women ministers, has drawn domestic and global praise. Not only did the announcement show the highest appointment of females in our Cabinet history but it also allowed women to take charge of some ministerial posts that were previously considered “masculine”, such as the Foreign Ministry. Yet, within only one month, this optimistic gender discourse has been distorted. The first case is loud judgment over Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti. Her background as a high-school dropout and being seen smoking on the day of her inauguration at the Presidential Palace, and the phoenix tattoo on her right leg, have antagonized people’s impressions of her exceptional achievements in the fisheries and airline business, fields still alien to Indonesian women entrepreneurs. Her unusual profile is subjectively discussed from social and religious perspectives: tattoos and cigarettes are confronted with not only social etiquette but the wholesome attributes of “women’s properness”. Some even compare her with other successful women professionals who don the hijab. While controversy around Susi has not faded, the idea to reduce women’s working hours, proposed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, has started to occupy the public. Although the plan has not been officially introduced, it has triggered wide controversy. Those who support the idea agree that reducing women’s working hours is an essential investment in Indonesia’s future generation as it will allow women more time to do their duties as the children’s main caretakers. On the other hand, the opposing parties believe this plan could carry more problems than potential benefits. The reason behind this idea is obviously partial and, thus, technically discriminative. The implementation addresses only the needs of women workers who are married and raising a family. Secondly, cutting women’s working hours may lead to a broader discrimination against women in the workplace. Women workers, or women waiting for employment, may not be given fair room to compete with men in the first place. Assuming fewer working hours, women workers will likely be perceived as less productive than their male colleagues. This simply means a greater burden on the employers. Yet, if women accept the same workload to allow them a fair chance at work, it will create a greater pressure on women as they need to finish the same work in much less time. Thirdly, yet most important, is the anticipated compensation for this two-hour cut. A widely quoted African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child” is probably what the Vice President should first reflect on before inviting the public to assess his idea. While a significant gap in domestic responsibility between men and women is already evident, the reduction of women’s working hours might lead to them being charged more with caretaking duties, particularly in educating children at home. Meanwhile, men’s traditional status as the breadwinner of the family, which gives them the privilege of having less responsibility at home, will be reconfirmed. While the role of women to mind their children is undeniably important for the sake of Indonesia’s future, the government should adopt more substantial moves. Providing a scheme for employers to provide affordable day care would have better prospects of ensuring that children are being taken care of properly while their parents are at work earning a proper living. Some other urgent, yet never settled, matters are the need for sufficient maternity leave and offices that are breastfeeding-friendly for women workers. These facilities will essentially maximize women’s roles in providing the earliest foundation to build our country’s future generation. The whole discourse of women-related issues in the barely two-month old Jokowi government clearly shows that women’s roles are still being defined more by other parties than women themselves. ●