Gender Equality In Indonesia

 Oleh: Pipiet Palestin Amurwani

Sumber; djkn.kemenkeu.go.id

Before talking more about gender equality, let us know what gender is. West and Zimmerman said that gender is not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do (1987) – and Butler added that it is something we perform (1990). We can say that gender is the result of nurture – as social and hence fluid or it is constructed by the social. It is different to sex that is given by biology. Sex is anatomical, endocrinal, and chromosomal.

Gender equality is an equal condition between men and women in the right and the obligation. Still there is a lot of gender inequality happen in life sectors in Indonesia. For example, the people in some places in Indonesia think that a girl doesn’t need to have high level of education before she gets married. They believe that it will make her difficult to get husband. Of course, it doesn’t make sense.

In Indonesia, gender equality actually began in 1908 promoted by RA Kartini. The struggle to have equality between men and women especially in education was a kind of resistance to injustice to women at that time. In that period, only men could have education while women couldn’t. Beside RA Kartini there some other women struggled for gender equality in Indonesia. They are Raden Dewi Sartika, Cut Nyak Dien, Maria Walanda Maramis, and Nyai Siti Walidah Ahmad Dahlan.

Written by Investor.id that Gender Development Index (GDI) said in 2020, Indonesia is in position 107 from 189 countries. In 2022, based on dataindonesia.id Indonesian Global Gender Gap Index Score is 0,697 point. It increases from last year. In 2021 Indonesia was in position 101 and in 2022 it reached position 92.

Nowadays, we often hear about gender equality. Women have the same right as men have and for the obligation as well. They can get education as men and have opportunities to work in every sector based on their passions. They can do those because of their ability not of the mercy of men. They can be soldiers, pilots, architects, or other professions that in the past only men did it. They can join organization to develop. A woman has choices for her life, to be a career woman or to be a wife and a mother. Both of them can give important roles for this life. Being a mother doesn’t mean the end of the world. She can develop herself by learning many things. She can participate to handle the financial as her husband. Even she can be a wife or a mother and also a career woman.

On the other hand, men don’t need to feel ashamed in doing or being something abnormal before. For example, it is common today that a man becomes a chef, a makeup man, a hairdresser, a designer or a tailor. They are professions related to one’s talent; no matter the person is a man or a woman. Some old Indonesian people think that the professions are for women and they call taboo for men to do them.  As Azzahra Nawangwulan said in her article “Analysis: Gender Bias in Indonesian People” that masculinity is that men are considered strong, rational and assertive, so often in society there is a gender bias where men are considered taboo when doing housework such as cooking, cleaning the house and taking care of children.

Women and men can collaborate to give advantages for this life. They can support each other in building strong life. They can get their right and have to do their obligation as well.