Jakarta – Experts on peace, women and religious affairs said Tuesday that women's roles in peace negotiations, and even in day-to-day activities, are still not recognized, especially for women living in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.
"The role of Acehnese women in peace-building at the grassroots level is extraordinary, however, they have been systematically undermined by larger political interests," Suraiya Kamaruzzaman, executive director of an Acehnese women's rights NGO, Flower Aceh, said Tuesday.
"True peace will only occur as a result of equal involvement of women and men in the reconciliation process, especially in relation to post-conflict trauma," she said, stressing the importance of respecting victims' rights.
Since the Dutch colonial era, Aceh has endured conflict after conflict, in which many men, women and children became victims.
As many as 7,725 human rights violations were recorded by a coalition of human rights NGOs during the military operation (DOM) period from 1989 to 1998.
"Women were used as pawns in a vicious game of retribution between two conflicting sides: the central government's TNI and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) militia," Suraiya said.
She cited 102 cases of rape and 91 cases of sexual abuse reported during the military operation period.
She added that around 148,000 women became single parents, and 14,000 women became widows. She blamed 30 years of conflict in the region, which had been narrowed down to an issue between two sides: the Republic of Indonesia and GAM. "Civilians were the real victims and they have been overlooked."
Suraiya said Nias-Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) had not acknowledged women in the budget, and the Directorate of Women and Children had only been allocated 0.045 percent of a Rp 10.5 trillion budget in 2006.
The provincial government has only allocated 0.16 percent of its local budget for women's issues, she said. She advised donor organizations to ensure a minimum of 40 percent of their funds are allocated to women's issues.
The agency, which was initially established to assist with post-tsunami reconstruction, is currently introducing a program in aid of post-conflict reconstruction that aims to involve women. At this point, there are only 12 women, or 4 percent of the 281 people at the decision-making level in the agency.
"At least 30 percent of the members of Aceh's Commission on Truth and Reconciliation should be women," she said.
Activist and religion expert Siti Musdah Mulia also acknowledged the undermining of women's roles in the peace-building process, due to the existing perception that women are insignificant. "Women are, in fact, very significant in the peace-building process because they are the most vulnerable in conflict areas," Musdah said.
Suraiya said the role of Acehnese women must be acknowledged and that women must be involved in the reconstruction process, from planning to the implementation and evaluation of processes, as well as in the revision of bylaws in the province.