Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Indonesia's still floundering economy has thrown many families across the country into throes of despair and wreaked havoc on relations between husbands and wives.
In rural communities especially, husbands laid off work are not only getting desperate by the second to find jobs, many are also taking out their frustrations on their wives. Complains Oyah, a 37-year-old housewife in Tangerang: "If I ask my husband for some money, he would react angrily instead of just saying he has no money."
"Inharmonious relations between wives and husbands has downgraded the quality of families," says Dr Teddy Hidayat, a respected psychiatrist here.
He adds that the problem of making ends meet is the primary cause of tension, which only grows and becomes "a psychological problem" for the whole family. If not addressed, he warns, such tension will not be confined in the family but will become a social problem marked by violence.
Since 1997, when Indonesia was hit hard by the Asian economic crisis, thousands of businesses in the country have shut down, putting many out of work. Indonesia's continuing political and social unrest have not helped any in enticing foreign investors back into this South-east Asian nation of 220 million people. Likewise, the economy remains in the doldrums despite recovery from the 13 per cent contraction it suffered a few years back.
Hidayat acknowledges that at present, there are no reliable figures regarding domestic violence. He attributes this to the unwillingness of the victims of abuse to speak up. "A wife who was hurt after being slapped on her face by her husband, for instance, would just go to the doctor for medical treatment [for any physical injury], then the case is settled," he says.
But he adds, "Domestic violence is something lying underground in our society. Very few of the spouses go to psychiatrists for psychological help." Hidayat says anecdotal evidence is indicating an increase in domestic violence. Some psychiatrists in Jakarta and the nearby city Bandung, in fact, have been reporting that more and more women are coming to them to complain about being targets of spousal abuse.
The divorce rate is also on the rise in several major cities in Indonesia. But couples who choose to stay together despite their increasing frustrations problems are seeing their lives get more complicated each day.
"My husband still goes to work every day," says Fatimah, a 34- year-oldm garment factory worker whose husband is an electronic company employee. "But there are no jobs to do at his workplace. He is just in a countdown to the day of his firing."
Fatimah says they have two sons and a newborn baby. She and her husband had agreed not have another child after the two boys and had practised family planning. But when the economy hit the skids three years ago, Fatimah says her visits to the family planning clinic became less frequent. She says simply, "Contraceptive practices are getting more and more expensive."
Other families are cutting down on expenses for food and entertainment. Cita, another housewife in Cipatat in West Java, says she has been making "adjustments" in her family's daily menu. "We normally had beef everyday," she says. "Now we have it only once a week."
Cita says that instead of beef, she now has 'tempeh' (soybean cake) and salted fish. At least, she says, she has maintained her family's nutrient intake. Cita also says that her family used to go to a restaurant at least once a month, usually after payday. Nowadays, she says, "we go out for a meal in a restaurant once in two months."
"We also used to have picnics and go out of town for a vacation every month. Now we have it only once in three months," she says. Cita knows her family is still lucky. In other areas, families have been forced to reduce the frequency of their daily meals, eating perhaps just once a day instead of three.
Still others have been keeping their children out of school as a result of the reduced family incomes. According to the Ministry of Culture and Education, the number of primary school dropouts has soared by 10.27 per cent this year. Dropouts in junior high school have reached 643,000, up from 365,000 in 1998. Education Minister Yahya Muhaimin said recently, "The total number of dropouts have now reached 75 per cent."
Some families, however, are trying to keep their coffers from emptying entirely by launching small enterprises. Usually, the laid-off husbands, using their separation pay, take charge of the business. Wives who work are expected to help out in the business once they arrive home.
While some observers laud such efforts to cope with the effects of the economic downturn, others worry that the women are now spending less time attending to their children as a result.