Jakarta – "We are sure that a civilization of a nation will not grow as long as the women are not involved in the development. If the job to foster a civilization is handed over to women, the growth of the civilization is only a matter of time."
This was written in 1903 by Kartini, national heroine and pioneer of women's rights, in one of the hundreds of letters she addressed to friends and members of the public during her short lifetime.
The posthumous publication of Kartini's letters inspired women at home and abroad to fight for their rights.
Indonesia will celebrate Kartini Day on April 21, which will mark 131 years since her birth. But can we truly say that Kartini's dream of the emancipation of women in Indonesia has come true?
The note that Kartini wrote in 1903 emphasizes that discrimination against women would serve only to restrain the country's development, argued ministry expert Irma Alamsyah Djaya Putra. She said today's society still promoted gender inequality.
"The government has established many regulations and laws both nationwide and regionally but has not implemented them successfully," Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar said.
The following are some of the laws in Indonesia that promote gender equality. The 1999 Law on Human Rights Law states that women's rights and human rights are the same.
A 1984 law forbids all forms of discrimination against women. The 2003 General Elections Law states that at least 30 percent of seats in the legislature should be allocated to women. This was followed by the 2008 Political Law and the 2008 Women's Representation Law. A 2001 Presidential Decree emphasizes gender equality in national development.
A 2003 Ministerial Decree encourages the involvement of women in regional development. Above all these is the amendment of the 1945 Constitution that states that women's rights are the same as human rights.
"But substantively, Indonesia is still far from embracing gender equality despite that Indonesia's economy and gross domestic product are progressing well," Legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said, highlighting the disparity between social and economic development in the country.
She said that according to the UNDP's 2009 Report, Indonesia ranked 90th out of 155 countries on the gender-related development index (GDI), with a value of 0.726, which is slightly lower that its human development index (HDI) score of 0.734. Its GDI value is therefore 98.9 percent of its HDI value.
The GDI measures life expectancy, education, living standards, income and purchasing power. The HDI highlights inequalities in achievements and opportunities between men and women.
Although today the majority of women are entitled by law to the same opportunities as men, such as education, Indonesia still ranks 96th out of 109 countries on the UNDP's gender empowerment scale, which focuses on opportunities to participate in political and economic forums and decision-making.
"We aim for a 30 percent female legislator quota," Eva said. The percentage of female legislators in the House of Representatives has increased to 18 percent in the 2009-2014 period from 11 percent in the 2004-2009 period.