Jakarta – Indonesia has made significant strides to empower women recently – but activists say progress is hampered by weak enforcement and religious conservatism.

Women's rights activist Sulistyowati Irianto said the women's movement has made great progress during the reform era, as shown by the laws and regulations enacted over the last decade.

"There are more than 12 such legal instruments, including those that stand independently and those that are integrated with other laws," she added.

Sulistyowati, who also heads the University of Indonesia's postgraduate anthropology program, said two good examples were the 2004 Domestic Violence Law and the 2007 Eradication of Human Trafficking Law.

"Thus, normatively, the government has been successful," she said, adding that the women's movement in Indonesia has been remarkable when compared to its neighbors such as Malaysia and Singapore, as well as Japan.

Sulistyowati said that although there was a chasm between what was written and was implemented, women now had an umbrella of legal protection.

"Unfortunately, some state institutions have filled the void by weakening what the government has built," she told The Jakarta Post.

Sulistyowati said the Constitutional Court's pending judicial review of the quota for female legislators might ruin much of what women have fought for.

The 2008 General Election Law stipulated that at least 30 percent of legislative candidates should be women. The judicial review filed by several political parties, if approved, would require that party candidates be nominated by majority vote, she said.

Activist Smita Notosusanto said that Indonesian women have made progress since reform began 12 years ago, especially in primary education and employment.

"The field of education has shown heartening progress because we see that at the primary and junior high school levels, the enrollment of girls to boys is nearly equal," she told the Post.

"However, many things are threatening [progress]," she said. "There are many reversals such as the rise of conservative religious interpretations which would diminish women's roles in society," she said.

She added that the rising trend must be reversed because no religion teaches discrimination against women. "This starts from the family where ideas on pluralism, religious tolerance and gender equality – as well as female and male equality – must be instilled from childhood," she said.

Moderate Muslims must raise their voices to counter extreme religious interpretations because the latter were more vocal and can have a greater effect on the easily influenced youth, she said.

"If the moderate can't raise their voices, these young people will not have an alternative interpretation to compare what the two camps have to offer," she said.

Women, especially those with the education and financial means, can help to advance empowerment by creating activities to benefit other women, especially those less privileged, she said.

Grassroots women's rights activist Nani Zulminarni said that women could take the initiative with leadership roles.

"Women must have the courage to step out of their comfort zones and cross the limits imposed on them to gain their rights as humans," she said.

She added that although many positive changes have taken place in the legal field, many social and cultural values still give room to values that discriminate and subjugate women.

"Thus, a dilemma exists because on one side, we have increasing opportunities but on the other, we are stuck with values and traditions than hinder us from taking advantage of available opportunities," she said. (gzl)