Meidyatama Suryodiningrat – Some attitudes are hard to change. Despite reforms, a liberal press and greater public scrutiny, evidence shows Indonesia's democracy is still lagging in terms of attitudes towards women.
Data from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) this week revealed 119,107 cases of violence against women took place in 2011, up 13 percent from the previous year. These included 4,335 cases of sexual harassment of which 2,937 occurred in public spaces such as public transportation vehicles.
Commission chairperson Yuniyanti Chuzaifah described the causes best: "A lack of understanding and appreciation among government officials and policymakers of how to uphold women's rights and how to properly treat them when they become victims."
It is not surprising that society remains entrenched in archaic, conservative, chauvinistic attitudes when leaders of the country continue to treat women as objects rather than as the equals of the opposite sex.
Inconceivably, the House of Representatives' Household Affairs Committee issued a regulation requiring female staff members at the House to wear non-revealing attire.
"The regulation is aimed at improving the House's image. Nevertheless, it's the ethics. We must adhere to Indonesian culture," Household Affairs Committee deputy chief Refrizal told reporters recently.
House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that by wearing revealing clothing, women encouraged men to make advances toward them. Marzuki's statement echoed Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo's statement late last year that women should not wear provocative clothing while riding public transportation in order to avoid being raped.
It is bewildering how these elected gentlemen could make statements which in effect blame the victims of sexual violence (women), rather than the perpetrators.
In another sign of the prevalence of male-dominated, conservative attitudes, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has lashed out at the Constitutional Court's decision to guarantee that the civil rights of children born out of wedlock would be recognized by their biological father, saying that the ruling would only encourage adultery. Firebrand group Hizbut Tahrir also condemned the ruling, saying that the court's decision was not based on sharia and could encourage adultery. MUI said the ruling could lead many to think that adultery was legal.
We should commend the Constitutional Court, which contended that the ruling was made to protect women from having to bear the burden of raising children, when men should also share the responsibility.
"Allowing men to shirk their responsibility would mean that the state is justifying legal injustice... against women who have to raise and educate their children," Constitutional Court judge Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi said, adding that this was not an effort to legalize adultery, but a step toward upholding women's and children's rights.
One women who probably doesn't need to much public sympathy is 49-year-old Malinda Dee – the former Citibank manager and now possibly Jakarta's most notorious female socialite – who was found guilty this week by the South Jakarta District Court for embezzlement and money laundering.
The court not only sentenced her to eight years in prison, but also ordered her to pay Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million) in fines and hand over her fleet of luxury sports cars to the bank from which she swindled billions of rupiah to pay for her opulent lifestyle. The court also ordered her to return Rp 1.6 billion to Citibank.
"The evidence – red Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Ferrari California, Mercedes Benz E-350, and a Hummer – must be given to Citibank," presiding judge Gusrizal said as he read out the verdict on Wednesday.
Another major court decision was handed down on Monday when the West Jakarta District Court convicted seven men for a series of mail bombings.
Pepi Fernando was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role as the mastermind of the bombing campaign that targeted prominent figures in the capital, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The sentence was more lenient than the life imprisonment demanded by prosecutors.
Pepi's close aide Hendi Suhartono received a 12-year prison sentence, while five other accomplices were sentenced to prison for terms ranging from 40 to 66 months.
Pepi smiled throughout his hearing and was visibly relieved when the panel of judges, presided over by judge Moestofa, did not sentence him to execution or life imprisonment. In their decision, the judges said that Pepi deserved a lenient sentence as he had demonstrated good behavior during trial, had honestly confessed his actions and had cooperated with the court.
Elsewhere, we should be disturbed to see growing anarchy as protests against the government's plan to raise fuel prices increasingly turned rowdier.
Hundreds of workers rallied in front of the Presidential Palace and the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry in Jakarta. However, the rallies were dampened by the hundreds of riot police officers on scene at both locations.
While there will be adverse effects to households as a result of the fuel price hikes, it will be even more debilitating to the state budget and efforts needed for concentrated growth for the coming year if subsidies are maintained.