Georgina Giannopoulos – Despite consistent national efforts to close the gender gap in the Indonesian education system, pervasive patriarchal views – especially in more conservative regions – continue to contribute to girls' disadvantage in schools. The autonomy and isolation of particular regions complicate efforts to implement reforms at a local level.
The Indonesian government has a long history of legal reform aimed at mitigating gender disparities across society. Article 9 of the National Law No. 23/2002 codified that all Indonesian children must have access to education. A year later, the House of Representatives passed National Law No. 20/2003, which sought to provide 'equality of opportunity in education and [ensure] that basic education is made available to all' without gender bias.
Indonesia has also implemented gender quotas for political parties when nominating parliamentary candidates and overhauled the way the legal system handles sexual assault. Despite these continued efforts, the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women's 2021 periodic report suggests that the country still falls short of its gender equality targets under international law.
At an aggregated level, Indonesia seems to perform well in advancing the status of women in education. A World Bank report showed gender parity in education participation for children aged 7-12 by 2019. Despite falling 13 places on the 2024 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index from the previous year, Indonesia maintains a gender parity score of 0.97 in secondary and tertiary education. Indonesian girls outperform their male peers in literacy, science and mathematics by a significantly wider margin than is seen globally. At a national level, more young men are out of school than women.
But a deeper analysis reveals underlying challenges. The Global Gender Gap Index indicates a steady decline in gender parity in primary education enrolment since 2015, a sign that the achievements reported by the World Bank in 2019 may be tenuous. There are also stark regional gender disparities in education. For example, in Probolinggo Regency, East Java, the percentage of boys enrolled in schools is about 150 per cent that of girls. Girls in poorer regional areas are also more likely to be out of school.
Diverse cultural contexts across Indonesia contributes to uneven progression towards gender parity in education. Indonesia is among the top 10 countries with the highest incidence of child marriage globally, with prevalence remaining high in regions like West Sulawesi and the Riau Islands. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues, leading to a surge in child marriage, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat. While girls can stay in school after child marriage or pregnancy in Indonesia, early departure is common and legal misconceptions lead many parents to believe that child brides are barred from schooling.
Beyond child marriage, pervasive social norms – especially prevalent among poor families – often perpetuate the idea that girls are homemakers. This belief stems from the idea of state ibuism, a conservative stance affirming the role of women within the domestic sphere, which was promoted in the 1960s and 1980s during Suharto's presidency. Many families in poorer regional areas prefer to prepare girls for marriage, seeing education as unnecessary.
Indonesian educators have indicated that this viewpoint continues to proliferate in local culture – even in areas such as West Sumatra where matrilineal traditions prevail. As one West Sumatran educator explained: 'In several parts of Indonesia with matrilineal kinship systems, gender inequality is still very visible. In this system, women don't ... work outside. The women are still at home with their responsibilities like washing the dishes and cooking. There is no equality for women'.
Girls who do remain in school face barriers to classroom participation. While boys are more at risk of physical bullying, young girls are more likely to experience sexual and emotional violence. The United Nations has expressed worry that strict dress codes enforced on women and girls in workplaces and schools may disenfranchise female workers and students. Gender stereotyping also remains prevalent in Indonesian curriculum resources. A policy brief by the Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership flagged the tendency of Indonesian textbooks to portray gender in stereotypical ways, including male characters being shown as leaders more often than their female counterparts.
Given the many factors threatening gender parity in education, several solutions could mitigate these inequalities. Addressing deep-rooted gender stereotypes may be key to promoting the importance of education to young girls and their families.
Reforming widespread patriarchal views in regional areas will likely prove to be the most challenging aspect. National Law No. 32/2004 gave regional governments increased lawmaking powers, engendering a trend of regional laws which diverge from national objectives. But dissident regional laws exist in areas which are meant to be under the jurisdiction of the national government, including laws pertaining to gender issues. The autonomy and remoteness of regional areas where women experience the most disadvantage presents a systemic barrier to dismantling harmful gender norms.
Despite government efforts, the evidence suggests that varied sociocultural forces are hindering female participation and achievement in Indonesian schools. Nationally, addressing pervasive gender norms is crucial. Work needs to be done in regional areas and within local communities to bring awareness to the national objectives surrounding gender equality. Importantly, wider systemic reform to regulate rogue regional governments' lawmaking powers will support meaningful change across Indonesia.
[Georgina Giannopoulos is International Project Officer at Asialink, where she coordinates development assistance projects across the Asia-Pacific. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and International Studies) from The University of Melbourne and is currently completing a Juris Doctor at Melbourne Law School.]
Source: https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/09/04/roadblocks-to-gender-equality-remain-in-indonesian-schools