http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/m-project-aids-indonesias-poorest/story-e6frg6nf-1225968564212
$50m project aids Indonesia's poorest Peter Alford From: The Australian December 10, 2010 12:00AM Getting a marriage officially ended and a birth officially certified are the first steps out of poverty for millions of Indonesian women. That's why a new $50 million Australian program supporting Indonesian legal reform will focus on the country's "women-headed households" -- at least nine million families, more than half living on less than $2 a day. And it's why a substantial amount of the five-year funding will find its way to the Islamic religious court system, which administers most of Indonesia's family law. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who launched the Partnership for Justice program yesterday, said making the legal system accessible to poor women was a powerful force for economic development. "You empower women in developing countries and you unleash new economic development," he said after meeting representatives of a pioneering group, Women-Headed Household Empowerment (PEKKA) in Bali yesterday. "Already, Australian-funded mobile courtrooms in remote areas have played a significant part in providing access for women to get birth and marriage certificates -- necessary for formal recognition from the state, which enables access to health and education services." Up to 80 per cent of children under five in the poorest provinces do not have birth certificates, making access to education and jobs difficult. But the biggest caseload for the religious courts is divorces, which make up more than 70 per cent of all Indonesian civil cases according to a Lowy Institute study of Indonesia's Islamic courts out this week. By contrast with Islamic law's generally harsh reputation among non-Muslims, Indonesia's religious courts are a beacon of progress, according to the report's authors, Cate Sumner and Tim Lindsey. "They have embraced reform within a judicial system notorious for corruption and incompetence, taking the lead in efforts to provide decisions that are more accessible, transparent and fair for women and the poor." Two-thirds of Indonesian divorces are sought by women, but nine out of 10 women living below Indonesia's official poverty line are still locked out because they can't raise the fees or afford the travel. They need divorce certificates to be recognised as heads of family. Without them, they lack access to free rice, health cards and cash relief. "I personally experienced divorce," said PEKKA director Nani Zulminarni, who raised three children alone after her husband married another woman. "I have educational background, I have work, friends, networks, but it was still very difficult. You can hardly imagine how difficult it is then for women who have nothing." PEKKA was set up a decade ago to support widows of the Aceh separatist conflict and has been backed by Australia for the past four years. Volunteers now work with 12,000 households. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. Related Coverage a.. Boatpeople bound for Australia detained The Australian, 1 day ago b.. 'Real Islam' in action in Indonesia The Australian, 2 days ago c.. No time to rest in battle against AIDS The Australian, 9 days ago d.. Sumatran volcano erupts The Australian, 29 Aug 2010 e.. Muslims drop fatwa against pricey coffee The Australian, 20 Jul 2010 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
