http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060121.E03&irec=5 Give 'housewives' control over their time, money and ideas
Shaianne T. Osterreich, Surabaya I recently had the pleasure of going to the first birthday party of my housemates' nephew. After the women at the party determined I had enough Bahasa Indonesia to chat, they engaged me in one of two interviews. The first was of the usual sort. I got the official Indonesian welcome inquiries about the status of my (non-existent) children, husband, or boyfriend. After dinner, cake, and playing with children, I was again surrounded by the young women of the party, all wives and mostly mothers, and mostly women who worked at home. There was one woman who, during the chatting, sat on the floor folding dresses she had bought from a wholesaler, with the hopes of selling them to her cousins and sisters-in-law at parties, just like this. Encouraged by the intimacy created earlier, they began a second interview. They wanted to know my opinion of the Indonesian economy -- was it healthy? Where was it headed? What were the big challenges? It was not long before we got on the subjects of taxes and corruption. Then they asked: "But, what can we do to help? We are only housewives?" The cultural perception, held by men and women, that "housewives" are unable to participate in the rapidly changing social and economic environment of Indonesia, is at once both untrue and perpetuated by state laws concerning the role of women in the home. It is untrue because Indonesia, as in most places, depends on all the work women do in the household, in the informal and formal economy, and in local level organizing. However, despite their many actual contributions, legal and traditional norms conspire to prevent society from fully acknowledging and encouraging women's invaluable participation. Policy makers should view the fiscal decentralization process as an opportunity to address these issues. The 1974 Marriage Law constrains the individual and social expectations of what women or "housewives" do. This law explicitly defines men as "heads of households" and "providers" and women as "wives" and "mothers". This encourages the perception that women's sole realm of control is inside the home -- leaving the realm of public and formal economic and political matters to men. Further, existing tax policy defines men as the sole subjects of taxation so that married women must get permission to use their husbands' tax numbers to legally engage in their own business activities. In reality, the line between these public and private spheres is very fuzzy. Women make up the majority of workers who do paid work done in their own home (including selling clothes, food, or cigarettes and/or doing subcontracted piece work). Some 38 percent of women workers do unpaid work for family businesses [read their husbands]compared to only 8 percent for men (Central Statistics Bureau 2005). Further, women's "control" over matters in the home is also unclear. According to a World Bank Health, Nutrition, and Population Household Survey from 1997, only 50 percent of Indonesian women had control over how to spend money in the household, even if they earned the money themselves. In the formal sector, there are over two million workers in the textile industry, Indonesia's primary non-oil export sector, and the majority of the factory workers are women. Women are the majority of migrant labor leaving Indonesia, leaving behind children in the care of grandmothers and fathers. They also represent a large share of the recipients of micro-finance loans and are the sole operators of many small and medium enterprises. Therefore, women are already engaged in many activities outside the home. And, their families depend on them to do so. On the political end, despite their presence as active members of many unions and non-governmental organizations they are rarely represented at the leadership level. For example, women represent 40 percent of the membership for the All-Indonesia Labor Union (SPSI) but only 1 percent of the leaders (ILO 2004). Because women want to be good mothers and wives, they work hard in and out of the home. But, also, women want to be more than good mothers and wives. They want to help fight corruption. They want to help the economy grow -- and not as their husbands' unpaid helpers, but as legitimate workers in their own right. They want to control their own financial assets. In general, they want the power to take care of themselves, their families, and to be able to contribute to society. Many women's advocates argue that issues of gender equality must be addressed at the highest levels of government, so as to give them credibility at local levels. Laws like the 1974 Marriage Law legitimizing fixed roles and expectations for men and women, send clear signals to the "housewives" and "providers" of Indonesia about what their role in society is. Further, taxation law that discriminates against women forces them to engage in illegal financial schemes to help earn income for themselves and for the family. What can "housewives" do to help Indonesia? They can do what they are already doing. Work hard with and for their families and communities -- taking care of the children and the elderly, selling dresses at parties, "helping" their husbands' businesses. They can also read the paper and stay engaged in their community and talk to each other about their lives. The real questions is, what can the "providers" and Indonesia do for "housewives"? They can give them control over what's theirs -- their time, their money, and their ideas. In this era of decentralization and its accompanied dramatic fiscal and political reform, policy makers should use this opportunity to make family law and tax law fair and non-discriminatory. In the long run, it's better for women and it's better for Indonesia. The writer is an Assistant Professor of Economics from Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York and currently living in Surabaya as a guest lecturer at Surabaya University. She can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/aYWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com Berhenti mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com This mailing list has a special spell casted to reject any attachment .... Yahoo! 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