Archive for the ‘Community Development through Women’s Empowerment’ Category
Kartini and the Spirit of Women Empowerment
The last post I touched on the issue of women was in December of last year, coinciding with the day on which the role of a mother is celebrated. On that day, a mother’s role is lavished with great importance, praises and honor. Including my own mother of whom I spoke of in the post. I believe, though, that we can all agree that this does not mean the role of a mother be relegated to the sidelines at other times.
In contrast to that post, this month, we are reminded of Kartini, the woman attributed to having brought change. The spirit of change we inherited from Kartini is one of the reasons behind advances made in the name of emancipation. Although we cannot ignore the fact that discrimination and gender bias still exist, to some extent, the time for in-depth discussions on emancipation should rightly come to an end. If we talk of the women of today, the idea of emancipation feels somehow archaic. For today, along with the deluge of information available to us all, what should be placed top of mind are stories on contributions, ideas, service, and/or anything related to change for a better future. Read more
The Enlightenment of Indonesia’s citizenry through its Women
Indonesia, is today the third largest democracy in the world. It also has the largest population of Moslems in the world who, in general, practice an ultra-moderate form of Islam.
Unfortunately, a neo‐feudalistic kind of social order and customs prevail among the less educated and rural poor where special acknowledgment, honor, and respect are bestowed upon the hierarchy of community leaders to a point where allegiance is given in return for presumed expectations of guidance and protection. This situation unfortunately invites a certain segment of the political elite to regard the non-tax-paying rural poor as those having to be “appeased” as opposed to their having to be “represented”. There is no real sense of national ownership and people generally vote for those who they believe would be able to “give” them something locally rather than for those who would diligently “protect and responsibly utilize” their ownership of the country’s resources for the ultimate benefit of society as a whole.