Jakarta, April 21 (Antara) - Indonesia's greatest woman, who is the pioneer of emancipation of and equality for women and men, was born some 138 years today in an aristocratic Javanese family in Jepara, Central Java.
RA Kartini, who was born on April 21, 1879, when Indonesian women lived in the darkness of feudal culture and died on September 17, 1879, opened her mind and fought for the progress of indigenous women.
As a greatest pioneer for the fate of women, RA Kartni's ideas became the role model for Indonesian women's resurrection. She was awarded the status of National Hero by the government on May 2, 1964.
On Friday, the Indonesian people commemorated RA Kartini Day.
Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, Yohana Yembise, said that in the current era, Indonesian women should become the driving force behind change. "The commemoration of Kartini Day is a very good moment to reflect on women being very important figures in the progress of a nation," she said during the celebration of Kartini Day.
Indonesian women should imbibe Kartini's spirit in themselves. Kartini serves as a symbol of the struggle of Indonesian women to be able to rise above the patriarchal culture.
She said Kartini had vigorously voiced the rights of equality and lifted the dignity of women through education, even though in the colonial era, education for women was severely limited due to the assumption that the dignity of women is considered the lower, compared with men.
"This very rapid change is inseparable from the struggles of the predecessor, who laid foundations for raising women's dignity," she remarked.
According to the Indonesian Women's Congress (KOWANI) Chairperson Giwo Rubianto Wiyogo, women must serve as equal partners of men. "There are consequences if the mindset has to be changed that women are equal partners of men. The consequences are the need of women to get into the spirit of change, high education, become more empowered and be willing to change fate," Giwo said in Jakarta on Friday.
Women have to change their view that they are destined to be housewives, who only struggle with domestic affairs.
"This view must be changed. Women must play roles, contribute work and ideas to the state and nation," she said.
The view among some in the public that violence against women is a private affair should also be altered. Violence against women up to now is still a serious problem.
"The state has mandated that women, wherever they are, must be protected from all forms of violence," Giwo said.
Hence, Health Minister Nila Moeloek encouraged Indonesian women to emulate the country's popular female figure, RA Kartini, both in the family and social environment. "I invite Indonesian women to be willing and be able to imitate the figure of Kartini by taking on the role of a true fighter for their families and surroundings to reach the goal of a healthy Indonesia," she said in a written statement received by Antara, Friday.
Nila Moeloek said the real struggle of women can be recognized during the process of pregnancy and childbirth, while every mom-to-be is betting their lives during childbearing.
On the struggle of mothers during labor, KOWANI chairperson Giwo said the view that dying during labor is predestined should also be ironed out. It should be remembered, she said, that efforts to reduce maternal death rates must be made, among others by maximizing services for mothers. However, a frequent problem is the access of the public to quality health services being limited often, particularly for poor people in the least developed, isolated and border areas and islands.
After all, medical personnel are also limited in terms of numbers, quality and distribution, particularly nurses. Malnutrition of expecting mothers is a problem. The other thing that should be changed, Giwo said, is the mindset that women are less apposite to become leaders.
Moreover, women are the backbones of the country because they play the main role in building and preserving the quality of generation.
"We can imagine what will happen if women refuse to marry or to have children. The state will surely lose its generation. And this has happened in several advanced states," Nihayatul Wafiroh, a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR), said.
In the meantime, House Speaker Setya Novanto, earlier, stated that the commemoration of Kartini Day, which falls on April 21, was a symbol of the rising role of women not only in the domestic territory but also in the social-community.
"Kartini is the inspiration for awakening in the middle of paternalistic tradition, which strongly confined women during the Dutch colonial era," Novanto reminded, Friday.
Therefore, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that women play a great role in the country. He even told the visiting US Vice President Michael Pence that Indonesian women play the greatest role in the country and that 'Kartini Day' is observed as a mark of respect to the women.
"You should not forget how Indonesia respects the Kartini Day. All who put signatures are women. So I said to him (Pence) that not only in the Kartini Day, but also in other sectors, including business, because women in Indonesia play the greatest roles here," Kalla said after attending a U.S.-Indonesia Business Forum at the Sangri-La Hotel in Jakarta on Friday.
Earlier, U.S. Vice President Pence congratulated all Indonesian women on the commemoration of Kartini's Day, saying that Kartini was a pioneer of women's empowerment and an icon of female emancipation in their country.
Speaking at the US-RI business forum, Pence said he felt honored to be in Indonesia at a time when all women in the country were commemorating the Kartini Day, which falls on April 21 every year. ***4***(A014/INE/B003)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 22-04-2017 00:09: |
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