INDONESIA TAKING MEASURES TO PROTECT ITS MIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS ABROAD WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE TOLD

2 February 1998

Press Release
WOM/1021

INDONESIA TAKING MEASURES TO PROTECT ITS MIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS ABROAD WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE TOLD

19980202 Committee Begins Consideration of Indonesia's Report On Compliance with Women's Anti-Discrimination Convention

The Government of Indonesia was taking a range of specific measures to address the problems faced by its women workers who gained employment overseas, its country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning. He was addressing the Committee as it began consideration of Indonesia's combined second and third periodic reports on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Government's efforts to protect those migrant workers included a computerized system to monitor the mobility of women overseas and an intensification of their training, Makarim Wibisono said. Problems commonly faced by those workers included bad treatment by employers, including violent conduct and rape; lack of understanding of socio-cultural norms in the receiving countries; and lack of command of the language.

While Indonesian women had attained gender equality under the law, they still faced violations of their human rights, he told the Committee. Women also faced significant constraints to equality because of their perception of themselves and their role, as well as because of traditional socio-economic roles and discriminatory social and cultural norms.

Also this morning, the Assistant Minister for the Role of Women, Wiek Wibadswo, provided the 23-member Committee with an article-by-article review of his country's compliance with the Convention and responded to written questions which had been submitted by them.

Mr. Wibadswo said that Indonesia's current economic crisis affected both men and women without exception, particularly those in the informal sector at the lower economic levels. In response to that situation, the Government had taken measures at the central and regional levels, including measures to provide disadvantaged women with equal access to employment.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of Indonesia's report.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this morning to begin its consideration of the combined second and third periodic reports of Indonesia on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Article 40 of the Convention provides for States parties to submit reports on legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures adopted to give effect to its provisions.

According to the February 1997 report (document CEDAW/C/IND/2-3), Indonesia ratified the Convention in 1984 and made a reservation on article 29 (1), which allows for unresolved negotiations between two or more States regarding the application or interpretation of the Convention to be referred to the International Court of Justice. Indonesia maintains that any violations in implementation of the Convention will be resolved by the Government itself.

Since ratifying the Convention, the Government has made attempts to improve, revise and develop various national regulations to better guarantee the implementation of equal rights, obligations and roles between men and women in the family, community and development programmes, the report states. It describes the country as "one of the fastest growing developing countries in Asia, and before long it may gain a new status as a developed country". Of the total population of 195.3 million, 50.3 per cent are female. Life expectancy is 64 years for women and 60 for men. The population is multi- ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious, with Islam being the largest religion. Per capita income is $920, and the agricultural sector is the locomotive force of the economy.

The equality of women in Indonesian society is enshrined in the Pancasila (the five basic principles) and in the State philosophy on which the Indonesian way of life is based, the report states. In addition, the 1945 Constitution guarantees that every citizen enjoys equal rights and obligations in the fields of education, law, health and politics. Since 1978, equality of opportunity for women has also been specifically emphasized in the broad guidelines of State policy, as well as in the five-year development plans -- known as repilita -- which set out the general development plans and programmes to be implemented through the annual project planning and budgetary process. Each repelita since 1978 has included a special chapter on women in development.

Responsibility for the implementation of the Convention lies with the Minister of State in the Office of the Minister of State for the Role of Women, established in 1978. The functions of the Office include formulating and planning government policies to enhance women's role in development, as well as coordinating all women's activities in development programmes in various government institutions and agencies. At the provincial level, management teams for the advancement of women have been set up in 27 provinces. Women's studies

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centres have also been established in both government and private universities to support women in development policy formulation, as well as programming and planning in the provinces.

Despite its existence and its wide role, the Office of the Minister of State for the Role of Women is comparatively small and its effectiveness remains limited, the report states. It lacks both staff and funds to adequately monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes on women in development. The Office needs to increase its capabilities and to introduce a national information system on women. In general, the existing institutions set up to advance the equality of women primarily address the practical gender needs of women; much still needs to be done to address their strategic gender needs. Although women benefit from general departmental budgets, their interests are as yet poorly integrated in the mainstream concerns. Departmental allocations for women-specific programmes represent only about 2 per cent of the total development budget. Nearly three quarters of the funds for women-specific programmes are channelled through the activities of the community-based Family Welfare Movement.

The Office of the Minister of State for the Role of Women has influenced amendments to the laws relating to marriage and to the protection of women workers, the report states. Some of the improvements resulting from amendments include: a recommendation that the minimum age of marriage should be increased to 25 for men (from 19) and 20 for women (from 16) to encourage girls to continue their education; making the practice of polygamy more difficult -- to protect women and children from being neglected and abandoned; providing women who work at night with transportation and security; and allowing working women to have financial means to purchase their own homes without having to seek anyone's consent. Nevertheless, amending laws alone will not be enough; social attitudes must be changed to ensure equality of women.

Despite the laws, the majority of girls and boy in rural areas still marry below the ages recommended by the Government, the report states. Culturally, girls under 18 are most vulnerable and may have little say in marriages arranged by their parents. However, the trend in Indonesia is to marry off children with their consent. Although arranged marriages are still popular in the villages, love marriages are now becoming common. Within the family, a son is still prized and a women may continue to have children in the quest for a male child -- despite the Government's campaign which declares that families should have no preferences, that a boy and a girl are the same and that two children are enough. A women cannot be sterilized without her husband's consent, and Indonesia has been cited a success story in family planning. Women are encouraged to practise birth control.

Among the problems inhibiting women's equal rights are the many religious

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customs and traditional norms and values of society which favour a male-dominated social system, although women have equal rights under the law, the report states. At the higher levels of the educational system, women remain overrepresented within the language stream and are least represented in the science stream, including technology and engineering. There has been a dramatic improvement in women's educational participation. Nevertheless, in 1994, 42 per cent of women of working age still had no schooling or complete primary education, compared to 34 per cent of men. Adult literacy programmes remain important for women, especially in rural areas.

Although he law discourages polygamy, it is still permitted under certain conditions, with the permission of the first wife, the report states. A polygamous husband is required to treat his wives and their children equally. However, no criteria have been established to define equal treatment, nor are there sanctions when the requirement is not met. Polygamy is still practised in remote rural areas and under Muslim law. Under Muslim law, husbands feel that they are superior to their wives; decisions are taken by them, including in property management -- sometimes without their wives' knowledge.

Inequality in the treatment of women is cited in reference to children born out of wedlock. An article of the Marriage Act states that a child born out of wedlock has only a civil claim on the mother and her family, and no claim on the father. Inequality is also evident in relation to divorce. The laws governing the division of property in the event of divorce weakens the position of non-working wives who are economically dependent on their husbands. No recognition is given to the wife's supporting role in enabling her husband to pursue his income-earning activities.

One of the priorities of the Minister of State for Women is reduction in maternal mortality, the report states. Its programme aims at reducing the mortality of pregnant childbearing women in poor rural areas. It includes encouraging women to use the basic health services, while supporting and facilitating the work of available health officers, particularly village midwives. In 1995, it was estimated that about 425 women died in childbirth or related causes for very 100,000 live births. In 1993, about 60 per cent of all deliveries were attended by traditional midwives with little or minimal training. The high proportion of births by midwives remains an area of concern for the Indonesian health system. The Government has taken action to increase the number of trained midwives. A presidential programme focuses on improving the nurturing and upbringing of children under five.

On the issue of sex roles and stereotypes, the report states that, through the Marriage Act, the Government has sought to eliminate ideas of male superiority. In Indonesian society, status of men and women in marriage is equal, but they have different roles. "The husband is head of the family and responsible of providing for the wife's and children's economic and welfare needs, while the wife is head of the household and responsible for the

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domestic maintenance of the household." The report acknowledges that such provisions seem contradictory in the light of the expectations of women's increased participation in the economic field, and admits that there is still a difference between what is prescribed by law and by the government and what cultural beliefs and religious philosophy dictate. Areas still in need of change include the family, the educational system, work and the working environment, society and the mass media, and politics.

The report states that most of the new job opportunities between 1980 and 1990 in the high-growth manufacturing sector were filled by younger women in urban areas. At the same time, traditional manufacturing industries in rural areas which employed large numbers of women have stagnated under the pressure of increased competition. With the decrease in employment opportunities in rural areas and an increasing demand for low-skilled labour in other countries, increasing numbers of Indonesian women are migrating as overseas workers, both officially and illegally. Many families are dependent on their remittances. Ninety-six per cent of official female migrants are employed in domestic service, and a large proportion work in the Middle East. Growing labour shortages in other countries in Asia, and specifically in the area covered by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), are also attracting increasing numbers of female migrants, principally into domestic service. Most of those women are from poor rural families and have relatively low levels of education and skills.

The report states that there has been an increase in employment among women in the agricultural sector, which has led to the feminization of the agricultural workforce. The trend is associated with the marginalization of women workers, rather than more positive development processes. At the same time, modernization and commercialization have tended to reduce women's paid employment, while increasing their unpaid labour on family farms. Male migration from rural areas has increased the share of agricultural responsibilities carried by de facto female household heads. However, that expanded role has not been recognized by the authorities. Women's earnings in agriculture are the lowest among the various sectors of the economy. They were half those of men in 1990 and include a substantial amount paid in kind -- particularly in the form of a share of the harvest crop, which is one of the most important sources of family income for rural households.

According to the report, the lack of statistical indicators on women in Indonesia provides a practical obstacle to efforts to integrate women into development planing and programming. Although much progress has been made in producing annual indicators relating to women, there remains a great need to integrate the collection of such statistical indicators into the national statistical system at all levels. In the banking sector, for example, the lack of sex disaggregated data make it difficult to identify the extent of women's participation in the formal credit sector and, therefore, to effect politics to influence their increased participation. There is also limited

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data at the sectoral and provincial levels, owing to the absence of an effective national data bank of research on women. The creation of the women's studies centres is an important step in improving the situation, but funding and facilities for such research remain limited and is often provided by foreign donors.

Introduction of Report

MAKARIM WIBISONO, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations, introduced his country's report. He said his Government had intended to have a large delegation to present its report and to respond to the Committee's questions. However, because of the current economic situation, the Minister of State for the Role of Women felt it was important to remain in Indonesia. Women in Indonesia had attained equality before the law and in the eyes of the Government. They had the same status, rights, obligations, roles and opportunities as men. Nevertheless, in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society with more than 78 ethnic groups speaking 300 dialects, the Government's efforts remained incomplete. In daily life, a degree of discrimination and violence against women and violations of their rights still occurred. Among the significant constraints to equality were women's perception of themselves and their socio-economic role in society.

Factors which affected the participation of women in development included increased levels of education, the introduction of a birth control and family planning campaign, and the shift from the agricultural to industrial sectors, he said. Programmes to eradicate all forms of discrimination were also being formulated for the seventh five-year plan (1998-2003) and the second long-term national development plan (1993-2018). To accelerate equality, the Government had designed special measures, including literacy and training programmes and social arrangements relating to maternity.

The Government was monitoring implementation of the Convention along with such community and non-governmental organizations as Convention Watch and the National Commission on Human Rights, he said. The results of monitoring were submitted to the State Ministry for the Role of Women, to facilitate formulation of the national report. Attempts had also been made to strengthen the monitoring mechanism. To get a better view of the situation of Indonesian women, the Government had developed a profile of the status and role of women in all sectors of development, at the central State and regional levels. That represented an important step towards integrating women's aspirations and interests in development planning.

He went on to say that coordination at the regional level included the involvement of the vice-governors of the country's 27 provinces, the regents/mayors in the 315 regencies and municipalities, all district heads, and more than 66,000 village heads. As a result, the institutional and coordination mechanisms for enhancing the role of women at both the central

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and regional levels were well established and managed. In addition, every region had prepared an annual programme plan for the advancement of women, supported by an adequate regional budget.

Mr. Wibisono went on to say that the Convention and the outcome of the Beijing Conference on Women had been translated into the Indonesian language and had been published and distributed to every government agency and to non- governmental organizations, particularly women's organizations, at both the central and regional levels. A national movement -- the Outlook of Harmonious Gender Partnership -- had been launched by the Indonesian President to ensure that the values of equality would be internalized by the entire Indonesian society. The Government's priorities for enhancing the role of women included addressing the questions of poverty, education, health and empowerment. Women had also been given the opportunity to join the armed forces -- the navy, air force and the State police -- in which they were expected eventually to become high-ranking officials.

He said his Government was aware of numerous United Nations reports stating that Indonesia was one of the many countries which deployed its workers overseas -- mostly women workers. However, the Government was taking steps to provide protection for such workers. Some 2.5 million Indonesians needed to be absorbed into the labour market every year, and the Government could not accommodate that huge number in the internal labour market. One of the solutions had been to extend permission for job seekers to work overseas, particularly in the Middle East (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan), Europe, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

The deployment of those workers overseas was arranged by the various labour supply agencies, he said. The protection scheme was managed under the social security for labour force programmes and under Indonesia's human resources development foundations. The migrants work in both the formal and informal sectors. In the formal sectors, they were employed as skilled workers, such as nurses, cashiers, salesmen/and women and mechanics, and totalled more than 697,000 persons. In the informal sector, migrants were employed as domestic workers, gardeners and drivers -- totalling more than 324,000 persons. The management of that situation, starting before departure, on departure, in the workplace and during the final return, was intricate.

He said that obstacles and problems commonly faced by Indonesian women migrant workers included: bad treatment by their employers, such as acts of rape, violent conduct, torture and unpaid work; lack of understanding of local socio-cultural norms, which were manifested in differences between the sending and receiving countries; and the involvement of the middlemen and brokers, who caused many problems and were commonly detrimental to the worker's job status, sometimes withholding the workers' papers, making them illegal aliens. Other problems were the lack of skills of the Indonesian women migrant workers, the

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migrants' lack of command of the language of the receiving countries and the lack of an effective system of manpower placement overseas, including a system for monitoring the mobility of Indonesian women workers in the receiving country.

He said the Government had taken a number of measures to address that situation. They included computerizing the system for monitoring the mobility of women overseas, which would then be accessible to all relevant agencies; establishing a job-hunting agency overseas supported by a wide-ranging network of information and providing better remuneration and protection; intensifying the training of women migrant workers by labour agencies before the migrants' departure and providing them with important information relating to their work. In addition, the Government intended to approach the related agencies in the receiving countries which were authorized to provide protection for overseas women workers, in order to ensure better protection for them.

WIEK WIBADSWO, Assistant Minister for the Role of Women, summarized Indonesia's compliance with the Convention. Concerning article 2, on legal and administrative measures to eliminate discrimination, he said that constitutional and domestic law enshrined the principle of equality. Indonesia had also ratified a number of relevant international conventions. However, significant constraints to women's equality remained, including women's perception of themselves and of their socio-economic value in society, as well as persistent socio-cultural norms which did not support their advancement on a national scale. Recent positive factors included an increased level of education, the introduction of birth control and family planning, and the overall shift from agriculture to industry.

Regarding article 3, on the advancement of women, the Government had established a national focal point, he said. That institution was elevated to the State Ministry and charged with the main task of formulating and monitoring policies and programmes to enhance the role of women. Budgetary constraints, however, limited the office in terms of human resources and facilities. Nevertheless, it attempted to conduct its coordinating, consulting and advocacy functions.

Concerning article 4, on temporary measures to accelerate equality, the Government had designed special literacy and training programmes, as well as special maternity protection, he said. With respect to the elimination of stereotypes, as covered by article 5, the roles of men and women in marriage and in the management of the household were divided. Men were the heads of the family and breadwinners, while women were the heads of the household. Social attitudes and prejudices hindered women's full participation and advancement, and needed to be changed, specifically in the areas of family, education, employment environment, society and the mass media, and politics.

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While the Indonesian Government did not regulate traffic in women and the exploitation of women under a specific act or regulation, it undertook an intervention scheme based on existing laws and acts, he said. The Ministry of Social Affairs had identified that problem, defined in article 6 of the Convention, and provided a rehabilitation institution.

Concerning article 7, on gender discrimination in political and public life, he said that legislation did not bar women from voting or from candidacy. Nevertheless, there were only a few women in key positions in political and public life, owing to traditional norms and the reluctance of women to actualize themselves publicly. Concerning international representation, as covered by article 8, there were no laws forbidding women's participation. Indeed, Indonesian women represented their country in various forums, including the United Nations.

He said there were several laws regulating nationality and citizenship, the subject of article 9. They addressed the position of an Indonesian woman who married a foreigner, as well as an individual born in Indonesia of a foreign child adopted by an Indonesian.

In the area of education, covered by article 10, he highlighted the extension of compulsory education, as well as the Government's focus on the education gap between men and women. In the employment sector, covered by article 13, he said the Government had ratified the Convention. However, in view of the country's situation, it had issued a reservation to article 29, which illustrated the legal provisions for employment, social security and welfare facilities. Health care, the subject of article 12, was provided by the public and private sectors, both of which were government regulated.

Regarding article 13, on gender discrimination in economic and social spheres, he said that Indonesia did not have a comprehensive system of family benefits. Such benefits for women who worked in a public service and whose husbands were also civil servants went to the husbands and the maximum of three children. On the problems faced by rural women, as covered in article 14, government programmes had been designed to support the advancement of women in rural areas. They included the Integrated Programme for Enhancing the Role of Women towards Healthy and Prosperous Families, and the Programme for Destitute/ Backward Villages.

In terms of equality before the law, as addressed in article 15, Indonesia issued broad guidelines of State policy every five years to provide the basis for policy formulation and programme planning on the promotion of women's status and role, he said. Since 1978, equal rights and opportunities for women had been specifically emphasized in the 1978 broad guidelines of State policy. With respect to marriage and family, the focus of article 16, diverse religious beliefs and ethnicity were shaped into a set of coherent and obligatory principles which applied to all Indonesian citizens, regardless of

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their religious and ethnic backgrounds. Under a 1974 act, an Indonesian woman could retain her maiden name after marriage. That act also highlighted her rights with regard to the home and child-rearing, the decision to have children, divorce, property and alimony.

Mr. Wibadswo then read from a prepared document detailing Indonesia's response to specific questions raised by the Committee in a pre-session working group (document CEDAW/C/1998/CRP/Add.1).

He said that long before the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the Government had initiated several measures to mainstream gender issues, including gender-analysis training for central and regional policy- makers. Indonesia's economic development had positively impacted on women in the areas of employment, credits and loans. The current economic crisis, however, affected both men and women without exception, particularly those in the informal sector at the lower economic levels. Some measures undertaken to remedy the impact included crash programmes at the central and regional levels, as well as efforts to promote the employment of disadvantaged women.

He said the positive effects of the programmes on women included an increaisng number of women in the labour force and a higher quality of women's education, health and nutrition. Several obstacles remained, however, including overcoming the prevailing socio-cultural norms which still hindered women's advancement in public life. The lack of expertise in mainstreaming gender in national development also persisted.

The Government's goals and deadlines included reducing the maternal mortality rate by the end of 2018 and accelerating the eradication of illiteracy among women in both rural and urban areas by 1999, he said. Other measures to ensure women's advancement included government support for women's studies centres at various universities, and the functioning of the State Ministry for the Role of Women. The Government had also undertaken a number of long-term measures to encourage the participation of women in political processes.

To safeguard pregnant women and new mothers in the employment sphere, the private sector was encouraged to provide the same maternity provisions as those in the public sector, he said.

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