Women's Empowerment in Indonesia by Sri Wiyanti Eddyono

Author:Sri Wiyanti Eddyono [Eddyono, Sri Wiyanti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781351348928
Google: YS1zDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-10-26T04:48:17+00:00

Jakarta municipal policies on women’s empowerment

The implementation of this program at the local level, particularly in Jakarta, is even more problematic than at the national level. In Indonesia’s new decentralised system, the national government does not have authority to implement programs at the local level. Thus, in Jakarta the program has to be implemented through the municipal government, which belatedly incorporated gender and women’s empowerment into its policies in 2007, when the Sutiyoso government published the Governor’s Rule No. 38/2007 on the general guidelines of women’s empowerment. It defined women’s empowerment as a process to enable women to access and control economic, political and social resources. One of the aims was to improve women’s role and position, and to achieve women’s and children’s rights in the family, society and the nation. The government developed ten program areas that included education, health, the economy and employment, but made no mention of housing. This guideline has not been implemented, since Sutiyoso ceased to be governor soon after it was published.

In the era of Fauzi Bowo (2007–2012), some policies were established regarding women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, gender-responsive planning and budgeting and the implementation of MDGs at the local level.2 One of the policies (Governor’s Rule No. 58/2012) states that the women’s empowerment program is to be expanded to the poor in urban slums, coastal areas and inland areas with the aim of eradicating poverty and improving family and social welfare. The document also provided guidelines for women’s empowerment and child protection. It stated that the government needed to improve women’s capacity to implement small-scale economic activities and to educate the next generation. This was also intended to guarantee women access to every aspect of development. In addition, Jakarta’s five-year development plan (RPJM – Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah) set out general criteria to develop budget policy. ‘Pro-growth’ (pro investment), ‘pro-employment’ and ‘pro-poor’ policies were part of the strategy implementation stated in the plan (Pemda DKI Jakarta, 2008).

However, the tension observed at the global and national levels in interpreting women’s empowerment is also found in Jakarta. The Governor’s Rule No. 58/2012 has recognised the need to involve women in many areas, such as health, but it focuses on women’s roles in eradicating problems rather than on fulfilling the needs of women or on women’s rights to access health programs.

The government program did not reach women in Kampung Rawa. Moreover, slums as defined by the municipal government did not include those who live in informal settlements. Staff members from the government agency on women’s empowerment and the economic acceleration division at the municipal and district level told me that during the Bowo era there was no program for women in informal settlements. The governor stated clearly that the pro-poor program, including women’s empowerment, was only for those living in formal settlements.

The situation changed in the Joko Widodo era (2012–2014). Like the national document plan, the Jakarta RPJMD 2013–20173 does not mention any problems relating to gender and women’s issues. Women’s empowerment is not seen as a priority.

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