The Fate Of Indonesian Women Today

President Jokowi and a number of national booster pioneers, one of whom is Jumiatun, a former Indonesian migrant worker from Jember, at the State Palace in Jakarta. (Between)

JAKARTA Indonesian women are free to receive the highest education, are free to pursue any profession, and are free to pursue careers without restrictions. Unfortunately, this slogan is not balanced with good protection. Women in reality are still a very vulnerable group of harassment and discrimination.

Look at the Annual Records of Komnas Perempuan which was released on March 7 last. There were 457,895 cases of violence against women throughout 2022 which were dominated by Gender-Based Violence (KBG). The highest number of KBG came from the personal realm reaching 99 percent or 336,804 cases.

"People closest to you who have personal relationships, or people who should provide protection to women and children, actually become perpetrators of violence," said Siti Mazuma, National Secretary of the Service Procurement Forum (FPL), at the Launch of Catahu Komnas Perempuan 2023 at the Santika Premiere Hotel, Jakarta.

Also look at the work environment. A number of testimonies say that there are still many women who experience wage discrimination. In fact, there are companies that limit the career path of women only to certain positions.

The reason is only because women are considered unable to think logically and rely more on intuition so they cannot be in a strategic position.

In addition, many women do not get their right to marry, give birth, breastfeeding, and menstrual leave. Instead of giving a long leave, the company is even looking for ways to get pregnant women to resign before giving birth.

Even though there is already a Law (UU) that regulates the rights to the welfare of workers, including female workers, in fact not a few still have not received welfare.

"They know the rules, but they don't follow those rules," said Laboring Women's Community Founder Yuri Muktia.

Likewise for Indonesian women who become migrant workers. There are still many who are vulnerable to violence. Komnas Perempuan recorded 813 cases of violence against female migrant workers during 2016-2022. This means that there are more than 100 Indonesian women who are abused abroad every year.

Regarding these various problems, the government continues to find ways, including through the issuance of various new rules. For example, the Law on the Crime of Sexual Violence (TPKS) which was passed on April 12, 2022.

The proof system in the TPKS Law is different from ordinary crimes, especially in the proof system. The victim's confession alone is sufficient as evidence, but according to a criminal law expert from Trisakti University, Abdul Fickar Hadjar, "If the perpetrator is still alive."

In addition to getting the appropriate punishment, the perpetrator is also obliged to pay restitution or compensation payment. The restitution is charged to the perpetrator or third party based on the determination or court decision which has permanent legal force, due to material and/or immaterial losses suffered by the victim or the heir.

Restitution can be given in 4 forms, namely:

Victims of sexual violence in this law also have special rights. Referring to Article 69 of the TPKS Law, the right of victims to protection includes 7 things, namely:

The next rule is Government Regulation in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation which will be issued on December 30, 2022. Through this regulation, the government still does not eliminate women's rights.

As stated in Article 153 paragraph (1), employers are prohibited from terminating employment for workers/laborers on the grounds of:

"The termination of employment is carried out on the grounds as referred to in paragraph (1) is null and legally and Entrepreneurs are required to re-employ the workers/labor concerned," read Article 153 paragraph (2).

Meanwhile, for Indonesian migrant workers, there are actually various rules, one of which is Government Regulation Number 59 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

However, Komnas Perempuan on the commemoration of International Migrant Labor Day 2022 still asked the government and the DPR to immediately discuss and ratify the Household Workers Protection Bill and ratify the ILO 189 Convention on layoff Work as an effort to realize comprehensive protection, both for domestic migrant and domestic PRT.

The government must also ensure that there are monitoring mechanisms involving relevant state communities and institutions, including human rights state institutions.

Also, ensuring that policies internationally and regionally are integrated into national policies in a real and implementative manner, including efforts to fulfill the rights of women migrant workers.

Violence against women is a form of violation of women's human rights and financial freedom. Confirmation of this has been agreed upon by the international community through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979.

Now, only law enforcement must be encouraged to really realize gender equality in Indonesia.