Time for a Change on How Authorities Respond To Violence against Women

Again, an insensitive remark toward a rape victim comes from government officials, following ex Jakarta Governor’s footsteps last year, then the speaker of the House of Representatives last March. This time, the Minister of Education and Culture was much criticized for his comment related to the 14-year-old Depok girl who was raped by alleged human traffickers in Bogor, West Java whom she met via the social networking website Facebook. Several media outlets reported the Minister suspected that alleged rapes often were nothing but intentional sex by mutual consent. It was suspected that the girl might have consented to have sex and then claimed to have been raped. I was speechless. It was beyond my rational understanding. How could prominent officials in this country repeat the same mistake over and over again? Instead of offering consolation and sympathy, they keep on rubbing salt on the wounds of the rape victims and their families. It becomes commonplace for ministers, law makers or any other officials (which coincidently dominated by males) to blame the victims every time girls or women meet with sexual harassment or assault. By doing so, they reinforce the ‘conditioned belief ‘that the weight of the crime should be shared between the victim and the perpetrator or even worse that the weight of the crime rests mostly on the victim. The message is to be read “women who get raped hold accountability of what happen to them with every warning and damaging finger pointing of “What was she wearing?” or “how was she behaving?” or “Was she asking for it?” You get what you deserve! They are so busy prescribing every order to avoid “becoming a victim”. This attitude is sexist, dangerous and wrong. It’s like pointing a finger; internet is the source of evil because malicious and dangerous content is all over the Internet! The internet is not to blame for all the negative effects resulted from disabuse by its users. The offender is the criminal, thus the weight of the crime must not be shared. There is no excuse in rape whatsoever.




The assumption that women bear responsibility of the heinous crime for me personally seems out of place. Every statement and article focuses on appearance and behavior of the victim and fails to mention even a single fact about the accused. Just because a woman wears miniskirt, it doesn’t mean she invites rapists. The way she dresses does not justify the monstrous crime inflicted by the rapist. Sexual harassment and assault exist in conservative religious societies as it does in secular societies. No article of clothing is going to prevent it. How many domestic Indonesian workers working in conservative religious societies come home black and blue, raped and humiliated though they had worn the prescribed religious outfit in those countries??? If Indonesian lawmakers and government really want to stop rape and other sexual violence, they could start by providing adequate protection through laws against sexualized violence and enforcement of those laws. They should impose harsh and heavy sentence instead of just a few years of imprisonment. The rape victim suffers a lifetime of physical and emotional trauma. What the rapist took cannot be replaced or recreated. It was a heinous crime against humanity. It is not fair if the offender gets away with only light sentence which usually takes place in the courts. Thus, the lawmakers should not allow judges to exercise discretionary power to pass down lenient sentences to convicted statutory rapists. The laws should able to curb and reign in the sickness in the hearts of the rapists to fear and abide by the laws and its severe punishment! Heavy sentence is needed to ‘ensure deterrence.’



It is also important for the public officials to carefully choose wiser comments and eradicate prejudices against women. Public officials should be able to feel empathy for those who suffer misfortune. Think before you speak. It’s not the victims they should blame for what happen to them. They already go through ordeals, guilt, and shame. They have it enough. It should be the heinous crime of the rapists or sex offenders they scrutinize. Don’t tell the victims how to dress to avoid such misery. This time tell the people “DON’T RAPE”, instead of “don’t get raped.” This time tell the people, if you ever commit a crime of sexual harassment or assault, we will MAKE SURE that you will get the maximum harsh sentence

English v.s Mother Tongue: Should English be Omitted from Public Elementary School?

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/22/imo-view-english-vs-mother-tongues.html

I was dumbstruck last week reading citation from several national newspapers of the Deputy Minister of Education and Cultural, Musliar Kasim’s statement that “it is haram (forbidden) to force kindergarten students to take English courses, and he pitied the kids.” I was further annoyed by the reason that English would be scrapped from public Elementary Schools because the students haven’t even learned to understand the Indonesian language yet. It is totally a setback and rather imprudent. It means the government has denied access of those in the lower-class population to the international language which play significant role in the globalized world. It’s like pointing a finger on foreign language for the degradation of Indonesian language for these children. Playing a blame game will never produce positive outcomes. Instead of blaming English, why doesn’t the Ministerial Office first conduct a thorough, systematic, and comprehensive research what has gone wrong within the national curriculum? Hence, the favorable solution can be formulated that will be beneficial nationwide.



Children will get a love of learning languages if they get the chance to learn them younger. My six year old nephew always enjoys English in his new elementary school. In fact, he rather takes greater interest in the subject. His Indonesian is also improving along. Now, he can speak better Indonesian with increased vocabulary and verbs. It’s not that he is taught complicated English sentences. He learns only basic nouns and verbs so far. He always tells me how his teacher sometimes use English to mention certain objects found in school such as “Zaki, please open the door!” So, lately when he asks a favor or say something, he will put into practice the simple vocabulary he learns at school. He doesn’t feel it burdensome. On the contrary, he loves English as much as Indonesian or science because his teachers are creative in creating fun approach in teaching him. He adores his teachers. For this reason, I envy him, lol J. I wish English was a compulsory subject when I was at elementary school so I didn’t have to struggle hard mastering it when I was already way in the next stage of child development, lol :-)

Also nowadays, when I go to the malls or Dufan, there are many children age 6-10 years old conversing English fluently. They enjoy the language. It’s hard to find any trace of fear of terror in their faces or any sign whatsoever of their being forced to learn the language. Surely, they come from the middle to upper class families. They have access and resources to speed up their English because they have money and brain. So, if the government omits English from public elementary schools, how come children from the less fortunate circumstance should cope up with those children in the future? They have the brain. What they lack is the access and the money. For this reason, incorporating English in the public elementary school is a prudent move to facilitate these children. They deserve access to better future as any kid can get.


In my personal view, it is how a subject is taught that makes children creative and enjoys the lessons. Teachers as well as parents should be able to stimulate a love for reading and curiosity of their children. It is the quality of the teachers, methods of study and curriculum that should be developed and improved rather than point a finger on another subject for the failure of other subject. Our children do not speak Indonesian poorly because they study English. Whether we like it or not, English is crucial for these children if they want to be able to compete in the globalized world.

There is no such Thing of an Absolute Freedom of Expression

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/08/editorial-there-no-absolute-freedom.html


Freedom of speech and expression is always guaranteed in every democratic society. It is an ideal adage but it often ends up into a hollow slogan, and worse, disabused. The right of freedom of expression has always been the object of tension, struggle and contest, between the State and the citizens and within society itself. I believe no freedom is absolute, not even the freedom of expression. It is wrong to justify the act of those who pontificate that they have an absolute right to do whatever they please in the name of such freedom. Freedom of expression should not be taken blindly, ignoring religious sensitivity, ethics, and social values. Such freedom does not provide a person the right to do things that are detrimental to society as a whole, plunging it into an endless chaos and anarchy. The presence of values, ethics and laws is to protect and respect the rights of individuals as well as their religious and social values. For that reason, freedom of expression should not transgress or violate these values.



It is therefore, when European countries saw the controversial inflammatory anti-Islamic film, The Innocence of Muslims, as an expression of artistic freedom, it was considered a blasphemy, a sacrilege to the most revered belief by many Muslims and most believers alike. It was an abuse of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression does not mean we have the right to curse, abuse or disrespect others or scorn and contempt a certain faith. Such freedom should walk hand in hand with self-control and respect. It should take heed the greater interest of the public. The primary goal of media after all is to inform, criticize and to correct with professional finesse and grace, giving an edge to its commitment to serve the public interest. Hence, member of the press should be extra careful while documenting, reporting and cartooning their work to avoid disrespect of any faith, culture and race. It is important to “Think before you speak or write". Every action has consequences. Let our common sense lead the way. If we say or write what we want or please only without any conscience whatsoever, then we are no better than animals. If you walk around naked in the name of freedom of expression, do you think any society at all will accept such behavior? If you want to have sex wherever you want with whoever you want in the naked eyes of public in the name of freedom of expression, will any decent society tolerate this? I don’t think so because every society has its own red lines to avoid such absolute freedom. When people have a problem conducting themselves in a proper manner, they have to be reined in. For that very reason, every society needs rules to avoid chaos and anarchy.



Media has the responsibility to help society maintain better understanding and communication among people of different faiths, cultures and races without disrespecting others’ faith, race, and values. It should promote such ideals to make the world a better place to live in whether it is in the West or East. There is not an absolute freedom of expression as it always defines its limits. Therefore, to prevent anarchy and chaos, it is necessary to sanction or even prevent expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance (including religious intolerance) as guaranteed by the existing rules and regulatio

Courage is How to Act in Spite of Fear

Mark Twain has said “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.” This adage instantly dwelled on my mind when I learnt the news about the shooting of a 14 year old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, by Taliban extremist last Tuesday which ignited sparks of international condemnation. She is a girl with exceptional qualities who has vision even beyond her years, constantly promoting education for girls which is denied by the Taliban regime. I wonder how come a little schoolgirl of her age (since she was 11) spoke up for the rights of children, of the importance of education for girls in the midst of the dangers and life-threatening risk posed by the religious extremists. Is she not having fear at all? Then from her blog, I read that despite her mounting fears of the regime, she stood her ground for what she believed in. "I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools,” she wrote in one post titled “I Am Afraid.” Yet, she refused to cower. She chose to act in spite of her fear. She knew her voice was important, a single voice that echoed the cries of thousands of little girls who were robbed of their only single opportunity for dreams and better future. That’s what I call courage.



Each time we stand up for what we believe in, or act to improve the lot of others, or fight against injustice and oppression despite our fears, we send forth a tiny ripple of hope. It is this hope that keeps the light shine on to illuminate the human realm. Any single voice counts. A single ripple joint by another, then multiplied by others can build up a current which then has the power to sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression, injustice and resistance. It is through countless acts of courage and belief, the human existence is preserved and flourished into a civilized world.


Each of us has our own fears. Often, we are afraid to speak our mind and thus stay silent, because we are worried if other people might not agree with us. Often, we choose to ignore injustices around us because we feel it is not our business. We fear of the conflicting views if we do so because we think we are comfortable to avoid it, to stay in our own comfortable zone. Surely, conflict is unpleasant. But NOT speaking your mind and stand up for an ideal you believe in, or supporting those who work to make life better for others or making a stand for an injustice you see around you, can lead to much worse unpleasantness and bad outcomes. It takes courage to speak up your mind and make a stand. The same goes to the act of defying those who take the easy ways out, which only leads to more corruption and red tape in our social systems. It is hard to do but we have to try at least contributing in sending forth a tiny ripple of our own. A single voice counts. It can send sparks of ripples joint by others that combined, having the power to sweep down the mightiest walls.