The article “Social Media Gives Indonesian Women New Voice”
talks about how women’s rights are very limited and how this social media
obsessed country has drawn women to have rallies, online and in the streets against
sexist comments and attacks on women.
The article addresses several cases where women have been descended and
ridiculed on actions including marriage, rape, and legal rights. One story in particular refers to when a
judge whom was interviewed for a Supreme Court job made a “joke” that women may
enjoy rape. He then took stand to say
that “Our officials should no longer mess around and issue ridiculous
statements even as a dumb joke.” The
judge was rejected for a job on the Supreme Court, but the country's Judicial
Commission has recommended that he be dismissed from his position on the South
Sumatra High Court. Marriages in Indonesia
are seen as being polygamist. The men
are allowed up to four wives and some of the marriages are a cover up for
prostitution. Also, within marriages,
wives lack legal rights without a marriage certificate; children are considered
illegitimate and are typically not issued birth certificates. However, in another sign of Indonesia's
changing attitudes, the Supreme Court this month ordered all judges to obey an
earlier Constitutional Court ruling granting rights such as inheritance to
children born out of wedlock, and to punish fathers who neglect them and the
women's commission on violence is now pushing for a revision of Indonesia's
1974 marriage law to grant more protections to women and children.
I was harshly surprised that someone whom we would consider prestige
to go off the limb to profoundly “joke” about such a situation as rape being
enjoyed by women. If it is to be enjoyable
then it shall then not be considered rape. Rape is something that a woman does
not want to go through, something that happened against her will so how could
she enjoy it? I can agree that women
have it hard, always have due to society and more now the media. The attacks and slanders towards women have
increased tremendously. I found it weird
though that we steady point fingers at certain individuals when it comes to
slander towards women, but within the African American community we listen to
rap music, which always seem to put this negative picture towards women, yet we
praise it. The area we know as women’s rights
has a lot of room to grow. Women need to
take a stand and be recognized as more than what we are today and be more
respected for who we are instead of bashed or negatively praised for our physical
features.
Deanna Thompson
2/18/2013 5:45 pm
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