Letter: Women rights

I refer to two articles on the appointment of Karen Agustiawan (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 6) as state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina's president director and on the Islamic laws biased against women (The Post, Feb. 4).

Congratulations to Karen, the first woman to lead Pertamina. Her track record is impressive and we trust her to clean up the company's act and free it from corruption. This appointment has strengthened Indonesian women's belief that any top position within the government, as well as in the business sector, is attainable.

On the other hand female activists and scholars - after having attended a two-day seminar on violence against women, criticized Islamic laws that created rulings biased against women with regard to marriage (munakahat) where men are allowed to marry more than one woman (poligamy), inheritance (mawarist) where men receive double the amount of funds and religious donations (wakaf).

There are also no rules over living allowances for former wives. All of these biased rules benefit men at the expense of women and only create uncertainty. Mukhtar Zamzami, a judge at the Supreme Court stated that they had implemented a new policy on Islamic laws.

With the recent fatwa issued by the MUI, the situation is becoming dire. It seems the MUI is trying to usurp the government's position; soon we will not need SBY and his Cabinet. We urge the government to take a firm stance against the MUI. Who is legally running this country?

The people of Indonesia are getting more and more confused.

On another subject, the governor of West Java is now forbidding traditional costumes and movements in the Jaipongan and Ketuk Tilu dances (The Post, Feb. 6).

He is destroying West Java's culture. Indonesia is famous for its different cultures, traditional dances and costumes. It is a very important feature that encourages millions of tourists to visit Indonesia. The West Java tourism agency head said members of the public felt uncomfortable watching Jaipongan dancers. Well, they should just stay at home as they do not understand or appreciate art and culture.

Those who do not like and appreciate Inul's gyrating dance performance, should also stay home and read a book or something. Vulgarity and negative thoughts are a state of the mind.

Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke
Bogor, West Java