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Jakarta Post

Aceh women still face huge hurdles after tsunami, conflicts

The international community has lauded Indonesia for its success in resolving years of conflicts in Aceh as well as its ability to quickly rebuild the province after the tsunami disaster that struck the province in December 2006

(The Jakarta Post)
Mon, February 23, 2009

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Aceh women still face huge hurdles after tsunami, conflicts

T

em>The international community has lauded Indonesia for its success in resolving years of conflicts in Aceh as well as its ability to quickly rebuild the province after the tsunami disaster that struck the province in December 2006. The bloody conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the tsunami have had an deep impact on Aceh women. But little is been known about the condition of the women, post conflict and tsunami. The Jakarta Post's Nani Afrida talked with Evelyn Suleeman, a sociologist from the University of Indonesia and author of Inong Aceh di Tanoh Nusantara (Aceh Women in Nusantara Land) on the current condition of Aceh women. Below are the excerpts of the interview:

Question: How has the prolonged conflict in Aceh influenced its women until today?

Answer: One thing's for sure, the prolonged conflicts have made many women become widows after thousands of men were killed. Three of the province's eight regencies, renowned as GAM strongholds, have more widows. Pidie, especially, has more widows than any other regency.

The conflicts have also caused many Aceh women difficulties in pursuing education, although previously Aceh women were among the country's most educated groups. They could have been much more advanced than women from other provinces.

Still, as we see now, women in Aceh have similar opportunities in education, just like men. You can see many women continuing their studies at high school, college and university. On average, Aceh women manage to keep their education high, despite suffering huge obstacles during the conflict period.

Do the women have any other problems in regard to education?

Unfortunately, most Aceh women enroll in Islamic state schools rather than secular state schools, especially at MTS *junior high school* and MAN *senior high school*. That makes it quite difficult for them to get jobs if they have an Islamic state school background.

Any other negative impacts they inherited from the past conflicts?

Yes, there are some issues. Aceh women still have problems in dealing with family planning, healthcare for babies and children, and single parenting.

Could you elaborate?

The majority of Aceh women seek assistance from experienced medical staff, nurses or doctors to give birth or check their pregnancies. Unfortunately, only few women join the family planning program.

Another serious problem that needs government attention is healthcare for babies and children. Aceh is the second lowest in vaccination rates among all the provinces in Indonesia. Only few women bring their babies for vaccination. No wonder Aceh children get sick so easily, and the most common serious diseases are tuberculosis, diphtheria and polio.

What about the tsunami's impact?

Actually, HIV/AIDS is the core issue in Aceh after the province was opened to outsiders following the tsunami. If the government fails to inform and educate people about the disease, it will have a negative impact on Aceh people, especially the women.

On the plus side, many women find work after the tsunami, don't they?

Yes, the international and national organizations coming in after the tsunami are handing out aid for the survivors, creating various opportunities for Aceh women, even if they only have an Islamic school education.

The problems will occur when these organizations leave Aceh. Only then, women with an Islamic school education will probably find it difficult to compete with those from state schools.

Did you find any characteristics unique to Aceh women?

The most interesting progress in Aceh is the fact that women can own land, just like men. The equality of land ownership for women and men is the first in Indonesia.

Another surprising fact is that even though Aceh women are generally well-educated, they are OK with domestic violence.

Did you have any difficulties writing this book?

Indonesia lacks information and data about Aceh, especially about its women. You see, I had to use a secondary database, meaning I had to rely on data gathered by other people. We just process the data and write about it.

But Aceh has data provided by the Central Statistic Agency (BPS). Did you utilize this?

The BPS has several publications on the province. But the data in the publication are incomplete, inconsistent and unclear.

You've examined the women and their problems; how about Aceh men? Is there anything unique about them?

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