The Jakarta chapter of the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI Jakarta) presented the SK Trimurti Award last year to the secretary-general of the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI) Masruchah in recognition of her excellent work and dedication to women's empowerment.

"Masruchah is consistent in her struggle to promote gender equality," AJI Jakarta's Dian Yuliastuti said during the ceremony.

The award demonstrated that Masruchah with her determination and commitment has already done a great deal for gender equality, and is trying to do more.

She is not a new figure in the Women's Coalition, starting her activities in Yogyakarta many years ago.

Born in the Central Java town of Pati in 1965, Masruchah started joining organizations as soon as she moved to Yogyakarta to study at the Sunan Kalijaga State Institute for Islamic Studies in the early 1980s.

She chaired the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (PMII) from 1986 to 1988. During the years 1985 to 1989, she was an active member of the Nahdlatul Ulama's (NU) Fatayat division, before serving as its secretary from 1989 to 1993.

Having built a strong network of friends and fellow activists, Masruchah tried to look further afield, outside her organization.

Between 1996 and 1997, Masruchah took on a role at the NGO forum in Yogyakarta. At that time, the authoritarian rule of Soeharto was allergic to anything associated with NGOs.

After completing her role as secretary at the Institute for Assessment and Human Resource Development as well as heading the Fatayat Welfare Foundation from 1996 to 2000, Masruchah took the helm of the KPI Yogyakarta chapter from 2000 to 2004.

During the same period, from 2001 to 2004, Masruchah was also chairwoman of the NU Institute for Family Improvement in Yogyakarta. With her experience, Masruchah was well acquainted with the core family issues, including unregistered marriage (nikah siri) and polygamy as well as the problems that ensue.

In addition to her activities with different organizations, Masruchah often gave presentations to discussion groups or spoke at training courses. She was the resource person at the International Conference on Population and Reproductive Health in the Moslem World in Cairo, Egypt in 1998, and at the 5th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, in Kuala Lumpur in 1999.

Masruchah was the director of a comedy drama Persuaded to Marry Again ("Kebelet Kawin Lagi") during a fundraising evening for the 1999-2002 campaign against violence and polygamy.

Amid all her activities, Masruchah still found time to write articles and even books. She is the editor of books on women's reproductive rights and the empowerment of women's reproductive health. She wrote Women, Religion and Reproductive Health in 1999.

With her high enthusiasm and boundless energy, Masruchah and her colleagues are now preparing a campaign for better women's representation in the House of Representatives and in other political institutions.

"Only with better representation, will we be able to fight for gender equality and address issues relating to women," she added.

- KURNIAWAN HARI

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