Tati Hertaningsih, 54, a civil servant, said she would not mind receiving some flowers when asked what she wants for Kartini Day, which falls this Tuesday.
"When I was in Germany, they had a women's day there. Women got the whole day off. Some of them were given flowers by their children and husbands," said the mother of two, who juggles her career and family.
"If I could wish for anything, I'd wish for that right now," Tati said, Monday, laughing off the idea like it would never happen.
Like Tati, many working women in Jakarta interviewed by The Jakarta Post said that they did not experience any gender discrimination in their workplaces.
"I think most women in Jakarta are living in conditions of equality. Some women have fewer opportunities but in my case, it was my choice to spend my time with my family so it wasn't a problem," Tati said.
Vhie Vincentia, 27, who works at a private investment firm, agreed that women were no longer discriminated against in the workplace.
"I was never fussy about jobs and I was ready to crawl from a bottom level job to the top, and there are guys who are at the same level as me, so I don't think we are treated differently," Vhie said.
If these women's testimony are true, then Kartini, whose birthday is observed this Tuesday, would be proud.
Kartini was born in Jepara, Central Java, on April 21, 1879. A brilliant young woman from a noble Jepara family, she was passionate about the living conditions of women in her time. Women at the time had little access to education and many remained at home awaiting marriage proposals.
Through her correspondence with a Dutchwoman, Kartini shared her thoughts, including her attitude against polygamy. Her ideas were quite exceptional for the time. Tragically, Kartini was forced to accept her father's request for her to marry a 50-year-old man who already had three wives and six children. Kartini died, aged 25, three days after giving birth to her first son.
The government declared Kartini a national heroine in 1964 and since then her birthday has been observed as Kartini Day.
Tjut Sjahnaz Zahirsjah, 50, a lawyer and head of the legal department of the Indonesian Women's Business Association, said women in Jakarta would make Kartini proud.
"It's like my experience in the World Islamic Economic Forum recently where Indonesian businesswomen led some of the discussions. It shows how women in Indonesia fare better in comparison to other *Muslim* countries,"she said.
However, she dismissed the suggestion that all women in Indonesia were treated fairly.
"I know for a fact that many women in other regions in the country make up less than 50 percent of school students, and less than half of women enjoy proper employment," said Zahirsjah. "But if Jakarta is any indication, then there is hope for these women," she added.
According to a 2008 World Bank estimate, 65 percent of women working in Indonesia work at the bottom of the job hierarchy in poorly protected informal sectors such as food processing, petty trading and housework. In Asia and the Pacific, women work about 12 hours more per week than men, performing both paid and unpaid work. Women are also poorly represented in high levels of formal decision-making.
