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Singaporean way to observe International Women's Day
In Indonesia, some conglomerate families continue to prosper until the third generation.
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All about women: A visitor captures pictures displayed in a photo exhibition titled “Women Fighters” held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on March 8 in conjunction with International Women’s Day. (Antara/Abriawan Abhe)
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long-time friend invited me to attend a panel dialogue to celebrate International Women's Day in a cozy office on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, on Wednesday. The special day for women is not very well known in Indonesia, perhaps because people here are more accustomed to Kartini Day and Hari Ibu (Mother’s Day), which are dedicated to the country’s female freedom fighters.
I went to the dialogue hoping to listen to speeches about the beauty of Indonesian women’s minds and their irreplaceable role in our nation-building. I was lured by my friend’s promise to provide me a special drink for the celebration.
Most Indonesians do not observe International Women's Day. They celebrate Kartini Day every April 21, which is also called Women’s Emancipation Day. Kartini symbolizes women’s fight for gender equality, although she was somehow controversial because she accepted the proposal to marry Ario Singgit, the regent of Rembang in Central Java during the colonial era, as his second wife.
Indonesians also commemorate Mother’s Day on Dec. 22, to observe the first Indonesia’s Women Congress (Kowani), in 1928. It is conceptually different from the International Mother’s Day, which falls on every second Sunday in May.
My friend sent me the rundown of the talk show, but I did not pay much attention to it. What I knew was the key speaker would be a well-known academic, Dr. Mandy Tham, from Singapore’s Management University (SMU). I read some of her academic papers, which were published by various global institutions such as Harvard University. Other speakers are alumni of SMU.
To my surprise, Mandy raised the topic, Wealth Does Not Last Three Generations: Truth or Myth? Such a subject of discussion is uncommon for Indonesian institutions, who would rather talk about heroism of Indonesian women. But then I realized this is Singapore’s way.
Singaporean people will not waste time talking about grandiose things, but concrete topics that are not utopic, like business or investment.
