“Break the Bias” is the theme of International Women’s Day 2022, which fell March 8. But what is wrong with bias? Simply, the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI) defines it as “deviation” or turning away from the appropriate straight line. This formulation refers to physics, regarding bias in light.

But generally, in the social sciences, “bias” has a similar meaning, namely the occurrence of a branching or deviation in views from what is correct because of some obstacle that changes its direction. This obstacle is ignorance.

Because the inherent nature of every human is ignorance, obviously everyone must have some kind of bias – ethnic/racial bias, belief bias, age bias, gender bias, social class bias. Other kinds of bias can stick to someone permanently or temporarily, such as bias regarding age, locality or social class, which are constantly changing.

Bias, therefore, is surely a “disease” suffered by everyone. But can’t it be resisted? Yes, it can!

As a Javanese, whether consciously or unconsciously, I have a Java bias. Therefore, I can misunderstand people from other ethnic groups from outside Java. Even with other Javanese, if their religion or “social group” is different from mine, bias can affect me. My Java bias, which is not eroded by knowledge, makes me stupid, failing to understand, or ignorant.

Actually, if it only goes that far, bias could be considered normal. After all, we can’t know everything. But bias becomes a problem when it also entails negative prejudice. Bias and prejudice are like two sides of the same coin.

Prejudice not only causes our assessments to be made based on the standards of our own values, but also makes us feel that we alone are correct. This is where the danger lies in a biased attitude: When bias continues into prejudice, while it is difficult to separate the two.

Another but more frightening problem is when bias exists in a person who holds power. This is really a disaster, as the person can use his power for actions based on prejudice which is grounded in hatred due to the bias.

Look at what happened to the Jews in Europe during Hitler’s era, or what happened to those alleged to be Communists in 1965-66 in Indonesia. The danger of bias is that the hatred it causes infects not just one person but can instead influence an entire group or a regime.

Bias flourishes and grows into “truth” because someone justifies, approves of, reproduces and formulates a conceptual framework to justify the bias and prejudice as a system of thought and action.

One type of bias that is found everywhere and experienced by nearly half the inhabitants of this planet is bias based on gender prejudice against women. This is because the patriarchal ideology has so influenced the “brain” of the world that gender bias against women has become a worldwide pandemic.

To address this, bias must be opposed through a critical awareness that gender-based bias is evil, a betrayal of humanity. Knowledge, conscience and common sense can erase and overcome bias.

The problem is that one of the things that constructs bias is religious views. Consequently, even though common sense can make us astonished by discriminatory behavior toward women, people often argue “well, that’s the way God wants it.” We see this in the practices of polygamy, child marriage or violence against women, including in the workplace.

So how to address this? As well as requiring empirical evidence based on research, bias needs to be fought through awareness about the equality of all humans as a basic principle of the creation and sovereignty of humans, both male and female.

And therefore, in addition to common sense and knowledge, bias can also be eradicated through a belief that religious teachings have declared the value of equality among all humans, male or female. There’s no other way.

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The writer is a researcher at Rumah Kitab.