Megawati Cites Father to Call for Women’s Emancipation

Jakarta Globe, Mar 08, 2015

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri says women need to take their
fate into their own hands. (Antara Photo/Yudhi Mahatma)

Jakarta. Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, the only female president in Indonesia’s history, has called on men to help women fight for emancipation, in a speech to mark International Women’s Day on Sunday.

Citing a book written by her father, Indonesia’s founding president, Sukarno, Megawati said men had as much stake as women to ensure equal rights across all sectors, including the political, social and economic sectors.

“In his book, [Sukarno] cited a hadith by Prophet Muhammad [sic] [...] about how important women are for a nation. Women are the pillar of a nation,” Megawati said during a commemoration of the annual event at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta on Sunday.

“If the women are good, the nation will be good, too. If the women are bad, the nation will be bad, too.”

“Therefore, during a commemoration of International Women’s Day in 1960, [Sukarno] underlined that what women fought for must also be fought for by men. ‘The emancipation of women is the emancipation of men,’ he said.”

Megawati reminded Indonesian women, though, not to rely on others to help them and instead work hard for their rights.

“Haven’t I said it plenty of times? Even a thousand gods from heaven would not be able to help women if the women themselves don’t fight [for their own rights],” she said. “Women’s fate is not in the hands of men, nor in the hands of a thousand gods from heaven. Women’s fate lies in their own hands.”

The former president added she supported women’s rights for wider access to education and more contributions to Indonesia’s goals for food self-sufficiency and resilience, among other things.

The audience at the event included the female ministers from President Joko Widodo’s cabinet, as well as the first lady, Iriana Widodo.

Ine Eriksen Søreide (Norway), Karin Enström (Sweden), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

(Netherlands) and Ursula von der Leyen (Germany). Photograph: Twitter

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