Gender in West Sumatra

Hi all,

As I learn more and more about Indonesia, West Sumatra and the specific disaster risk reduction program that we are to study, I begin to realize the depth of knowledge that is needed to understand the way of life for the beneficiaries of the program. One of the most fascinating areas is around the traditional and contemporary roles of women in society. The Minangkabau people, who make up the majority in West Sumatra, are one of the largest matriarchal societies in the world. Women take lead roles in decision-making, own titles to land and are heads of their households allowing the new husbands of their daughters to join their family home after marriage. Contrast this traditional culture with modern Islam, considered generally to be a patriarchal society and, depending on the denomination, can be repressive toward women. In West Sumatra, 98% of people identify themselves as Muslim.

So how do these seemingly conflicting points of view play out? At the village level, it seems that women have a very strong voice in community decisions. They’re opinions are spoken with confidence and conviction, and are heard by all at the table. However, women generally act demure on the street and are not typically seen alone after dark. At the regional level, most government posts seem to be held by men, especially senior posts. During regional elections last week, all ten members of the five parties were men and all are based heavily on Islamic ideals. Men control religious matters which seem to have limitless boundaries, from marriages and education to disaster management policy, religious leaders must be involved to be effective.

For our purposes, the challenge is to identify how these distinct ideals parallel each other to form contemporary society and to work within the system to develop community driven programs that will sustained by the community after we leave. This means making them representative of the society within the community. Added to this challenge are the complexities that come when international agencies bring in tonnes of money for aid after a disaster, the inefficiencies of a young democracy and the gap in understanding between the ‘international community’ and an Indonesian society that is not focused on the western style of advancement. In this context it becomes clear why it is so important to have quality local staff driving activities on the ground and experienced aid workers acting as liaison between the expectations of donor countries and the realities of the local society.

For a Coles notes of this past weeks activities, Tuesday we went on a field visit to Padang Pariaman, one of the areas most damaged by the Sept 2009 earthquake, Wednesday was election day and was spent at a nearby beach, the other days were spent in the office perusing though relevant documents and trying to plan out the project. World cup fever is still crazy and brings together so many people, I bought a Batik shirt to wear to a wedding this Saturday of a friend of a friend, and found a good gym to exercise in where the trainers all want to practice speaking English in between sets. All in all, life is good! So sorry for not posting pictures, as it takes too long to upload them, will have to organize a group slideshow night when I get home!! FUN!

That’s it for now! Talk to you next week.

Teron