Vol. 22 No. 3, September 2003

In God's Image is an Asian Christian women's effort to provide a forum for expressing our reality, our struggles, our faith reflections and aspirations for change.

Editorial

The formal report presented by the Minister of Women's Roles during the Women's Conferences in Beijing, China, in 1995, said that women in Indonesia had long been enjoying equal status with men. Indonesian women were allowed and even encouraged to go to school, pursue higher study, and take public roles. In short, the report said, women were treated well and equally as men. No single violence against women was ever reported. We can imagine that big applause must have immediately followed the report.

The report was of course only partly true. It is true that women in Indonesia have long been encouraged to go to school and take public roles. But at the same time women have been repeatedly reminded that their place is really at home, doing domestic work. Therefore, to be able to pursue further study and take public role, while also doing the expected domestic work, women were supposed to be superwomen!

The given image of a good woman was that of being successful both as wife and as woman. The public policy promoted by the Ministry of Women's Roles at that time was known as peran ganda wanita, literally meaning double role of women - i.e. domestic and public. It might be true too that there was not a single case of violence against women ever reported and recorded by the Ministry of Women's Roles. But it did not necessarily mean that no single case of violence against women ever took place in the country. Only three years after the Beijing Conferences, the brutal-mass rapes which took place in Jakarta, Solo, Medan and other big cities in the country shocked the world. "What has happened to this country? What has become of that report? How could such things take place in a country where women were supposed to have been treated well?" We could no longer hide our faces!

For many years, women in Indonesia have been systematically silenced and dis-empowered by the state and religious institutions, including the church! Women in Indonesia have been culturally and politically marginalized and domesticated, spiritually and mentally suppressed and dominated. They have been made to believe that they are no good; that they have nothing to share; and that they really are not supposed to speak out for themselves and about themselves.

Therefore, it is no wonder that there was very minimal written material from women's perspective. There were many writings on women, but these were mostly from the mainstream perspective, i.e., the government's perspective.

But, as we have all learned, the cries of women of Chinese descent in the May 1998 riots, of the Acehnese, Ambonese, and indigenous women in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and other islands, have broken the silence. Since then, women in Indonesia have started to claim confidence and assume more power. It is really time for Indonesian women to speak out and let our voices be heard.

This is the first time for Indonesian women to put out an edition of In God's Image. We are very grateful for this opportunity. Putting this issue together has been very challenging. The islands that separate Indonesian women, along with the plurality of cultures and languages, the prevalence of oral instead of written herstory, and the richness of the experiences of women themselves have been a great challenge.

The following articles are only a few examples of Indonesian women's experiences. But they reflect the greatness of the challenge being faced by Indonesian women until today. They also tell us how Indonesian women have challenged their own situations in order to break the culture of silence. Indonesian women breaking the silence!

Guest Editor

Acknowledgement

It was during the workshop on Sexuality Module in July 2001 when we first asked Anna Marsiana, who was a participant at the workshop from Indonesia, about the possibility of an Indonesian issue of In God's Image. Anna's presence had enriched the workshop with her creative liturgy, her beautiful singing voice, her deep reflections and active participation.

Already, before that time, the Editorial Advisory Committee had recommended that one special edition of IGI should be done by Indonesian women. We were very grateful that Anna willingly accepted the call for her to coordinate this edition - despite her busy schedule of managing a church-related NGO that serves the grassroots communities and despite her deep involvement in the regional and global ecumenical movement.

To Anna and all the sisters in Indonesia whose stories may be reflected in the following articles - thank you for sharing your stories and struggles with us. May this sharing lead to a deeper sense of solidarity and strength!

Publications Secretary

If articles listed in the table of contents interests you, and you would like to have a copy of this journal, please write to igi@awrc4ct.org.