Working women in Indonesia
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008I took a part in one of Intercultural weeks in my town. The title above was the topic I chose for my speaking. Though I have prepared a draft to present, it turned out to be an open discussion, just ten miniutes after I started. I didn’t mind at all, cause I felt a bit nervous if the programme went on one-way communication. We talked about labor welfare, maternity leave rights, salary, general rights, education for girls, carreer, women production and reproduction functions, and public vs domestic issues. I have prepared some pictures to show, and luckily I have these trilogy Batik painting. These paintings are the reflection of social values Indonesian men and women have to fulfill in a family. One painting shows a man with a fish on his head and a chicken, symbolizing him as the breadwinner. The second painting shows two women with a fish on their head. It symbolizes the role of women in feeding their family. The last painting portrays an ideal family in balance: financially secure, having enough to eat, a good life, stability. There is a woman on this painting. It means, it the woman’s responsible to keep the needs and the fullfillments for her family in balance. All these paintings are the works of Andre, a painter from Jogjakarta.
We ended the nice evening with Indonesian foods I served. Too bad, none of us in the room had a brillian idea to take pictures. Not even one single picture!
