There is a quite interesting true story in the local tabloid today. It is about a girl who is now working as a migrant worker—a housemaid—in one neighboring country of Indonesia.
She was born in a very poor family. When she was born, her poor parents had to give her to one relative, a widow, because they did not have enough money to raise her. They focused more on her older siblings. However, as poor as her own parents, the widow could not support her education well. She stopped supporting the writer’s education after she graduated from elementary school. Luckily, her first sibling who already worked at that time was willing to support her education until she graduated from senior high school.
After graduating from senior high school, she lived together with this first sibling and helped doing household chores, taking care of her niece and nephew. Unfortunately, the first sibling in fact treated her as unpaid maid. Perhaps it was as a way to pay back for the fund for her education?
Feeling worried about her future, the writer who was smart enough, joined one PJTKI, one institution in Indonesia whose business is to send workers abroad. She worked in Malaysia for four years. Her experience, luckily, belongs to the lucky migrant workers who can get much money. Her plan actually was to get enough money to continue her study to college. However then she changed her mind after going home. When she saw that her adopted mother lived in an almost broken house, she decided to use her money to help build a decent house for the widow who raised her. This caused jealousy in her own parents. Besides, the first sibling asked her to pay back all the money she used to study in junior and senior high school. Her other relatives also came to her to ask for her help in finance.
Her disappointment because she could not make her dream come true—to continue to study in college—made her go abroad again. This time she worked in Hong Kong as a housemaid too. She was “lucky” too because she got good employers. Her problem was still the same—her relatives who kept asking her to send them most of her paycheck.
However, this time she was determined to continue her study. She started to be strict to her relatives. She told them that she wanted to use her money for her future investment—education. She wanted to study in Hong Kong while she was still there. Of course her relatives were very disappointed to hear that. They said that she had better think of getting married, being a good wife, and taking care of children now that she was almost thirty years old. However, she stayed put.
If you have any suggestion for her, you can send email to her email address at
si_genduk_sri@yahoo.com
****
Reading the above true story reminded me of one student of mine. He came from quite a big family too. His parents have seven children. The way his parents raised the children is: the parents supported the first child’s education. After that, the first child would be responsible for the second child’s education; the second child for the third child’s education and so on.
I don’t remember the age gap among those seven children. Since everybody got the same responsibility, no one felt jealous why they had to spare their paycheck with their younger siblings for their education.
****
Another story again is my own good friend. She comes from less wealthy parents who have seven children. She was the only one who continued the study to college while the others were just senior high school graduates. She told me that she already worked since she was in college, to support her own education, and also to help her parents’ finance.
Several years ago, she told me that she was sometimes tired; she worked hard but she never enjoyed her own paycheck. When she gave little money to the parents, her siblings complained. She didn’t think of marriage because she was worried not able to give some money to her parents that eventually would make her siblings complain.
She got married though at last, in January 2005. I don’t know anymore how she managed her money—for her own need and for her parents.
****
Another story is a family of five children in my neighborhood. Different from the previous stories, the parents didn’t think that education was important. Due to poverty, they could not send their children to school. The first daughter stopped her education after graduating from junior high school. Then the parents married her off.
Having four children left to raise probably was not as hard as before. But still they could not give enough nutritious food and education facilities to the four children.
Three years ago, the second and the fourth children got accident. They were killed due to that. From their deaths, the parents got enough insurance money from Jasa Raharja insurance company. However, instead of using the money wisely to send the two children to school, the parents used the money to support their daily needs because the father’s wage is low. The woman didn’t work.
PT56 14.40 190707
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Poverty Has a Women Face
Gender-based power relation means that women experience poverty differently and more forcefully than men do and women are more vulnerable to chronic poverty because of gender inequality in the distribution of income, access to productive inputs, such as credit, command over property or control over earned income, as well as gender biased in labor markets. (Nilufer Cagatay, Trade, Gender and Poverty, London: UNDP, 2001)
The statement above showed that in poverty, women are more forcefully exposed to it rather than men because of patriarchal culture. This is engendered by some unequal chances women get in social life, such as:
1. Human Development Report stated that in 2000 Indonesian women’s literacy reached 82%, and this number constituted 89% of Indonesian men’s literacy.
2. In the last decade, the participation of women to study in elementary school is only 49% compared to men, 46% in the level of junior high school, 41% in the level of senior high school, and only 33% in the level of higher education, such as in college.
3. Marriage Law in Indonesia that stated that women are only homemakers and not breadwinners resulted in the lower income women get than men because they are considered only as “side” worker, and oftentimes they don’t get as many allowances as men get.
(The above data were taken from Jurnal Perempuan number 42 “Mengurai Kemiskinan, Dimana Perempuan?” published in July 2005)
The three inequal chances between men and women I mentioned above are inter-related very closely. In this era, literacy is very important to get a better job that also means to get a higher income. When women’s literacy is lower than men’s, the conclusion is that women are exposed to a higher possibility to be poorer. It is supported by conventional opinion that men will be the breadwinner later so that parents give bigger chances to their sons to pursue higher education rather than their daughters. This of course mostly happens among poor families that have to decide who must go to school and who must stay at home due to the minimum income they get. Oftentimes their decision is only based on the stereotype that men will be the breadwinner and women will be the homemaker, and not based on who has a higher intelligence or better talent.
Around three years ago when my (ex) workplace applied a new policy that the company no longer paid the income tax for the employees, we found out the unequal amount of tax between men and women. Male employees’ income tax was always lower than female ones. Female employees’ income that generally is lower than male employees’ must be reduced more. The reason was because the tax regulation stated no matter a female employee is single or married (and has some children), she will always be considered single because referring to the Marriage Law, women’s role in a marriage is as homemaker, and not as breadwinner. This regulation is still applied although female employees also have role as the solely breadwinner, either due to divorce, the husband has died, or the husband was laid off from his job, or as a single parent (read the children were born out of wedlock).
Therefore no wonder if Human Development Report stated that POVERTY HAS A WOMEN FACE (UNDP, 1995).
PT56 12.50 280507
The statement above showed that in poverty, women are more forcefully exposed to it rather than men because of patriarchal culture. This is engendered by some unequal chances women get in social life, such as:
1. Human Development Report stated that in 2000 Indonesian women’s literacy reached 82%, and this number constituted 89% of Indonesian men’s literacy.
2. In the last decade, the participation of women to study in elementary school is only 49% compared to men, 46% in the level of junior high school, 41% in the level of senior high school, and only 33% in the level of higher education, such as in college.
3. Marriage Law in Indonesia that stated that women are only homemakers and not breadwinners resulted in the lower income women get than men because they are considered only as “side” worker, and oftentimes they don’t get as many allowances as men get.
(The above data were taken from Jurnal Perempuan number 42 “Mengurai Kemiskinan, Dimana Perempuan?” published in July 2005)
The three inequal chances between men and women I mentioned above are inter-related very closely. In this era, literacy is very important to get a better job that also means to get a higher income. When women’s literacy is lower than men’s, the conclusion is that women are exposed to a higher possibility to be poorer. It is supported by conventional opinion that men will be the breadwinner later so that parents give bigger chances to their sons to pursue higher education rather than their daughters. This of course mostly happens among poor families that have to decide who must go to school and who must stay at home due to the minimum income they get. Oftentimes their decision is only based on the stereotype that men will be the breadwinner and women will be the homemaker, and not based on who has a higher intelligence or better talent.
Around three years ago when my (ex) workplace applied a new policy that the company no longer paid the income tax for the employees, we found out the unequal amount of tax between men and women. Male employees’ income tax was always lower than female ones. Female employees’ income that generally is lower than male employees’ must be reduced more. The reason was because the tax regulation stated no matter a female employee is single or married (and has some children), she will always be considered single because referring to the Marriage Law, women’s role in a marriage is as homemaker, and not as breadwinner. This regulation is still applied although female employees also have role as the solely breadwinner, either due to divorce, the husband has died, or the husband was laid off from his job, or as a single parent (read the children were born out of wedlock).
Therefore no wonder if Human Development Report stated that POVERTY HAS A WOMEN FACE (UNDP, 1995).
PT56 12.50 280507
Some Portraits of Poverty in Indonesia
Around two years ago I had a private student who happened to have a very rich husband. Her rich husband who is a very successful businessman in Semarang makes them able to send their children to best school. Besides, of course the husband has a lot of successful business associates. I can imagine with good education and many business associates of the father, her children will easily get good connection, access, and facilities to be involved in good business later on.
When someone comes from a poor family, he/she only knows poor people too, with limited education and horizon, how could they improve their own social status?
(I am talking about the situation in Indonesia, and not in America where people believe in American Dream with its’ “from rags to riches” motto.)
I remember one time a neigbor of mine talked to his son, “No need to get high education. I only graduated from junior high school and I can have a job to support my family. You can just follow my path.”
His narrow-minded horizon—only graduating from junior high, getting involved with people with similar background—limited him to think further. Now that he can have quite a good business and get enough income to support his family, didn’t he think that if he sends his son to a higher education, the education will make his son a better businessman? By having a higher education, his son will get wider connections and access to be a more successful businessman?
****
Patriarchal culture also has resulted in poverty. Believing that the husband must be the sole breadwinner and the wife must be the homemaker has made many people trapped in poverty. One family living in a neighborhood of mine sticks to this opinion.
Wanting to be called as a “responsible” husband, the man (a senior high school graduate) asked his wife (a junior high school graduate) to stay at home only as the homemaker. In the beginning of their marriage, this small family lived “enough” although they still lived together with the woman’s old mother in their small house. After the first daughter was four years old, the couple decided to have the second child. Believing that a woman who is still breastfeeding will not get pregnant, the wife didn’t use any contraceptive. However, two months after the second baby was born, the wife got pregnant again. Ridiculously, (I assume it was due to lack of knowledge, or lack of money to buy contraceptive tool), she got pregnant again and again until the fifth baby!!!
With five children at home, the wife could not help the husband work or do something to help make their ends meet. The fact that the income of the husband as a janitor was of course not enough. They could not give their children nutritious food. It made them grow not well, and lack of intelligence. The first daughter just graduated from junior high school. To reduce the family’s burden, the parents married her off. Ironically, the last news I got, she was forced by her husband to work as a prostitute somewhere in Surabaya. Her younger siblings didn’t do well at elementary school so that the parents asked them to stop going to school eventually.
And we can imagine when later on they grow up, if they don’t have good horizon to view this life (so that they will change it), they will stay poor and create more poor offsprings?
PT56 22.35 270507
When someone comes from a poor family, he/she only knows poor people too, with limited education and horizon, how could they improve their own social status?
(I am talking about the situation in Indonesia, and not in America where people believe in American Dream with its’ “from rags to riches” motto.)
I remember one time a neigbor of mine talked to his son, “No need to get high education. I only graduated from junior high school and I can have a job to support my family. You can just follow my path.”
His narrow-minded horizon—only graduating from junior high, getting involved with people with similar background—limited him to think further. Now that he can have quite a good business and get enough income to support his family, didn’t he think that if he sends his son to a higher education, the education will make his son a better businessman? By having a higher education, his son will get wider connections and access to be a more successful businessman?
****
Patriarchal culture also has resulted in poverty. Believing that the husband must be the sole breadwinner and the wife must be the homemaker has made many people trapped in poverty. One family living in a neighborhood of mine sticks to this opinion.
Wanting to be called as a “responsible” husband, the man (a senior high school graduate) asked his wife (a junior high school graduate) to stay at home only as the homemaker. In the beginning of their marriage, this small family lived “enough” although they still lived together with the woman’s old mother in their small house. After the first daughter was four years old, the couple decided to have the second child. Believing that a woman who is still breastfeeding will not get pregnant, the wife didn’t use any contraceptive. However, two months after the second baby was born, the wife got pregnant again. Ridiculously, (I assume it was due to lack of knowledge, or lack of money to buy contraceptive tool), she got pregnant again and again until the fifth baby!!!
With five children at home, the wife could not help the husband work or do something to help make their ends meet. The fact that the income of the husband as a janitor was of course not enough. They could not give their children nutritious food. It made them grow not well, and lack of intelligence. The first daughter just graduated from junior high school. To reduce the family’s burden, the parents married her off. Ironically, the last news I got, she was forced by her husband to work as a prostitute somewhere in Surabaya. Her younger siblings didn’t do well at elementary school so that the parents asked them to stop going to school eventually.
And we can imagine when later on they grow up, if they don’t have good horizon to view this life (so that they will change it), they will stay poor and create more poor offsprings?
PT56 22.35 270507
Poverty: Whose Mistakes?
Some months ago a workmate of mine told me about her being upset to her in-laws that, in her opinion, are lazy to work, to struggle to alleviate their own poverty.
Background: This female workmate of mine married a nine-year younger guy three years ago despite their contradictory family background. My friend comes from a middle-class society, has a bachelor’s degree and has quite a good job and enough income. Her husband is from a low-class society, only graduated from senior high school, and (un)luckily doesn’t have a job that can be considered as “prestigious” in Indonesia—only as a mechanic, in a small garage. I did not mean to underestimate that kind of job, though; I just use public opinion.
(Indonesian people childishly love categorizing professions, don’t they? For example: they underestimate housemaid, janitor, etc.)
This contradictory background between my workmate and her husband once made me suspect that she married him only to change the most annoying tag “old maid” to be “married woman” because she no longer could handle when nosy people besieged her with questions, “When will you get married?”
Answering her question about her in-laws, I told her that it was unfair of her to say that they were just lazy to work so that they kept being poor. I asked her to find whether they had any connections or facilities or access so that they could work hard.
Her in-laws live in a small town. They don’t have any rice fields to cultivate. To make their ends meet, her parents-in-law work as sellers in one traditional market. Their educational background? They only graduated from elementary school. I conclude that their horizon is also limited so that they don’t have any idea how to expand their business. Besides, of course they don’t have enough capital to do that. The only financial help they got was only from the first son who worked as a mechanic. After this first son married my workmate, of course he would spend more money to his own family. It means that he could not give much financial help to his parents.
In that situation, I asked my workmate whether it was fair for her to say that her in-laws were just lazy.
“At 10 or 11am they already go home from the traditional market. It shows that they are lazy. Why don’t they stay longer? And in the afternoon they don’t do anything. Why don’t they produce something and sell it?” My friend commented.
Living in a big city of course will give people more various things to do to earn money. Let’s say by selling some gorengan (kind of snack in Indonesia, or especially in Java island). However, living in a small town probably will not really help. People—with low income—will not spend their money just to buy gorengan. Maybe they would prefer make it by themselves and eat it together with their family.
I do agree that sometimes laziness can be the cause of someone to be poor. However, there are many other aspects too to be analyzed why poverty exists, such as not having connection, access, until patriarchal culture.
PT56 21.50 270507
Background: This female workmate of mine married a nine-year younger guy three years ago despite their contradictory family background. My friend comes from a middle-class society, has a bachelor’s degree and has quite a good job and enough income. Her husband is from a low-class society, only graduated from senior high school, and (un)luckily doesn’t have a job that can be considered as “prestigious” in Indonesia—only as a mechanic, in a small garage. I did not mean to underestimate that kind of job, though; I just use public opinion.
(Indonesian people childishly love categorizing professions, don’t they? For example: they underestimate housemaid, janitor, etc.)
This contradictory background between my workmate and her husband once made me suspect that she married him only to change the most annoying tag “old maid” to be “married woman” because she no longer could handle when nosy people besieged her with questions, “When will you get married?”
Answering her question about her in-laws, I told her that it was unfair of her to say that they were just lazy to work so that they kept being poor. I asked her to find whether they had any connections or facilities or access so that they could work hard.
Her in-laws live in a small town. They don’t have any rice fields to cultivate. To make their ends meet, her parents-in-law work as sellers in one traditional market. Their educational background? They only graduated from elementary school. I conclude that their horizon is also limited so that they don’t have any idea how to expand their business. Besides, of course they don’t have enough capital to do that. The only financial help they got was only from the first son who worked as a mechanic. After this first son married my workmate, of course he would spend more money to his own family. It means that he could not give much financial help to his parents.
In that situation, I asked my workmate whether it was fair for her to say that her in-laws were just lazy.
“At 10 or 11am they already go home from the traditional market. It shows that they are lazy. Why don’t they stay longer? And in the afternoon they don’t do anything. Why don’t they produce something and sell it?” My friend commented.
Living in a big city of course will give people more various things to do to earn money. Let’s say by selling some gorengan (kind of snack in Indonesia, or especially in Java island). However, living in a small town probably will not really help. People—with low income—will not spend their money just to buy gorengan. Maybe they would prefer make it by themselves and eat it together with their family.
I do agree that sometimes laziness can be the cause of someone to be poor. However, there are many other aspects too to be analyzed why poverty exists, such as not having connection, access, until patriarchal culture.
PT56 21.50 270507
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