I was born in a pretty feminist family.
Especially my Mom.
Since I was a kid,
my Mom always told me
to grow up and be an independent woman.
A woman who can take care of herself,
who is brave,
who can think critically,
who is brave enough to use her voice.
Growing up being a woman,
I never felt restricted by my gender.
I've never been given any limit
to do anything
just because I'm a woman.
Even since I was kid,
my days were filled with numerous activities.
Not only at school,
but also extracurricular activities.
From sports to arts.
My Mom never complained
that I spent too much time outside.
She was actually the one who always drove me everywhere I go.
Starting from early morning to the evening,
driving through Jakarta’s traffic.
Even after I graduated high school,
my Mom suggested me
to move to a different country
and pursue my Bachelor degree in Europe.
Imagine having your daughter
living in Germany,
all by herself.
I never had any experience
living independently
away from my parents before.
But she still encouraged me to do it.
She said
that living overseas independently
would change me for the better.
It could make me a stronger person.
I could get more opportunities.
It could broaden my horizon.
In short,
I had never seen
that being a woman is a disadvantage.
It changed when I started having different circles.
Whether it’s friendship
or on social media.
I started meeting different people
and learned about their story.
Then I noticed these gender stereotypes
that can or actually limit women.
I started hearing these stereotypes that
women have to act a certain way.
You must have certain behaviour.
You have to be quiet and obedient.
In the society,
I often heard this narrative that
women should only take care of domestic activities.
Our purpose in this world is
only to be a wife and a mother.
You are not a real woman,
if you’re not any of that.
Especially if you’re a Muslim woman,
it gets more complicated.
We are often trapped
between two extreme narratives.
First, a rigid traditional Muslim narrative
that makes women the moral standard in society.
And a Western Islamophobic narrative
that says Muslim women are oppressed and isolated.
I have had a teacher
at one of the schools in Indonesia told me
that there are a lot of her female students quit school.
The reason of it
is that their parents think that
education is not a priority for their daughters
and they prefer their daughters
to get married young.
As a result,
there are many female younger than me
who already have kids and became widow,
because at the end,
their husband tend to leave and divorce them,
who is normally a lot older.
The more I look around me,
the more I realize
that there are so many women out there
stuck in patriarchal culture.
Let’s talk about education.
There is this narrative that said
that women don’t have to go to school
because it’s the men who are gonna lead the family.
There is also a narrative that said
that women do not need to have an amazing career
because the men will be the breadwinner in the family.
Based on Universal Declaration of Human Rights
proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948,
education is a human right,
not a privilege.
Everybody, whoever they are,
all gender,
deserves to get education.
Unfortunately the reality is a little bit different.
Forget about formal education.
There are 758 million people in the world
who are illiterate
and 2/3 of them are women.
In Indonesia,
women attend school on average of only 8,1 years.
This is caused by numerous factors.
Not only gender stereotypes and patriarchy,
poverty, violence against women,
are to blame.
Actually,
education can help women
to lead an independent life of dignity.
It can help them get out of poverty.
It can help them to make their own decision.
It can also help to educate themselves
on sexual and reproductive health.
In the household,
women’s participation can increase the economy.
Based on Education for All Global Monitoring Report
in 2013-2014,
in Pakistan,
women with good literacy skills
in a workplace
earned 95% more than those who are uneducated.
And these incomes can help
to bring prosperity to the household.
Moreover,
women’s participation can help increase global economy, too.
See? That being said,
education is the solution
for problems we are currently facing.
I am honestly heartbroken
whenever I visited rural areas in Indonesia
and heard stories about how women are being treated.
They have to struggle just to succeed.
They’re not allowed to have dreams.
They’re not allowed to go to school
or have career in the future,
even though they deserve to get all of that.
On this International Day of The Girl Child,
I would like to invite you to join me
to raise awareness
about the importance of female education.
I want you to share your stories
on being a woman
and how important education is for you.
