The reality of gender equality isn't the same as the Indonesia government would like the public to think, an Indonesian woman's rights activist told a packed auditorium at University of Guam last night.
Zohra Andi Baso, a prominent gender rights activist in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, spoke about the challenges women face in a predominantly Muslim country.
"We have a law about gender equality, but in reality it's not the same," Baso said. "There is a difference in the law and the community because of the culture."
Baso has dedicated her life to the empowerment of women in Indonesia by starting initiatives for women to receive a better education and to inform them about consumer rights issues for women in businesses.
In Indonesia, it's uncommon for women to continue their education past the elementary level, while men continue on to universities, Baso said.
Even though her extended family was against her continuing her education, her mother pushed for her to pursue higher education. Baso graduated from the communication studies program in Hasanuddin University, which is based in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province.
"I am proud my mother gave me the opportunity to go to school," Baso said.
Baso also has campaigned against violence toward women, inviting both men and women to join the campaign.
The University of Guam originally billed Baso as a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She was one of 1,000 women proposed by the PeaceWomen Across the Globe organization to be nominated. But because of statutes of the Nobel Foundation, information about the nominations are kept confidential for 50 years. The restrictions not only concern the nominees and the nominators, but also investigations and opinions in the awarding of a prize, according to the statutes.
