IDEALS

BALI, (Aug. 12, 2009) IPS/GIN – Pharmaceutical firms have developed
drugs that have lengthened lives and cut death rates from HIV and
AIDS, but their financial clout in no way overrides their social
responsibility in fighting the pandemic, a key advocate argued at
an Asian conference on AIDS Wednesday.

At the 9th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific
(ICAAP), Javed Jabbar, a former senator and minister from Pakistan,
called on governments and communities to remind drug firms of the
fundamental difference between owning patents on goods – such as
designer items or mobile phones – and life-saving HIV drugs.

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BALI, (Aug. 13, 2009) IPS/GIN – Kartini Slemeh and other
transgenders in Malaysia fear that their movement to end stigma and
discrimination is misunderstood.

“There has been so much confusion going around transgenders. We
are not MSMs [men who have sex with men] and don’t lump us under
the transvestite [category either] because we have different
needs,” declared Slemeh at the 9th International Conference on AIDS
in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) here.

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JAKARTA, (Aug. 22, 2009) IPS/GIN – Dian Sabri likes to do a little
test on the security guards whenever she goes to malls, hotels or
office buildings. If she dresses up and acts busy, or if she brings
along her toddler, she can avoid being frisked, said the freelance
writer.

It seems to be business as usual in the nation’s capital.

“Most of the time the guards are just chatting with each other and
randomly checking visitors’ bags. They are strict only in prominent
places,” she observed. “This worries me a bit. We should increase
security in view of last month’s bomb blast.”

Two luxury hotels in Jakarta were hit by bombs in July, killing
nine people, including two suspected suicide bombers. At least 50
were also wounded in the nearly simultaneous explosions at the
Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels. Read the rest of this entry →

DENPASAR, Indonesia, (Aug. 24, 2009) IPS/GIN – Women’s rights
groups who are campaigning for widening the scope of abortion in
Indonesia are calling for an amendment to a colonial era law that
puts poor women at risk.

Tini Hadad, secretary general of the Association for Women’s
Health, says Indonesia has one of the world’s highest rates of
deaths from unsafe abortions. “This is because the current laws are
totally inadequate,” she told IPS.

The Association for Women’s Health is part of the Women’s Network
for a National Legislation Program, a coalition of some 30 women’s
rights groups that has been campaigning for improved family
planning services since 2005. Read the rest of this entry →

JAKARTA, (Aug. 20, 2009) IPS/GIN – Four months since Indonesia’s
legislative elections, Ditah Indah Sari still grapples with her
unsuccessful foray into electoral politics. “We are curious why we
did not get elected,” she said.

As a labor activist of more than 15 years, Dita thought she had
what it took to win a seat in the House of Representatives:
extensive network, wide support base, and full backing from her
party, Reformed Crescent Party. Soon after the April 9 national
elections, Dita, 38, lost miserably that she did not bother to know
how many votes she had garnered.

“The voters seemed to be very pragmatic. They chose candidates who
gave them money, and activist candidates simply had no resources,”
said Dita, as she tried to make sense of her failed political bid
and those of thousands of other pro-democracy activists who ran in
this year’s legislative elections. Read the rest of this entry →

BALI, (Aug. 14, 2009) IPS/GIN – Why is the popular drug Viagra so
praised for its virtues, while the condom is vilified by
conservative religious groups among others the world over?

Both are ‘external’ technological interventions that relate to
sexual activity. They are among the most prominent tools in the
area of reproductive health and sexuality. Read the rest of this entry →

DENPASAR, Indonesia, (May 18, 2009) IPS/GIN – Indonesia’s direct
legislative election in April was a resounding success for women
candidates. But rather than rejoicing, activists and political
observers say the overall results are unlikely to improve the state
of women’s rights.

Titi Sumbung, executive director of the Indonesia Center for Women
in Politics (ICWIP), says more women in the legislature are
welcome, but the majority of female lawmakers lack political
experience. The non-governmental ICWIP aims to promote gender
equity in the country. Read the rest of this entry →

DENPASAR, Indonesia, (May 12, 2009) IPS/GIN – Intense
brainstorming, studies and analysis of the testimonies presented
by victimized and abused women has morphed into three books written
by female scholars and religious leaders representing Islam,
Catholicism and Protestantism.

Titled ‘Breaking the Silence: Religions Listen to the Voice of
Female Victims of Violence in the Name of Justice’, the books in
Bahasa Indonesia were launched in the capital Jakarta, late-April.
The series confronts the monopoly held by men over interpretations
of holy books and challenges the hegemonic patriarchal culture upon
which domestic violence is based. Read the rest of this entry →

DENPASAR, Indonesia, (May 12, 2009) IPS/GIN – Intense
brainstorming, studies and analysis of the testimonies presented
by victimized and abused women has morphed into three books written
by female scholars and religious leaders representing Islam,
Catholicism and Protestantism.

Titled ‘Breaking the Silence: Religions Listen to the Voice of
Female Victims of Violence in the Name of Justice’, the books in
Bahasa Indonesia were launched in the capital Jakarta, late-April.
The series confronts the monopoly held by men over interpretations
of holy books and challenges the hegemonic patriarchal culture upon
which domestic violence is based.

‘My husband rapes me repeatedly. I asked the ulama (religious
leader) for help, but he sided with him, saying that according to
Islam, a woman has to obey her husband. I have nowhere else to go.
I have no tears left to shed. I no longer scream.’ Read the rest of this entry →

DENPASAR, Indonesia, (Jun. 30, 2009) IPS/GIN – As the country
prepares to elect its new president next week, Indonesian activists
are trying to push gender issues onto the political agenda.

Three candidates will contest the presidential election on July 8.
The incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a strong favourite to
win, but neither Yudhoyono nor his challengers – current Vice
President Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri
- have presented a platform for dealing with women-specific
problems. Read the rest of this entry →