“I decided to be a domestic helper abroad because I saw one of my relatives could send home money to help her family [economic status]. Here, aside from doing household chores, I have nothing else to do. My father has small land for planting but during dry seasons we can do nothing, water is very limited.” I remember that small conversation I did with a young woman from my hometown, Atambua, years ago, in mid of 2000s. After several years with no economical activities to earn money, she decided to try her luck in a ‘greener pasture’ abroad.
Domestic helper working abroad is not a case of Timorese alone (Atambua is located in West Timor). The fact is that now most Indonesian women (including who enter international labor market, are employed as service workers. Although recently Indonesia has also been responding to the market demand for professional workers including working professionally as nurses, the majority of women who work abroad are domestic helpers. Some researchers warns that this feminization of women in migration brought consequences that are felt not only by women but also by their families and communities. For example, some studies highlight about psychosocial effects on the family ranging form values disorientation, break-up of marriage, and neglect of children and elderly persons which have its root on the void of both the young women and mother’s function within families.
Now, I am just trying to imagine what would be the response of Raden Ajeng Kartini regarding women who have moved into the labor export market. Would she think that it is a form of freedom and equality? Or would she think about a form of family duty instead? This kind of phenomenon of women migrant workers was likely not noted in her writing. Because of this void, it is difficult to determine how she would assess the present feminization of international migration. The only thing that might suggest that has related to this issue was her dream to study in Holland in order to achieve her goals in life and ultimately her freedom.
Kartini's two ideas of love and freedom likely served as a basis in understanding her views on feminism and feminization of migration. For her, freedom is an interlocking of two main keys, self-empowerment and liberation from traditional values that restrict emancipation of women. In her era, Kartini realized that the first step towards equality was to acquire knowledge - for only the educated and cultured can play pivotal roles in bringing about change. When Kartini decided to correspond and befriend with a Dutch lady, she believed that by fostering a foreign language skill, women would have chance to express her ideas and hopes while at the same time by exposing herself with outsiders it would broaden her outlooks. She believed that learning about others values does not mean to accept those values rather it enables one to critically respond to the societal inequalities faced by women. Education then opens windows to the possibilities for enhancement of ones life. In this matter, we are still far behind of the spirit of Kartini and as a result many of our women workers who work abroad have been treated unequally with their counterparts from nearby countries such as women from the Philippines. For example, with the same job they perform they most likely are paid lower than supposedly only because of they have lower educational attainment and less proficient of other’s languages, particularly English.
In Kartini’s era, the definition of feminism that emphasizing more the concept of freeing women from domestic work is likely not much related to her point of view. The ideas of feminism that can be gleaned from her writings focused on the intellectual and moral development of women society with an emphasis on freedom to function to the full in their families and within their communities. For example, she highlighted some important values that still reliable in this modern era on how to help women before deciding to look for job. These four points could be traced back in her letters to Mrs. Abenadon-Mandri. First, someone should have courage to be self-determination and earn a living. Second, it is to fallow one’s heart to look for environment that suitable with. Next, alternatives should be planned with the priorities based on supports available that could be utilized. Lastly, any kind of chosen work eventually decided, ones should function for the good of others.
From a cultural perspective, I personally like the last point because it emphasizes a duty to love others. The idea of love was defined in the light of gratitude. The duty of children is to care for their parents. Children –and most of the time daughters- take their parents into their custody not only out of genuine love but also as a matter of filial duty. Through that statement Kartini emphasized a love-based duty of women within their family and community. In this light, the duty can be expanded to the loves of mothers to their children, the love of wives to their husbands, or the loves of women to their country. Kartini lamented in her letter to Mrs. Abenadon-Mandri the reasons she failed to travel abroad for further study- the dream that energized her idealism of being a cultured and educated woman- because of that love-based duty. It revealed that many times women are put in the position to choose; to accomplish their prime love-based duty or their ‘additional’ personal-growth- and-self-development duty. Nonetheless, the failure did not stop her to function maximally in enlightening her fellow women through education. This entails the idea of being resilience in the light of self-empowerment and self-worth that is needed to attain the first duty, which is selfless love.
Women in her perspective are the center figure of the family who are primarily responsible to properly prepare future generations. In her era, Kartini tried to educate women so that in turn would have improved their roles to guide, care for, and nurture their children and families. Today, women have a right to education and the opportunity to more freely entering the international labor force. However, when Kartini mentioned, "being free," she emphasized the prime duty of love, which is part of being free. In order to be equal women must not only be granted special privilege but also be ready to loose some privileges as well. They are free to move to the international labor force, but not free from basic roles that society has assigned to them as women and mothers.
During Kartini's time, women struggled to gain freedom through education with the purpose of being able to better nurture their children and families. Today, while struggling with their new found rights of freedom, women still carry an obligation to support all facets of family needs – from daily consumption needs, to education and the health of their children. Women then, are moving from their homes to contribute more economically to their family, community, and country. Women in Kartini's her era had struggle for independence within the context of traditional societal demands placed on a woman. Women in our era are facing a different conflict – a conflict that roots in a desire towards loyalty to their family – to stay at home- versus a need to assure for an economic security.
I think if Kartini is here now she would remind us that the two eras have strong ties on two points, that of love and that of freedom.
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NB
Opini ini pernah dikirim ke The Jakarta Post di tahun 2005 tetapi ditolak untuk dimuat. Lalu setelah beberapa tahun terbengkelai saya kirimkan ke beberapa teman dengan subject line 'an abandoned article'. Hari ini (Hari Kartini di US), setelah hadir pada "Warung Counselor" yang diadakan di kota saya bermukim saat ini dan mendengar pembicaraan mengenai diaspora saya lalu teringat tulisan ini. Setelah beberapa tahun tersimpan di arsip tulisan saya, saya bertanya-tanya apakah tulisan ini masih cocok dimuat di kompasiana. Enaknya posting tulisan di Kompasiana itu, tulisan kita dapat mengenai apa saja. Saya berusaha mempertahankan tulisan saya sama dengan ketika ditulis di tahun 2005, dengan harapan saya bisa mengevaluasi sendiri kualitas tulisan saya dalam bahasa Inggris dari waktu ke waktu. Pada tulisan ini saya tidak menyertakan daftar referensi.