Indonesia travel log, part 8
I've got a bit of quiet time before taking the Bedari folks to dinner -- Pizza Hut again! They want to go, I swear!
Today's been a very interesting day of meetings with people from IDLO and Center for Community Development and Education (CCDE). Again, it's mostly about giving Bedari a chance for dialogue, but I am just learning so much about how sharia and local customs and national laws affect women's attempts to exercise their rights, move around in society, and more. It's fascinating. Also, these discussions make me realize two things: 1) I am incredibly privileged to live as a woman in the Western world, and 2) even so, we still deal with some of these issue that women here face, just to a different degree and with a different name and face behind it.
Meeting in a local village with women members of CCDE was the real treat today. The women were very talkative and lively in discussion, their children were running around playing, and there was great exchange between them and Bedari. Our Pakistani friends were amazed at how frankly they spoke when there were two strange men in attendance, even more so when one of them breastfed her baby with the men right there. From everything Anbreen and the others say, there really is so much more personal freedom for women here than in Pakistan. I have to consciously remind myself that our friends live under great restriction, despite their education and outspokenness.
We met Donna and Dewi at Pizza Hut and had a fun time at dinner. Everyone hit it off really well, so we let them in on Anbreen's plan to have a surprise birthday (well, pre-birthday) celebration for G. They had bought pastries earlier, and they had also bought gifts for her at the souvenir shop we browsed before lunch. Kosar feigned illness, which was plausible because of her dehydration earlier in the week, and Nadeem came to get G. and was an excellent actor. Poor G.! She was all concerned for Kosar and was wondering what to do and what she'd have to tell her boss; when we entered a dark room and we could see someone on the floor (hiding for the surprise), she worried even more. And then everyone started singing "Happy Birthday"and she was completely taken by surprise. It was sweet, and she was so touched. Hee. :)
I tried on Dewi's headscarf and looked like nothing so much as a Czech peasant woman. Heh. Damn, it got hot under that thing after a while, too. Donna says that's why she doesn't wear it -- that, and she doesn't think she should have to. This is a woman who tells sharia police to bugger off when they stop her for wearing short sleeves and no scarf. She's pretty badass. I like her a lot.
After our little party, we watched one section of the IDLO movie (the part on guardianship) had a good chat about it, and then broke up to let everyone get some rest. We'll need to get up early in the morning.
Today's been a very interesting day of meetings with people from IDLO and Center for Community Development and Education (CCDE). Again, it's mostly about giving Bedari a chance for dialogue, but I am just learning so much about how sharia and local customs and national laws affect women's attempts to exercise their rights, move around in society, and more. It's fascinating. Also, these discussions make me realize two things: 1) I am incredibly privileged to live as a woman in the Western world, and 2) even so, we still deal with some of these issue that women here face, just to a different degree and with a different name and face behind it.
Meeting in a local village with women members of CCDE was the real treat today. The women were very talkative and lively in discussion, their children were running around playing, and there was great exchange between them and Bedari. Our Pakistani friends were amazed at how frankly they spoke when there were two strange men in attendance, even more so when one of them breastfed her baby with the men right there. From everything Anbreen and the others say, there really is so much more personal freedom for women here than in Pakistan. I have to consciously remind myself that our friends live under great restriction, despite their education and outspokenness.
We met Donna and Dewi at Pizza Hut and had a fun time at dinner. Everyone hit it off really well, so we let them in on Anbreen's plan to have a surprise birthday (well, pre-birthday) celebration for G. They had bought pastries earlier, and they had also bought gifts for her at the souvenir shop we browsed before lunch. Kosar feigned illness, which was plausible because of her dehydration earlier in the week, and Nadeem came to get G. and was an excellent actor. Poor G.! She was all concerned for Kosar and was wondering what to do and what she'd have to tell her boss; when we entered a dark room and we could see someone on the floor (hiding for the surprise), she worried even more. And then everyone started singing "Happy Birthday"and she was completely taken by surprise. It was sweet, and she was so touched. Hee. :)
I tried on Dewi's headscarf and looked like nothing so much as a Czech peasant woman. Heh. Damn, it got hot under that thing after a while, too. Donna says that's why she doesn't wear it -- that, and she doesn't think she should have to. This is a woman who tells sharia police to bugger off when they stop her for wearing short sleeves and no scarf. She's pretty badass. I like her a lot.
After our little party, we watched one section of the IDLO movie (the part on guardianship) had a good chat about it, and then broke up to let everyone get some rest. We'll need to get up early in the morning.