IWD: East Timorese women lead the way

Maria Paixao da Costa, Vice-President of East Timor's National Parliament

On Thursday the delegation met with Maria da Costa of the Parliamentary Women's Caucus. The Timor Leste Parliament has a goal of 30 percent women representatives. Right now women make up 27 percent. Compare both the goal and the reality with Canada's statistics -- 22 percent, I believe. The women parliamentarians have formed a caucus to forward women's rights, including the Domestic Violence Law. This law has taken five years to wend its way through approvals. Word is some of the male parliamentarians fought against it.

The law, when finally approved, will allow abusers to be removed from the family. There will also be the provision of state support for those families that lose a breadwinner as a result. Domestic violence will go from being a "private" to a "public" issue, meaning that complaints can be laid not just by the victims, but also by concerned family, neighbours or community. There are provisions for reconciliation as well. What it provides is a clear law for law enforcers, families and communities to follow in an area where there was much confusion and little enforcement. Becuase of the overwhelmingly Catholic nature of the country, with 80 percent of the population being Catholic, and because of the Church's influence, medical termination of pregnancy is limited to situations where the mother's health is threatened, and only with the approval of 3 doctors. There was a proposal to have rape and incest included as valid reasons, but this was overruled.

Xenana Gusmao (L) and Ramos Horta (R): two of a number of male parliamentarians featured in posters saying "stop violence against women." The hope is that an appeal to men by men will be effective.

The Women's Caucus, which receives support from Development and Peace, has worked with other Development and Peace partners in formulating the Domestic Violence law and getting it approved. Fokupers, which focusses on domestic violence is one.  Rede Foto,another, is a network of women's organizations.   FKSH, a third, works with young rural women. All are intimately aware of the subservient role that East Timorese women have traditionally played in this society, and talk to the women about their right to human dignity. 

What we've heard repeatedly is that women's work, including around the house and raising children, is not seen as work.  It's definitely not valued. Women, especially those in the districts, live in ignorance of basic things that Canadians learn in school. Our partners work with midwives and nurses to introduce concepts that most Canadian teens learn in high school, but which are not discussed in East Timorese villages, either in schools or between mother and daughter: things like the the right to respect your one body and how it is used, how reproduction happens, and maintaining one's reproductive health. They also talk with men about how helping the woman with childcare and house work allows women more energy for them, the family, the community, and not least, for the women themselves.

Poster and testimony of  an East Timor "comfort woman" of World War II. Shame leads to silence; a culture of silence allows future abuse.

As we celebrate International Women's Day around the world, I for one am thinking of how much needs to be done for women around the world, and how East Timorese women are showing what CAN be done with few resources and against overwhelming odds.  The domestic violence law is a major inspiration.