[Kabar-indonesia] Citizenship bill accused of bias against women

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Citizenship bill accused of bias against women

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The rehashed bill on citizenship has been criticized by a coalition of 
non-governmental organizations for allowing discrimination against women and 
endangering their rights.

The Network for Pro-women National Legislation Program said the latest draft 
of the soon-to-be-passed bill was rife with conditions that would leave women 
vulnerable to losing their citizenship.

The network's biggest cause for concern is Article 26, which stipulates that 
a female spouse will lose her citizenship once she marries someone of foreign 
nationality.

It said that the term contradicts a general principle that prohibits the 
revocation of citizenship because of marriage.

"This is discrimination against women, as a wife should not involuntarily 
lose her citizenship, aside from it being of her own free will," the coalition 
said in a statement.

There is no similar condition for Indonesian men marrying foreign women.

The Amended 1945 Constitution, 1999 Human Rights Law and 1984 Law on the 
Eradication of Discrimination against Women have disallowed discrimination based 
on marriage.

The coalition also lamented another stipulation in the bill which states that 
Indonesian citizens living abroad will lose their citizenship if they fail to 
renew their passport in a period of five years.

"This will deal a severe blow to thousands of our female migrant workers who 
work abroad," it said.

A passport was only a travel document that was not tantamount to citizenship, 
the coalition said.

"A lapse in administrative matters should not result in the revocation of 
one's citizenship," it stated.

With all the shortcomings, the coalition, comprising among others members of 
the Women's Institute, the National Commission on Violence Against Women, the 
Center for Electoral Reform, Puan Amal Hayati and the Asia Foundation, called 
on the House to drop the articles that would put women's rights at risk.

Their demands are unlikely to be heard as the House is wrapping up its 
deliberations. A working committee has concluded revising the final draft of the 
bill and is expected to hand over its result to a special committee before it is 
endorsed by a House plenary session.

Members of the special committee expect the bill to be endorsed in mid July.

Others have hailed the bill as a landmark achievement in the country's legal 
system because it recognizes dual citizenship, although on a limited scale for 
children of transnational marriages up to their 18th birthday.

Special committee member Nursyahbani Katjasungkana of the National Awakening 
Party (PKB), a women's rights advocate and qualified lawyer, acknowledged the 
revocation of citizenship for women marrying foreigners was outdated and 
discriminatory.

"A survey carried out in 122 countries found that such a principle is no 
longer applied," she said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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