Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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Best Experiences for an Action Research Process
producer of a shortfeature programs broadcasted through all radio networks in Indonesia.
Women Journal Radio Program is currently being broadcasted weekly on 183 radio stations
in Indonesia.
Women Voice Radio in Pariaman, West Sumatra
Radio Suara Perempuan (Women Voice Radio) in Pariaman, West Sumatra, was founded
by Nurhayati Kahar. At the beginning, she was concerned about the large number of cases
of violence against women in her region. Therefore, she founded the Institution for Victims
of Violent Acts to Women and Children, which was legally registered in 2002. The Intitution
choose to use community radio to spread their campaign against violence to women..
Kahar thinks that violence against women is hidden because the culture of shame is still very
strong. For instance, there are many cases of rape that are usually settled by custom law, in
which the cases are sttled with peace agreements or fine. Yet, if the rapist is a prominent
figure in society, the case is often covered up. In fact, the blame is usually directed to the
victimized woman. Hence, Women Voice Radio encourages women to fight for justice. Kahar
insists that a case of violence against women should not be settled by custom law because it
often disadvantages women; it should be processed by criminal law.
Women Voice Radio uses local language, namely Minang language. Its target audience is not
only women but men too. It is very important for men to know about the law on violence against
women, so that they may not consider women unintelligent anymore.
The Women Voice Radio program encompasses themes concerning health, religion, child
education, sex matters and information about the the city. In addition, it also plans to give
information on the economy (like prices of goods and tips for marketing) because almost 95
per cent of women have home industries like weaving and embroidery.
It is interesting that every Sunday night the radio broadcasts a radio drama called Carito
Minang (Minang story). The stories are taken from everyday occurrences involving women.
There is a drama entitled “Maha Bana Baliajo,” which treats about the resistance against
custom marriage in Pariaman. In this region, there is a custom by which if a woman wants to
marry a man, the woman’s family must pay some money as dowry to the man’s family. The