Saturday, 21 Rabi' al-awwal 1447 | 2025/09/13
Time now: (M.M.T)
Menu
Main menu
Main menu

The Mask of Democracy Cannot Conceal the Dire Poverty of Indonesian Women

  • Published in Analysis
  •   |  

Living in a democratic state is truly costly for women, and Indonesia is no exception - a country that has been claimed by various Western politicians as one of the leading models of a Muslim democratic state. The reality shows that Indonesian Women are still shackled by poverty. The Minister for Women and Child Protection in Indonesia, Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar, stated this May that there are currently about 7 million women in Indonesia who have become the breadwinner of their household, and the majority of them live below the poverty line with incomes under U.S. $ 1 dollar a day. This figure represents more than 14% of the total number of households in Indonesia. However, the NGO Empowerment of Women Heads Of Households (PEKKA), estimates the number of female-headed households is much greater than the government's figure, the number being nearer to 10 million Indonesian women.

The poverty that shackles Indonesian women is also indicated by the huge numbers of low skilled-female migrant workers working outside of the country that has reached 7 million people. Poverty is the main factor which has forced them to work thousands of miles away from their country and families without even the assurance of protection from the Indonesian government. This situation is associated with another problem - the violence, torture and even homicide against women migrant workers in the countries to which they have migrated. According to Anis Hidayah, Executive Director of Indonesian Association for Migrant Workers Sovereignity, violence and murder of women migrant workers is increasing each year. In 2009, the number of female Indonesian migrant workers who became victims of violence reached 5,314.

These undeniable realities show the failure of a secular democratic state to fulfill the basic economic needs of women, forcing them to migrate for the sake of earning a living in order to sustain a basic standard of life. Democracy has had a costly and cruel consequence upon women's lives. Moreover, these problems are plaguing Indonesia, a country that is considered by the United States' government as a success story in democratization, amongst the countries of the Muslim world. A number of Western leaders have praised Indonesia as the world's largest Muslim democratic state and an example of how Islam and democracy can be combined in a successful manner. For example, in December 2010, President Obama delivered a speech to an audience of about 6,000 people at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, where he described Indonesia's "extraordinary democratic transformation" and its religious tolerance standing as an example to other emerging economies. He also commented that the U.S. has a stake in Indonesia's continued growth as a market for American goods and as an ally in spreading democracy. The same tone was displayed by UK Prime minister David Cameron when he visited Jakarta in April 2012. He specifically stated that Indonesia's respect for democracy and minority religious groups should serve as an example for other Muslim nations. The US and other Western powers indeed have a mission to spread the democratic system around the world, claiming that it is the supreme system by which to govern societies effectively and secure people's needs and rights.

The lie of Western governments regarding democracy must be distinguished from the true reality. Their praise of the democratization of Indonesia is clearly just the ambitious propaganda of their Capitalistic-secular agenda. The democratic mask that covers Indonesia could not eradicate nor hide the shackle of poverty afflicting Indonesian women for the true face of democracy is of a failed system unable to look after the affairs of mankind effectively.

In addition, attempts by feminists in Indonesia to establish women's rights in the political, economic, educational, health and legal spheres of the society through gender equality-based legislation are almost always ineffective in improving the lives of ordinary women. Indonesia has implemented various gender equality-based laws, and its government is now discussing the Draft of a new Gender Equality and Justice Law, but such laws will assuredly have no influence on the nature of the secular democratic political system in the country that only favours the interests of political elites. Such laws will prove totally redundant in improving the welfare of Indonesia's women for they lie under the shadow of a capitalist economic system that concentrates the state's wealth in the hands of the few while impoverishing the majority of the people.

Systemically, democracy empowers the corporation state that is based upon the symbiotic relationship of securing the mutual interests of the political elites and the capitalists who would never side with the people, including women. This system makes money or capital as the commander-in-chief of governing. For example, large proportions of Indonesia's natural wealth and resources are owned and controlled by foreign companies, including more than 80% of the nation's oil. This is against a background of ever-rising poverty which has also increased levels of corruption, and social conflict between the people.

Indonesian women will face an entirely different story when the state implements the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" system, for the Khilafah "Caliphate" has a credible, time-tested approach to tackling poverty while simultaneously maintaining the dignity of women. It is a system that will implement comprehensively the sound economic laws of Islam defined by Allah(swt), the One Who has all-knowledge of how best to secure the needs of mankind and organise the affairs of a society. It is a system that has a historical legacy of creating economic prosperity and eradicating poverty in the lands over which it governed.

The Khilafah "Caliphate" system is obliged to guarantee the provision of basic needs to women in addition to a good standard of education, healthcare, security and protection. Islam prescribes that women be financially maintained by their male relatives always. For those men who lack employment, the state must endeavour to strive to its utmost to create employment opportunities which may include providing interest free-grants to those who lack capital to start a business or giving land to others so that they can farm it and make a livelihood to maintain themselves and their families. For those men who are physically unable to earn a living or for those women who have no male relatives to maintain them, the state has the obligation to bear their livelihood. This is according to the sayings of the Prophet(saw), "The Imam is in charge (ra'i) and he is responsible for his citizens" and, "If somebody dies (among the Muslims) leaving some property, the property will go to his heirs; and if he leaves a debt or dependents, we will take care of them." The draft constitution of Hizb ut-Tahrir for the Khilafah "Caliphate" states, "The State is to guarantee the adequate support for those who have no funds, no employment and no provider. The state is responsible for housing and maintaining the disabled and handicapped."

Consequently in the Khilafah "Caliphate", women will not have to migrate thousands of miles just to meet their basic needs. So, it is time for Indonesian women to leave democracy. Khilafah "Caliphate" is the only system that provides credible practical solutions for a wide range of political, economic and social issues and crises that affect women throughout the Muslim lands and across the world, including women in Indonesia.

 

Fika Monika
Member of Women's Section, South East Asia
Central Media Office, Hizb ut-Tahrir

Read more...

Headline News 01-07-2012

  • Published in News & Comment
  •   |  

Headlines:

  • Collapse of Euro a very likely scenario
  • Turkey sends anti-aircraft guns to Syria border
  • Egypt to get Coptic Christian, female Vice President
  • Our intention is to invest and endure in Afghanistan: India
  • Pakistani public opinion ever more critical of US and India

 

Details:

Collapse of Euro a very likely scenario:

According to Speigel investment experts at Deutsche Bank now feel that a collapse of the common currency is "a very likely scenario." German companies are preparing themselves for the possibility that their business contacts in Madrid and Barcelona could soon be paying with pesetas again. And in Italy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is thinking of running a new election campaign, possibly this year, on a return-to-the-lira platform. Nothing seems impossible anymore, not even a scenario in which all members of the currency zone dust off their old coins and bills -- bidding farewell to the euro, and instead welcoming back the guilder, deutsche mark and drachma. It would be a dream for nationalist politicians, and a nightmare for the economy. Everything that has grown together in two decades of euro history would have to be painstakingly torn apart. Millions of contracts, business relationships and partnerships would have to be reassessed, while thousands of companies would need protection from bankruptcy. All of Europe would plunge into a deep recession. Governments, which would be forced to borrow additional billions to meet their needs, would face the choice between two unattractive options: either to drastically increase taxes or to impose significant financial burdens on their citizens in the form of higher inflation. Indeed, the European leaders seeking to save the euro are in a race against the clock. The question is whether the economy in Southern Europe will recover before the euro rescuers' tools are exhausted, or whether it will be too late by the time the recovery arrives. It's a question of growth and the economy, but also of character. How willing are the Spaniards and Italians to accept reforms and hardship, and how willing, on the other hand, are the donor countries of the north to provide assistance and make sacrifices?


Turkey sends anti-aircraft guns to Syria border:

Turkey has begun deploying rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns along its border with Syria after last week's shooting down of a Turkish plane. Columns of military vehicles have been seen moving from military bases to the border, close to where the jet crashed. The F-4 Phantom jet went down in the sea after straying into Syrian airspace. The pilots are still missing. Turkey's decision to reinforce its border with Syria comes two days after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a change in terms of its military engagement. He told parliament that Syria was a "clear and present threat" and any "military element" that approached the Turkish border from Syria would be treated as a threat and a military target. Extra troops have been sent to the area and Turkish TV has shown pictures of a small convoy of lorries carrying anti-aircraft guns into a military base near the border town of Yayladagi. Other military vehicles have travelled to the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, reports say. More than 33,000 refugees have fled Syria and have crossed the border into the province.

 

Egypt to get Coptic Christian, female Vice President:

Mohammed Morsi's first appointments as president-elect of Egypt will be a woman and a Coptic Christian, his spokesman has said, allaying fears about the Muslim Brotherhood. Sameh el-Essawy said that although the names of the two choices had not been finalised, they would be Morsi's two vice-presidents. When the appointments go through, they will constitute the first time in Egypt's history that either a woman or a Copt has occupied such an elevated position. The Muslim Brotherhood is at pains to calm fears of what an Islamist president might mean for Egypt and the region at large. Appointing a woman and a Copt is an attempt at a show of unity, and a rule by consensus.

 

Our intention is to invest and endure in Afghanistan: India

India has every intention of expanding its economic presence in Afghanistan as a NATO deadline to withdraw all its combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 draws near, indicated Nirupama Rao, India's ambassador to Washington. "Our intention is to invest and endure, and that's the approach we are taking. We already have committed about $2 billion of investment in Afghanistan and we are prepared to do more," Ambassador Nirupama Rao said at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington. India is hosting the Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan today which will draw over 65 foreign companies from around the world, including 12 companies from the US and a handful of companies from even China and Pakistan. At a meeting last week between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, the two countries agreed to hold three-way talks with Afghanistan. At the cost of making Pakistan hyperventilate the US has become very vocal in its appreciation of Indian efforts in Afghanistan. It now wants India to fill up the post-US vacuum in Afghanistan and play a bigger role in training Afghan security forces.

 

Pakistani public opinion ever more critical of US and India:

Following a year of tensions between their country and the United States, Pakistanis continue to hold highly unfavorable views of the U.S. and offer bleak assessments of the relationship between the two nations. Roughly three-in-four Pakistanis (74%) consider the U.S. an enemy, up from 69% last year and 64% three years ago. And President Obama is held in exceedingly low regard. Indeed, among the 15 nations surveyed in both 2008 and 2012 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, Pakistan is the only country where ratings for Obama are no better than the ratings President George W. Bush received during his final year in office (for more, see "Global Opinion of Obama Slips, International Policies Faulted," released June 13, 2012). Moreover, roughly four-in-ten believe that American economic and military aid is actually having a negative impact on their country, while only about one-in-ten think the impact is positive. Since 2009, the Pakistani public has also become less willing to use its own military to combat extremist groups. Three years ago, 53% favored using the army to fight extremists in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but today just 32% hold this view. Only 22% of Pakistanis have a favorable view of traditional rival India, although this is actually a slight improvement from 14% last year. Moreover, when asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or al Qaeda, 59% name India. Pakistanis have consistently identified India as the top threat since the question was first asked in 2009. The percentage fearing India has increased by 11 points since then, while the percentage naming the Taliban has decreased by nine points.

Read more...

Hizb ut-Tahrir's Countrywide Demonstration Against the Visit of Butcher of Salala, US General John Allen

Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan demonstrated countrywide against the visit of General John Allen, the butcher of Salala. Demonstrators were carrying banners and placards declaring "Meeting the Salala butcher is a sign of treachery" and "Traitor rulers are sacrificing Pak army for America."

Read more...

Answer to Question: Myanmar (Burma)

Kindly give us an overview about the political reality of Myanmar (Burma) and the reasons for the terrible persecution of Muslims there, as well as the regional and international stances towards it, with thanks and appreciation.

Read more...

HTI Organizes Conferences of Leading Figures in Several Big Cities in Indonesia

  • Published in Pictures
  •   |  


To arouse the spirit of Muslims in the struggle for the enforcement of sharia and the Khilafah "Caliphate" as well as to seek support from the ummah, especially from the leading figures, Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia organizes Conference of Leading Figures of Ummah (KTU) in some major cities throughout Indonesia. The main theme of the conference is: 'Khalifah is The Best Model of the Welfare State'.

 

This conference specifically focuses on economic issues, especially in dealing with how the Indonesian government manages the natural wealth. Through this conference, Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia proposes a solution for the management of the natural resources in accordance with Islam in order to bring prosperity and welfare to the people of Indonesia. The solution for the problem is khalifah. "Indonesia is definitely better with khalifah. Indonesia will prosper and well-being, "said the Chairman of the HTI's Central Board, Rokhmat S Labib.

 

Hundreds to thousands of people have attended the conferences which took place simultaneously since the beginning of the month of Rajab. They listened to the explanation on the management of the natural resources and energy, the contribution of Islam to Indonesia; the building of a stable and growing economic welfare, and the politics of Islamic economy for the steady growth and welfare. And at the end of the event, a political speech was delivered by HTI.

 

In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan province, about 1,000 people attended the conference which took place on Thursday (17/5) at the House of Sultan Suriansyah, Banjarmasin. In Bandung, West Java Province, more than 3,500 people attended the event held at the Sasana Ganesha Cutural Center (Sabuga) in Bandung, West Java on Sunday (27/5).



In Semarang, the capital of Central Java province, the conference was participated by more than 2,500 people. The event was held at the Convention Hall of the Great Mosque of Central Java, on Sunday (3/6), though the capacity of building is only for 2,000 people. In different places on the same day, the conference was held at the Ballroom of the New Benakutai Hotel in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan province. Around 1,000 people attended the event.

 

In Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province, the conference was attended by about 5,000 people. Among them are the leading figures of the local / city in the province. The event which took place on Monday (10/6) was held at the JX International Building, Surabaya.

 

Meanwhile, in the capital city of Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) the conference was held in the Muhammadiyah's Sportorium Yogyakarta (UMY). A total of 2000 leading figures attentively listened to the conference until the end. The event was also attended by the local former Deputy Mayor.

 

In the capital of North Sumatra, Medan, the Conference for the Leading Figures was held at the Building of Selecta Ballroom on Sunday (17/6). More than 2,500 figures attended the event.

 

In Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province, the event was attended by more than 2,000 people. They came from the corners of the district in the province. The conference took place on Saturday (16/6) in the Grand Hall Awani, Kendari.

 

A day later on Sunday (17/6), the same event was held in Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi provinci. The conference ran succesfully, attended by about 3,000 people. The conference took place in Baruga AP Pettarani, University of Hasanuddin,
At the same time, the conference took place in Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra Province. The event was attended by around 500 leading figures of the ummah. A day before, a similar event took place in Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra province, attended by around 150 leading figures.

 

 

For more photos click here

 

 

Read more...

On the 45th anniversary of Hafez Assad sale of the Golan Heights to the Jewish State, we bring to the Muslims in Syria the news of the imminent fall of the treacherous regime of Assad (Translated)

Throughout those days of June 1967, the Arab rulers at the time committed a heinous crime against the Muslim ummah. During those six days, they enabled the Jewish state to defeat the armies of the Muslim ummah in Egypt, Jordan and Syria, led by their criminal leaders, including Hafez Assad in Syria, who announced the fall of Qunaitra one whole day before the entry of the enemy to the Golan Heights. The town of Qunaitra was located behind the lines of the Syrian army fighting then in the Golan Heights; thus leading to the disruption and withdrawal of the army. On that fateful day, Hafiz Assad, the agent of the West received authority in Damascus as a prize for selling off the Golan Heights.

So, Syria was struck many times under the leadership of this criminal family:

On the day when Hafez Assad sold off the Golan Heights, the day when he secured the borders of the Jewish state, the day he committed the massacre of Hama, and the day when the murderer Bashar inherited the authority after the death of his father, the killer. Here is Bashar today, continuing the criminal legacy of his father by committing daily massacres in Syria with the complicity of the entire world against its blessed revolution. This is because there is still a debt owed since the sale of the Golan Heights. We, in Hizb ut-Tahrir in Syria remind the people, especially those who claim to resist the occupation and live off the support of this criminal regime, that Hafez Assad who sold off the Golan, and his son after him are the loyal allies of the Jewish state. Bashar announced yesterday before the new council of puppets that the enemy is not at the battle front against the Jews; rather the enemy is at home: in the heart of Homs which is pounded day and night, in Dar'aa, Idleb, Aleppo and Damascus, which are embittered by bombing, killing and detention ... We remind people that the shells of Bashar killed the defenseless Muslim people, dozens of times more than the Jewish state killed in all of its wars with Syria. Is it not time for the advocates of this regime to come to their senses, if they have any, to understand that they support a malicious, criminal, and oppressive agent regime that not only protects the Jewish state; but is the bitterest enemy of the ummah: her deen, her land and her honour. He (SWT) says:

أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا فَإِنَّهَا لا تَعْمَى الأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ

"Do they not travel through the earth, where they would have hearts by which they contemplate, or ears by which they hear. Indeed, the sight is not blind; it is rather the hearts (located) in the chests are blind"

In conclusion, we say to the rising Muslim people in beloved Syria:

You have realized the path to your salvation through the revolution against this criminal regime; and you understood the stance of America and the West against from the successive deadlines given to the regime; the latest deadline was the Annan plan. Since the announcement of this plan the number of martyrs reached more than 2286 martyrs, of whom 206 are children and 214 are women. So, declare the categorical rejection of any intervention of the West in your issues, and cut off the head of the snake and purify the country of the Al Assad criminal ring and their associates. Let the memory of the conspiracy of June 1967 be another motivation for you to revenge the violation of the sanctities of Allah. Hand over the reins of your authority to the faithful of you from Hizb ut-Tahrir to establish the state of Islam, the rightly guided Khilafah "Caliphate" State. Then the Muslim armies led by the Khaleefah will rush for a victory which our hearts have longed for, to defeat the enemy, and return every occupied, wasted or sold inch of the land of Islam. Rather, they would spread the Truth to the entire world, so that your State returns as a beacon of light, and your ummah becomes the best nation brought for mankind. Stand firm; for no matter the forces of evil gathered against you they are more despicable in the sight of Allah than the dung beetle. Look to the heavens rather than to the earth; for Allah All Mighty alone is your supporter, and He promised you of victory; and indeed His promise is true. He (SWT) says:

وَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ أَنْتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ تَخَافُونَ أَنْ يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ النَّاسُ فَآَوَاكُمْ وَأَيَّدَكُمْ بِنَصْرِهِ وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ.

"And remember when you were few and vulnerable on earth; where you were afraid that people might sweep you away; so He gave you homage, supported you with His victory and provided you with good things, that you may be grateful."

 

Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed

Site Categories

Links

West

Muslim Lands

Muslim Lands