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Home / CEDAW in Southeast Asia / Indonesia / State Reporting

CEDAW Committee Concluding Observations

English (63KB - pdf)

Bahasa (56KB - pdf)

The key areas of concern raised by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women at their 39th Session in August 2007 included the following:

The Convention has not been fully incorporated throughout domestic law – no clear definition of discrimination; lack of clarity on whether the Convention takes precedence in situations where there is a conflict between it and domestic laws; the obligations and provisions of the Convention are not widely known by lawmakers, judges, lawyers and prosecutors, or by Indonesian women themselves.

Revisions have not been taken on all 21 laws identified as discriminatory, and some amendments already made on others are still discriminatory, such as the Law on Citizenship which still does not provide women the same rights as men to retain or transmit their citizenship.

Adverse effects of the process of decentralization which have resulted in uneven recognition and enforcement of women’s human rights in some regions, including Aceh

The rise of religious fundamentalist groups advocating restrictive interpretations of Shariah law, which discriminate against women, in several regions of the country.

Although the government has rescinded a number of local laws and regulations pertaining to economic matters, it has not rescinded local laws that discriminate against women on the basis of religion.

Potentially insufficient visibility, decision-making power or human and financial resources of the Ministry of Women Empowerment to effectively promote the advancement of women.

Persistence of entrenched patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society that discriminate against women.

Discriminatory provisions in the Marriage Act of 1974 and general lack of progress in the law reform process with respect to marriage and family law.

Incidence of the practice of female genital mutilation.

Abuse and exploitation of domestic workers in Indonesia – they are not yet included in the provisions of the Manpower Act, and they lack knowledge and information on the law and access to legal protections.

Persistence of trafficking in women and girls, both domestic and cross-border.

Low level representation of women in public and political life – the Law on General Elections which has established a 30 per cent quota for women candidates for political parties in the legislature, fails to include sanctions or enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the quota.

Limits and obstacles for girls at the secondary and tertiary education levels, and in rural and remote areas.

The situation of women migrant workers, which constitute 70 per cent of all migrants – their rights are not adequately protected, including provisions that allow employers to hold their passports.

Lack of data on women in the labour market, especially from the informal sector – concerns are on wage gaps, discrimination in recruitment processes, inequalities in social security benefits provided for men and women.

Persistent high rates of maternal mortality, a lack of family planning education, and difficulty in accessing contraceptives.

Obstacles prevent poor and rural women from obtaining birth certificates, including lack of information, bureaucracy, financial barriers.

The situation of rural women, including their lack of access to education, health care and legal protections.

The situation of women victims of natural disasters and emergencies – concerns are that their clothing, housing, safety and health, including reproductive health, needs are not being met, and that women heads of households suffer discriminatory treatment when attempting to access housing or food aid provided to male heads of households.

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