Higher Education for Women in Indonesia
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SOCIETY'S STIGMA

“When women are educated their countries become stronger and more prosperous”. The quote was spoken by Michelle Obama on Tuesday morning during her visit to the Martin Luther King all-girls high school in Dakar, Senegal (Lazutta, 2013). From her perspective, we acquire the premise that there should not be a question asks about the importance of education for women, the country and the society just have to do and support it. Education is the bedrock of women empowerment considering the fact that only educated women can play a very dominant role in economic development (Shetty, 2015). In conclusion, just like what Michelle Obama had said, higher education for women is needed to make a country strong and prosperous. 

Considering the importance and urgency, each country must uphold the importance of higher education for women, including Indonesia. However, in 2015, UNDP reported that only 39.9% of Indonesian women completed their secondary education, whereas for men, the number is slightly higher, reaching about 49.2% (Priyatna, 2016). The data proves that Indonesia still has a lot to catch up with in order to enhance the quality of education for women and increase the nation’s prosperity. Yet, the reality faced by Indonesia’s modern “Kartini's” is very devastating . Indonesia’s ministry of education assumes that there is a perception conveying a fact in which women are only responsible for their domestic affairs, and the perception itself makes women less motivated in continuing their master's or PhDs degree (Kirnandita, 2017). 

 To take one real example, Fransiska Tirtoadisurja is an accomplished student who studied at the University of Sydney, Australia to acquire her Master's degree. Education has been a huge part of her life since her parents asked her to choose between two schools when she was only 6 years old. When she told her relatives that she is going to Australia to study, one of them asked, “Why should you study for a master’s degree in an overseas university? At the end of the day, you will end up in the kitchen achieving nothing” (Tirtoadisurja, 2020). However, these words did not make Fransiska stuck in despair and she chose to continue her studies. Fransiska is just one of many people that have to face the rhetorical question that is being thrown perpetually. The list of the similar questions being asked to Fransiska is also being conveyed by many people to countless numbers of women facing the same situation when they are pursuing a higher level of education.

Albeit, not everyone has the same negative stigma that is embedded inside their mind.  Take one example from a study that was conducted at Curahdingu village revealing the fact that people there perceive women with higher education in a positive way. Not only that, the number of women who are educated has also been increasing in the past 50 years since many of the parents have begun to acknowledge the importance of education for women. Though, there are still some people in the village who think that a female’s destiny is “to be in the kitchen”(Nabilla, 2020). This illustrates that there is still hope that Indonesia’s society will have a better and more advanced perspective when it comes to understanding the importance of higher education for women.

Education is a basic need that everyone must have despite their cultural background, gender, or any other differences that separates them from each other. Having a higher level of education without having to face prejudice is also a basic need that every woman in Indonesia must possess. As a society, we must come together to face all of the challenges that thwarted the enhancement of women’s education in this country. Before that we all must agree on one premise, education is a right that anyone must possess, unconditionally. If we all agree on that, then let us spread awareness regarding the importance of having higher education for women.