inconvertiblely, going into effect during the time, going into effect in everywhere, and represent of God’s will. Socially, sexual differences have
been used to justify different roles for men and women, in some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles.
B. The Form of Gender Discrimination
Discrimination is the differential treatment of a person or persons considered to belong to a particular social group. Discrimination is not just an
attitude, belief or predisposition to act, as is prejudice. Discrimination is not a state of mind but entails overt actions by which members of a group are
accorded unfavorable treatment on the basis of their religious, ethnic, or racial relationship.
12
Discrimination may be part of the behavior of people who have strong prejudice. It may be the result of social or cultural expectations, customs, or
laws. For example, a white hairdresser may not have any personal animosity or prejudice against blacks but still may refuse their trade because he or she
believes their presence may hurt business. Here we have an example of an individual who is not prejudiced yet who discriminates against a minority. But
there are also individuals who are prejudiced and who fail to translate their prejudiced into overt action. Many employers are prejudiced against minority
groups but do not discriminate in their hiring procedures. Institutional policies,
12
Daniel E., Hebding. Introduction to Sociology: A Text with Reading New York: McGraw Hill, Inc, p.283
common custom, or laws may prohibit such discriminatory action. Most of the time prejudice and discrimination are mutually reinforcing. Most people who
are prejudiced also discriminate. In fact, there exist a correlation between discrimination and prejudice in that those who are more prejudiced are more
likely to discriminate.
13
The lameness of relationship and gender happened caused by the order, tradition and the relation of reciprocal social delimitating between masculinity
and feminist. These all causing the division of power between men and
women, and then it can impact to other social life. For example, grow a myth that men have higher position than women because men are considered have
more intelligent approach, strong, and they are not emotional. Besides, the patriarchal culture power reside in men also caused loss to women.
Patriarchy is a social system in which the father or eldest male is head of the household, having authority over women and children. Patriarchy also
refers to a system of government by males, and to the dominance of men in social or cultural systems. It may also include title being traced through the
male line.
14
Patriarchy is inclined in application of the view of life which in predominated by men male-dominated, determining by men male-
identified, and centre on men male-centered. The characteristic of this
13
Ibid, p.284
14
http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiPatriarchy , accessed on Nov 13
th
, 2010
culture is its entirety sustaining each other to build this culture and also institutionalizing, so it becomes the base for the public motion space and the
view of life in general Johnson, 1997. Various differentiation of role, function, responsibility and duty and
also domicile between women and men, and the impact of law and regulation and also policy have generated various inequalities because it has taken root
in custom, norm and or society structure. Gender still interpreted by society as difference of sex.
To comprehend how the different of gender causes gender discrimination, it can be seen through the variation of gender discrimination.
The existence of gender discrimination according to Mansour Faqih 1997 causing by social behavior and social treatment are marginalization,
subordination, stereotype, violence against woman, and job segregation by sex.
15
a. Marginalization
The process of marginalization that causes poorness, in fact, it happened in a lot of society and countries in this world. There are some
different type and form, place and time, and mechanism of marginalization toward women because of gender difference itself. It can come from the
15
Tim Penulis PSW UIN Jakarta, Pengantar Kajian Gender. Jakarta: PSW UIN Jakarta, p. 73
government policies, beliefs, religion interpretation, tradition and custom or even the assumption of science.
16
Marginalization toward women is not just happen in work place but also in family, society or culture and even country. Marginalization toward
women has been happened since in family scope in form of discrimination family member between men and women. Marginalization also supported by
tradition or religion interpretation so women always become the victims of these gender inequalities.
b. Subordination
In reality, the perspective of gender can generate subordination toward women. Ascription that women is irrational or emotional so that women
cannot come up to lead, causing attitude that placing women in insignificant position. Subordination because of gender happened in all kinds of different
form of place to place and from time to time.
17
Subordination basically is a belief that one of sexes assume more important or more special than other. It has existed since ahead that there is an
ascription to place women lower than men. There are many cases in tradition, religion teaching interpretation and also in bureaucracy order which is put
women as subordination to men.
16
Dr. Mansour faqih, Analisis Gender dan Transfomasi Sosial. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 1996, p.14
17
Ibid, p. 15
The facts show us that the society values still limiting the space for women in life. For example if a wife wants to study, or wants to go abroad,
she has to get her husband permission first, but if husband wants to go elsewhere, he does not need his wife permission. Privileges owned by men due
to gender construction place them to more superior of power against women. That kind of relationship patterns is called as patriarchal manifestation.
18
c. Stereotype
Generally, stereotype is denoting or labeling to a certain group, tribe or certain nation that always have a negative connotation, so that it often causes
the gender inequalities. Labeling which is related to the difference of certain sex women will cause the negative impression to the women’s characteristic.
For example, the assumption that considered women’s duty and function are always in domestic and household things. It is not only happened
in household scope but also happened at work and society or even in governmental and state level.
If a man is angry, he is assumed to coherent, but if women are angry, it is assumed to emotional and incontinent. Standard assessment of men and
women’s behavior is different, but it harms and judge women.
d. Violence Against Women
18
Trisakti Handayani and Sugiarti, Konsep dan Teknik Penelitian Gender. Malang: UMM Press, 2002, p. 15
Violence is invasion or attack to physical or psychologically to someone. Violence to human being basically comes from various sources, but
one of kind of violence to certain sex is because of the ascription of gender.
19
Basically, gender violence happen because of there is inequalities in society. Many kinds and form of badness which can be categorized as gender violence.
Including an ascription that men are the owner of domination and supremacy of various sector of life. Violence to women have some level, are:
a. Rapist
b. Hitting, murder and maltreatment
c. Prostitution as a form of woman exploitation
d. Pornography as a worthless form
e. Enforcing of sterilization in family planning
f. Sexual worthless
Those treatments above can be classified at the collision of human right which is it should be respected by whoever without reference to gender.
The lowest action of violence form to women can bear several of social inharmonious that can pursue psychical growth of woman, so that they
become inferior and not powerful.
19
Dr. Mansour Faqih, p. 17
e. Job segregation
Patriarchy culture which assumed that women have no right to lead household, on the contrary they are entitled to be arranged. Domestic work
which is burdened to women, becoming identical to them. Generally, some activities related to household things, it should conduct by men and women.
But according to the various observations, it shows us that women do almost 90 works in household.
Its consequence, many women must strive and take a long time for keeping clean her household and keeping everything all right then, start from
cleaning and sweeping the floor, until looking after the child. On the other hand, men are not obliged culturally to elaborate that various domestic work.
These factors have strengthened work burden to women culturally and structurally.
Currently, discrimination based on sex is defined as adverse action against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of
another sex. This is considered a form of prejudice and is illegal in certain enumerated circumstances in most countries.
C. Feminism
