Women, food, health and development a case study of Cipari Village in West Java, Indonesia
. WOMEN, FOQD, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT;
A CASE STUDY OF ClPARl VILLAGE I N WEST JAVA, INDONESIA
BY
AIDA VITAYALA SJAFRI HUBEIS
BOGOR AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY ( IPB ) GRADUATE SCHOOL
BOGOR, INDONESIA, AUGUST 1985
ABSTRACT
t
AIDA
Food.
VITAYALA ST-WPK
Health
and
HUBEIS
PROFESSOR
SJARIFUDDIN
Jakarta)
EPSTEIN
DOCTOR
"Women,
563),
Cipari
of
(Under the supervision of
MARGONO SLAMET ( I P B ) , PROFESSOR DOCTOR
PROFESSOR DOCTOR R.
SCARLETT
80
Development", A Case Study
Village in West Java, Indonesia.
T.
(PPN
(University of
AFFENDI ANWAR
Sussex,
(IPB),
England),
PROFESSOR
BAHARSYAH (IPB) and DOCTOR MELY G.
DOCTOR
TAN (LIPL-
.
This
thesis focusses Qn women's roles, .food, health
and development.
Therefore,
it relates mainly to women's
roles in the domestic domain.
It is important to study in
detail their concrete roles in this area,
not they have any spare labour capacity.
to
be
underemployed
participate
in
then
the
demand
i.e.
whether or
If they are found
for
women
other than domestic work would
to
have
more
force. If on the other hand they prove to be fully occupied
the
reasons for this have to be discovered.
this
it
is
necessary to know women's own
To
discover
perception
thkir traditional roles and their effort to diversify
as
well as the handicaps they are facing in this
Such
but
I
an
enquiry is not limited to ideological
them
context.
viewpoints
includes socio-economic and cultural factors as
well.
thus try to explore the reasons for the perpetuation
traditional
domestic
do.
of
roles:
what
women
actually
do
work rather than what they should or
in
of
their
should
not
To find answers to these questions I suggest that case
studies using anthropological style participant observation
with
a holistic approach are more helpful to gain
insight
rather
questionnaires.
than
rely
only
on
survey
indepth
methods
and
This in turn made me concentrate my study
on one community only, namely Cipari.
Cipari
lies in the hilly terrain of West Java and
is
generally regarded as one of the most traditional societies
of
the
it
sub district in which it is situated:
has
a
total population of 1,653 residing in 350 households. It is
a
devout Islamic tradition-bound society,
where religious
leaders exert power not only in religious concerns but also
secular
matters
reflected
means
Q£
land
in strong "Patron-Client"
sufficiency
prestige
by
in
ownership.
relationships.
paddy is regarded as desirable
phenomenon
by most
This
villagers.
and
They
is
Self
as
a
cultivate
irrigated land (sawah) Qn which they grow two crops of rice
per
year as well as dry land (tanah darat) on
cultivate
which
they
a variety of valuable crops which constitutes an
important additional income for villagers.
As much as two
thirds
by
of
the village lands are now owned
outsiders.
Many land owners sold their land to rich outsiders just
raise cash for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
find
it
to
When they return and
difficult to make both ends meet they
frequently
become sharecroppers on the land they previously owned.
To
some extent, this phenomenon is a result of villagers' ways
of life to re-interpret the Quran and then formulate
own
'Folk-religion'.
their
Altogether this has brought about a
radical impoverishment in Cipari;
the average area ~f rice
,
land presently available per household is only 0.2 ha which
is less than half the average rice farm size for the
of
Java.
Village
analytical
households
purposes
socio-economic
households
as
respectively.
be
categorised
into three strata according to
standing;
rank
can
whole
the
Because
8,
27,
richest,
of
the
65
percent
middle
emphasis
their
of
and
on
for
the
poorest
religious
training in Cipari there is an unusually high literacy rate
among women;
even
school.
less
Women
of
attitude
the
madrasah,
religious
attend usually for fewer years than men and
them
are
towards
religiosity,
most attend
literate.
education
which
Thus,
seems
Cipari
symbolic
villagers'
of
their
is also reflected in a high degree
cultural continuity and several fatalistic beliefs,
of
though
some changes are obviously occurring but very slowly.
To
after
be
"a wife",
marriage
which
women,
followed by being "a
mother"
is still the main ambition of most
Cipari
seems to coincide with what most women
throughout the world.
soon
want
This is likely to be influenced not
only by biological needs but also by cultural.pressures and
religiosity which all reinforce each other.
In turn
has
of
a
negative
impact
on the self
image
this
women
in
preparing themselves to become a wife and/or mother.
The stereotype of a gender specific division of labour
still
,
This
exists
among adults as well as children in
re-affirms
between men and
women.
the long established division
women:
of
Cipari.
labour
men work less in the home than do
However, besides being responsible for running the
home,
most
productively
and
contribute considerably to their family's livelihood;
the
poorer
Cipari
women
work
also
are forced and pushed into seeking an income
the better-off wQmen are pulled into doing so.
domestic
work
is
responsibility
even
and
still
regarded
as
while
Yet women's
their
there is hardly any sharing
prior
of
work;
their directly productive work is still relegated
secondary
family
often
importance
labour".
just because most of it
is
to
"unpaid
These two roles of housewife and
worker
put conflicting demands on women's time and efforts,
a problem with which women are struggling bravely.
Economic
poorest
differentiation
Cipari
households
between
the
richest
manifests itself not
only
terms of amounts of income and expenditure but also in
variety
and
in
the
and quality of food consumed which is reflected in
different
figures
of calorie intake.
obviously
one
the
of
most
important
Though
income
determinants
is
of
nutritional levels, seasonal constraints and socio-cultural
variables are also significant:
economic
in
social rather than purely
relationships ensure the survival of the
particular.
calorie-protein
There
is
shortages
no
one
single
poorest
solution
occurring among individuals
for
of
the different household strata.
Wives have so far been largely considered as "guardians"
of
the intra-household food distribution and thus tend
to
be
the
to
improve
one
target selected by
family
health.
programmes
But this rests on
that
a
aim
fallacious
A CASE STUDY OF ClPARl VILLAGE I N WEST JAVA, INDONESIA
BY
AIDA VITAYALA SJAFRI HUBEIS
BOGOR AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY ( IPB ) GRADUATE SCHOOL
BOGOR, INDONESIA, AUGUST 1985
ABSTRACT
t
AIDA
Food.
VITAYALA ST-WPK
Health
and
HUBEIS
PROFESSOR
SJARIFUDDIN
Jakarta)
EPSTEIN
DOCTOR
"Women,
563),
Cipari
of
(Under the supervision of
MARGONO SLAMET ( I P B ) , PROFESSOR DOCTOR
PROFESSOR DOCTOR R.
SCARLETT
80
Development", A Case Study
Village in West Java, Indonesia.
T.
(PPN
(University of
AFFENDI ANWAR
Sussex,
(IPB),
England),
PROFESSOR
BAHARSYAH (IPB) and DOCTOR MELY G.
DOCTOR
TAN (LIPL-
.
This
thesis focusses Qn women's roles, .food, health
and development.
Therefore,
it relates mainly to women's
roles in the domestic domain.
It is important to study in
detail their concrete roles in this area,
not they have any spare labour capacity.
to
be
underemployed
participate
in
then
the
demand
i.e.
whether or
If they are found
for
women
other than domestic work would
to
have
more
force. If on the other hand they prove to be fully occupied
the
reasons for this have to be discovered.
this
it
is
necessary to know women's own
To
discover
perception
thkir traditional roles and their effort to diversify
as
well as the handicaps they are facing in this
Such
but
I
an
enquiry is not limited to ideological
them
context.
viewpoints
includes socio-economic and cultural factors as
well.
thus try to explore the reasons for the perpetuation
traditional
domestic
do.
of
roles:
what
women
actually
do
work rather than what they should or
in
of
their
should
not
To find answers to these questions I suggest that case
studies using anthropological style participant observation
with
a holistic approach are more helpful to gain
insight
rather
questionnaires.
than
rely
only
on
survey
indepth
methods
and
This in turn made me concentrate my study
on one community only, namely Cipari.
Cipari
lies in the hilly terrain of West Java and
is
generally regarded as one of the most traditional societies
of
the
it
sub district in which it is situated:
has
a
total population of 1,653 residing in 350 households. It is
a
devout Islamic tradition-bound society,
where religious
leaders exert power not only in religious concerns but also
secular
matters
reflected
means
Q£
land
in strong "Patron-Client"
sufficiency
prestige
by
in
ownership.
relationships.
paddy is regarded as desirable
phenomenon
by most
This
villagers.
and
They
is
Self
as
a
cultivate
irrigated land (sawah) Qn which they grow two crops of rice
per
year as well as dry land (tanah darat) on
cultivate
which
they
a variety of valuable crops which constitutes an
important additional income for villagers.
As much as two
thirds
by
of
the village lands are now owned
outsiders.
Many land owners sold their land to rich outsiders just
raise cash for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
find
it
to
When they return and
difficult to make both ends meet they
frequently
become sharecroppers on the land they previously owned.
To
some extent, this phenomenon is a result of villagers' ways
of life to re-interpret the Quran and then formulate
own
'Folk-religion'.
their
Altogether this has brought about a
radical impoverishment in Cipari;
the average area ~f rice
,
land presently available per household is only 0.2 ha which
is less than half the average rice farm size for the
of
Java.
Village
analytical
households
purposes
socio-economic
households
as
respectively.
be
categorised
into three strata according to
standing;
rank
can
whole
the
Because
8,
27,
richest,
of
the
65
percent
middle
emphasis
their
of
and
on
for
the
poorest
religious
training in Cipari there is an unusually high literacy rate
among women;
even
school.
less
Women
of
attitude
the
madrasah,
religious
attend usually for fewer years than men and
them
are
towards
religiosity,
most attend
literate.
education
which
Thus,
seems
Cipari
symbolic
villagers'
of
their
is also reflected in a high degree
cultural continuity and several fatalistic beliefs,
of
though
some changes are obviously occurring but very slowly.
To
after
be
"a wife",
marriage
which
women,
followed by being "a
mother"
is still the main ambition of most
Cipari
seems to coincide with what most women
throughout the world.
soon
want
This is likely to be influenced not
only by biological needs but also by cultural.pressures and
religiosity which all reinforce each other.
In turn
has
of
a
negative
impact
on the self
image
this
women
in
preparing themselves to become a wife and/or mother.
The stereotype of a gender specific division of labour
still
,
This
exists
among adults as well as children in
re-affirms
between men and
women.
the long established division
women:
of
Cipari.
labour
men work less in the home than do
However, besides being responsible for running the
home,
most
productively
and
contribute considerably to their family's livelihood;
the
poorer
Cipari
women
work
also
are forced and pushed into seeking an income
the better-off wQmen are pulled into doing so.
domestic
work
is
responsibility
even
and
still
regarded
as
while
Yet women's
their
there is hardly any sharing
prior
of
work;
their directly productive work is still relegated
secondary
family
often
importance
labour".
just because most of it
is
to
"unpaid
These two roles of housewife and
worker
put conflicting demands on women's time and efforts,
a problem with which women are struggling bravely.
Economic
poorest
differentiation
Cipari
households
between
the
richest
manifests itself not
only
terms of amounts of income and expenditure but also in
variety
and
in
the
and quality of food consumed which is reflected in
different
figures
of calorie intake.
obviously
one
the
of
most
important
Though
income
determinants
is
of
nutritional levels, seasonal constraints and socio-cultural
variables are also significant:
economic
in
social rather than purely
relationships ensure the survival of the
particular.
calorie-protein
There
is
shortages
no
one
single
poorest
solution
occurring among individuals
for
of
the different household strata.
Wives have so far been largely considered as "guardians"
of
the intra-household food distribution and thus tend
to
be
the
to
improve
one
target selected by
family
health.
programmes
But this rests on
that
a
aim
fallacious