by Gemma Holliani Cahya

Many Indonesians would agree that traditional households – which typically assign domestic roles based on gender, with the husband as the breadwinner and the wife in charge of household chores and children – should be a thing of the past.

However, a draft bill on so-called family resilience, which has been floated at the House of Representatives, apparently wants to challenge the idea by bringing back the traditional way of managing households.

Article 25 of the draft bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, stipulates that husband and wives “are responsible for performing their individual roles in accordance with religious norms, social ethics and the prevailing laws”.

The article stipulates that only the husband has the obligation to be the breadwinner and to fulfill the family’s welfare and household needs, as well as to protect himself and the family from “mistreatment, exploitation and sexual deviation”.

Point 3 of the article stipulates that housewives “are responsible for managing household affairs as best as possible” and to maintain the family’s unity, as well as to fulfill the rights and treat their husband and children well based on, among other factors, religious norms. The bill, one of the 50 bills listed as priority bills in the 2020 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), has received criticism from the public, with many women calling it patriarchal in nature. Read more via Jakarta Post