Of Jakarta's more than 10 million residents in 2018, half are women. The number of female residents is still growing, and it is estimated that the female population will actually outnumber the male population. Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics released at the end of last year, Jakarta's population is expected to peak in 2040 at 11.28 million people. The details are 5.44 million men and 5.84 million women.
The increase in population means that more infrastructure is needed. Especially infrastructure that can support the mobility of Jakarta residents, one of which is transportation. With half the city's population, women should be involved in transportation infrastructure development plans, and have the right to enjoy these facilities safely and comfortably.
The DKI Jakarta government actually has a master plan for the development of transportation in this megapolitan city. Among them;
- MRT rail line expansion to 223 kilometers
- Expansion of LRT rail network to 116 kilometers
- Development of Transjakarta route length to 2,149 kilometers
- Construction of a 27-kilometer elevated loopline rail network, and
- Revitalization of 20 thousand angkot units
These five grand transportation plans certainly require funds of up to hundreds of trillions of rupiah. However, it would be nice before this development takes place to first evaluate the existing transportation infrastructure. Especially in terms of safety and comfort for women, who occupy half of the city. Is the infrastructure that has been and will be built enough to favor women?
It should be noted that women have a significant role in the economic development of a country. This was also emphasized by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali, October 2018. "If on this planet of 7 billion half are women, if they are not given the opportunity to channel their thoughts, talents, and potential, how much is wasted," she said.
By providing opportunities for women in economic activities, it can strengthen and even increase household income. Women are not considered a burden, but a partner in the household to realize a more prosperous family. Husbands and wives work hand in hand, together working and earning a living for a better life in the future. With a better income, the family's nutritional needs can be fulfilled, and access to education is also more affordable.
One of the keys for women to play an active role in driving their economy is infrastructure support. Supportive transportation infrastructure will greatly help economic empowerment for women(economic empowerment). With connected infrastructure and short travel routes, women are more optimal in managing their time for domestic needs and economic activities. For example, it takes a mother 1.5 hours to travel to the office due to traffic. With the MRT, the trip to the office can be reduced by 30 minutes. So she can come to the office earlier or leave later, not having to rush to take care of her household needs.
Access to convenient mobility in transportation, in a further effect, can even improve the role of women in their office. She could potentially get promotions and salary increases for being more productive and performing better.
Creating Women-Friendly and Empowering Infrastructure
The transportation sector is indeed synonymous with the masculine world, so that in its development and journey it does not ignore the positive and negative impacts for women. Some means of transportation have tried to accommodate this, for example commuter line trains that provide special women's cars to reduce the risk of sexual harassment on trains that are never empty every day.
In Transjakarta and MRT, special seats have been provided for pregnant women or elderly passengers. However, there are still some notes that can be improved by transportation providers. For example, the number of stairs at several MRT stations is very large, while escalator facilities are not optimal. Availability of toilets, where for women's toilets actually in terms of numbers cannot be equated with men. This is because the biological structure of the female body is more complex than that of men. So that women will spend more time in the toilet than men.
On trains, a common problem faced by women is the height of the handrails. Women, who are not as tall as men, often find it difficult to reach the handrails attached to the train. Another example is when getting off the train, there is often a considerable distance between the train gate and the station platform floor that must be stepped on. This is just from the visible side, and from the comfort side. In creating infrastructure that empowers women, there are at least two factors that become the benchmark; namely comfort and safety.
The comfort factor is more in terms of how infrastructure construction considers physical conditions and affordability of access for women. The safety factor emphasizes the psychological side of women.
The Need for Women's Role in Public Transportation Policy and Design
In order for these two factors to be fulfilled, the presence of women in policy formulation is very important. The results of research by an international organization say that with the inclusion of women in the board of directors and decision-making, the company's performance can be better than before. This of course also applies to government decision-making or policy formulation. This can also encourage the government to pursue the sustainable development targets that are aspired to be realized by 2030.
Citing the results of the International Allience of Woman conference in October 2018, here are some recommendations to consider in building infrastructure that supports women.
1. Implement infrastructure projects that can encourage women to optimize their time for economic activities and be more productive.
2. Implement infrastructure projects that can promote and enhance equal opportunities according to capacity.
3. Involve women in formulating and deciding infrastructure development policies at every stage.
4. Supervision of infrastructure projects and elaboration of project developments to suit women's needs and experiences during piloting or implementation.
Apart from the physical development, it is also necessary to emphasize cultural socialization about the appropriateness of acting or behaving towards women in public places.
The most obvious example is not whistling or flirting when women pass by on public roads. Things like this are sometimes still considered normal by some residents, but can be minimized if we continue to cultivate and socialize norms of politeness to them.
In the end, sustainable infrastructure development that supports women must still be encouraged in this country. The role of women must be recognized as still minimal in policy making, because after all, women have the same rights in enjoying public facilities built by the government.
To support women's involvement, it cannot be done by one party alone. It needs the cooperation of the government, non-governmental organizations, and activists who observe women's rights or users of public facilities who sit together to formulate policies that have a positive impact on all parties.
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