BY SIBYLLE KACZOREK
In a country oppressed for 400 years by colonial Portugal, then brutalised by 24 years of Indonesian military rule, and now suffering from dire poverty, the issues of women have long been considered secondary. But now East Timor's socialists are seeking to tackle women's oppression.
The Socialist Party of Timor has not only developed a gender-inclusive party program but is also seeking to find practical ways to help women take control of their lives.
While the notion of extended families and communal sharing is very strong in East Timor, this has fostered a very strict division of labour. It is women who spend 99% of their time in the house cooking for the family, extended family and guests, washing and cleaning, while the men go out to look for employment and to socialise.
For the PST, the liberation of women therefore has to start with their economic independence. While such independence would not end sexism in society, it is a necessary precondition for doing so. Unless women have that economic freedom, the party believes, their choices cannot be real.
The part already has one project successfully established, the cooperative Hadadin which produces traditional East Timorese woven cloth tais, sews the tais into wallets and bags, and markets the goods. Women from all over East Timor are involved in the production of the tais and the majority of the sewing is done in the cooperative's shop in Dili which is close to the central markets.
In January, the party also launched another project, a women's bookshop. The five women who work there, four of them members of the party's central committee, organise and run the bookshop and keep most of the earnings, with 10% going to the party as a sustainer. The women hope to extend the bookshop into a coffee house soon.
The party has also launched a Women's Bookshop Appeal. Speaking at the International Women's Day march in Darwin on March 10, the PST's Maria da Costa Gusmao spoke of the bookshop's need for money and materials and urged Australian supporters to help.
If you can help either the women's bookshop or the Hadadin cooperative either financially or with equipment, please contact Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor in Darwin, on 0407 798782 or via email at <darwin@asiet.org.au>. All donations, goods and money will be delivered in person.