TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................................... 3

ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................ 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 5
OBSTACLES TO THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN ADULT
EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOCUS ON SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS ....................... 7
RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND FRAMEWORK ......................................................... 7
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 9
Information sources ................................................................................................................... 9
Dynamics and Limits ................................................................................................................ 10
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................................... 11
The Case for Culture. Women and Education ......................................................................... Il
Construction of Gender Relations., .......................................................................................... 13
RESEARCH FINDINGS ....................................................................................................... 16
Traditions. Myths. Metaphors: Women 'sSense of Duty ......................................................... 16
CONTROL. ROLES. RELATIONS: WOMAN'S FORMATION ...................................................... 19
Knowledge and Power in the Community and Government .................................................... 22
Reproduction of Gender Perceptions in Girls and Boys .......................................................... 23
TRACING WOMEN'S ACCESS TO FORMAL EDUCATION ....................................... 26
w h y most women today did not go to school ........................................................................... 26
Current Perceptions on Education for Girls ............................................................................ 27
Meaning-Making on Gender .................................................................................................... 30
INTERVENTIONS AND PERCEPTIONS ......................................................................... 32
Mapping ofliteracy Programs ................................................................................................ 32
Approaches ............................................................................................................................... 33
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Who is Working Where? ........................................................................................................... 32
MOTIVATIONS FOR LEARNING ..................................................................................... 36
STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................... 39
Framework on Literacy and Women ........................................................................................ 39
Pedagogy .................................................................................................................................. 41
Tools and Techniques ............................................................................................................... 43
Approachesfor Organizing ...................................................................................................... 45
Policy advocacy ....................................................................................................................... 46
Networks and Structures .......................................................................................................... 47
Synthesis of Strategies .............................................................................................................. 48
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ANNEX 1: LIST OF RESPONDENTS ................................................................................. 51
ANNEX 2: LIST OF REFERENCES ................................................................................... 57
ACRONYMS i ?
GFFTL: Gr upo Feto Foi n Sa e Ti mor Lorosa r (East Ti mor Yout h Women
Organi zati on)
Loke Dal an (l ocal NGO - Li qui sa) LODA:
NDI : Nati onal Democr acy I nsti tuti on
NGO: Non Gover nment Organi zati on
OGB: Oxf amGreat Bri tai n
OMT: Organi zaco Mul her Ti mor (Organi zati on of Ti morese Women)
OPE: Gabi nete Da Pr omosaun Da I gual i dada (Offi ce for the Promot i on Of
Equal i ty
OPMT Organi zaco Popul ar Mul her Ti mor (Popul ar Organi zati on of Ti morese
Women)
Sekol ah Menengah Atas (Secondary School ) SMA:
SD: Sekol ah Dasar (Pri mary School )
UNDP: Uni ted Nati on Devel opment Program
UNESCO:
UNI CEF: Uni ted Nati ons Chi l dren s Fund
UNTL: Uni versi dade Naci onal Ti mor Lorosa e (East Ti mor Nati onal
Uni versi ty)
Uni ted Nati on for Educati on, Sci enti fi c and Cul ture Organi zati on
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Si nce gai ni ng i ts i ndependence in 1999, the government of East Ti mor has began worki ng
towards i ts vi si on of provi di ng educati on to all and eradi cati ng i l l i teracy among the esti mated
3 50, 000 illiterateTi morese. Compri si ng two- thi rds of these are adul t women. Starti ng 2002,
the government , together with agenci es and non- government organi zati ons, i mpl ement ed
l i teracy programs for the peopl e, and further i ntroduced affi rmati ve acti ons to broaden the
women s rol e f r omthe pri vate towards the publ i c spheres through adul t educati on. However ,
the gl ari ng non-parti ci pati on and non- i nvol vement of women conti nues to be a maj or gap and
chal l enge inthese i nterventi ons.
Thi s research thus expl ores the t wo- pronged questi on of why are Ti morese women not
parti ci pati ng? and why l i teracy programs for women, and how are these i mpl emented?
Wi t h these questi ons, the research al so ai ms to encourage an assessment of the
i mpl ementati on of l i teracy programs inrel ati on towomen s needs and si tuati ons.
Usi ng the cul tural approach, the study i l l ustrates that a woman s deci si on toparti ci pate or not
parti ci pate i s not sol el y based on i ndi vi dual want s or di si nterest, but a deci si on strongl y
i nf ormed by the norms, rol es, val ues and percepti ons embedded inthe home and communi t y.
These i nfl uences on the everyday lifeof a Ti morese have hi ndered women s parti ci pati on.
Targeti ng women for l i teracy has created questi ons that are both cul tural and pol i ti cal . The
gender equal i ty f ramework in l i teracy and other i nterventi ons i s vi ewed by others as an
i mposi ti on f r omi nternati onal agenci es and not respecti ng the cul ture of Ti mor and i ts
tradi ti ons on women and f ami l y. The research engages thi s argument by aski ng the peopl e
thei r vi ews on the equal i ty of ri ghts bet ween women and men. Inthe process, i t i denti fi es the
real i ti es and contenti ous i ssues that may have i mpact on l i teracy and women s empower ment .
Bui l di ng upon the previ ous assessments of l i teracy programs in Ti mor wi th parti cul ar
attenti on to l ocal perspecti ves, f rameworks and approaches to encourage women s
parti ci pati on, the researchers di scussed withparti ci pants of l i teracy cl asses, faci l i tators, as
wel l as communi t y member s and tradi ti onal l eaders, to l ook i nto how l i teracy for women i s
appreci ated at the communi t y l evel . It studi ed the possi bi l i ti es for the strong recommendat i on
of many NGOs and devel opment pl ayers for l i teracy programs to respect and adapt to the
l ocal contexts of Ti mor. However , gi ven a cul ture that posi ti ons the women as subordi nate to
men, cauti on must be taken insuch an adaptati on si nce thi s may l ead to a perpetuati on of the
exi sti ng gender i nequal i ti es. Theref ore, whi l e thi s research factors in the suggesti ons for
l i teracy by women, i t anal yzes these suggesti ons vi s--vi s the transformati ve f ramework of
NGOs. Transf ormati on, inthi s case, means engagi ng both the publ i c spheres of power-state
and communi t y structures, and the pri vate spheres and the everyday l i fe-fami l y, nor ms,
habi ts and i nteracti ons where gender i nequal i ti es are mor e easi l y reproduced. Usi ng Paul o
Frei re s model reading the word and the world, the research study del ved i nto the
questi on of Literacy in the Peoples Lifeworld or everyday experi ences.
The research fi ndi ngs uncover the traditions, myths, and symbolisms that are pervasi ve and
occumng inthe everyday lifeof the f ami l y and communi t y. Thei r power lies inthe seemi ng
natural ness of the val ues and rol es ascri bed to women. The i ntervi ews wi th tradi ti onal l eaders
and women provi ded a gl i mpse of how the sel f - worth and l ocati on of women have been
hi stori cal l y constructed as sel f-sacri fi ci ng, submi ssi ve, and i nferi or to the husband s posi ti on
inthe f ami l y and the communi t y.
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The tradi ti onal roles and relations of the women that have gi ven total control to the men
have al so i mpacted on the womans formation. The woman s domai n i s the home, and
consequentl y, she has very l i mi ted mobi l i ty and access to i nf ormati on as well as l i mi ted
capaci ty for anal ysi s and deci si on- maki ng. Whi l e women are i nfl uenti al innutri ti on, reari ng
of chi l dren and agri cul ture, there are mi ni mal spaces for women s voi ces at the communi t y
and government . The margi nal i zati on of women f romkey posi ti ons often t i mes was traced to
the women s l ack of capabi l i ty or educati on. Whi l e this may be true, this i s not the onl y
reason. The tradi ti onal noti on that women are l ess capabl e than men al so hi nders the
appreci ati on of women s efforts preci sel y because of her tradi ti onal rol es in the f ami l y and
communi t y.
The study provi des di scussi on and several i nsi ghts on how East Ti morese perspecti ve, val ues
and bel i efs rel ati ng to gender i nequal i ty and processes reproduce gender inequalities among
i ts young. Current perceptions and attitudes on education for girls are l i nked to poverty
and the tradi ti on of betrothi ng women and gi rl s for marri age. The girls wer e second pri ori ty
for getti ng educati on si nce they wer e tol eave the f ami l y to stay wi th the husband. The parents
vi ewed that there was no use spendi ng on the gi rl s educati on si nce this was j ust tobenefi t the
f ami l y of her husband.
The experi ences and vi ews about literacy and womens empowerment ranged f rom
resi stance to negoti ati ng wi thi n accepted spheres to radi cal changes. Li teracy was l i nked to
the pol i ti cal act of getti ng out of the dark where the Portuguese was sai d to have kept the
Ti morese for hundreds of years.
The research i denti fi es the i nterventi ons and percepti ons on the vari ous l i teracy approaches
and thei r i nfl uences. Ini ts attempt to map out who i s worki ng where, the research strongl y
r ecommends that establ i shi ng the reach of the l i teracy programs i s i mportant indetermi ni ng
how far the government and NGOs are f romachi evi ng the target of eradi cati ng i l l i teracy of
the esti mated 350, 000 illiterateTi morese wi thi n ten years.
Deri vi ng f romthe i nsi ghts of women on their moti vati ons for l earni ng, as well as thei r
di ffi cul ti es in conti nui ng the l earni ng, the research concl udes wi th an enumerati on of
strategi es and recommendat i ons to respond to the fi ndi ngs, and pri nci pal l y inaddressi ng the
chal l enge of soci o-cul tural obstacl es toTi morese women s parti ci pati on inl i teracy.
Some of the strategi es and recommendat i ons di scussed are:
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The need todevel op rel evant and responsi ve pedagogy;
The i mportance todi scuss cul ture and i ts i mpact on women;
The i mportance todevel op awareness of women s empower ment among the men;
The i mportance totarget women and tocreate all women s cl asses inorder tohel p
women todevel op thei r critical and anal yti cal ski l l s;
The i mportance of usi ng Mot her Tongue;
The need to set up Communi t y Resource Centers inorder tocreate a permanent
l earni ng envi ronment;
The i mportance of devel opi ng an equi val ency systemwi th the f ormal system;
The need toset up a worki ng group composed of l i teracy provi ders f romci vi l soci ety
and government tocoordi nate the wor k and di scuss pol i ci es and strategi es for the Non
Formal sector of Educati on.
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OBSTACLES TO THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION
Focus on Socio-Cultural Factors
OF WOMEN IN ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS~
RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND FRAMEWORK
Each and every Ti morese will be provi ded educati on upon attai ni ng i ndependence. Thi s was
one resoundi ng promi se to the peopl e of East Ti mor duri ng i ts peri od of resi stance f rom
I ndonesi an occupati on. After the restorati on of i ndependence in2002, the government started
maki ng good i ts promi se to provi de educati on, and together wi th agenci es and non-
government organi zati ons (NGOs) i mpl ement ed l i teracy programs starti nginthe year 2002.
The target was to eradi cate i l l i teracy of an esti mated 50%of the Ti morese popul ati on, or cl ose
to 350, 000 peopl e wi th littleor no school i ng at al l 2. Adul t women compri se two-thi rds of thi s
popul ati on. Unf ortunatel y, maj ori ty of these women were absent in the l i teracy cl asses
conducted inEast Ti mor.
Of the 5, 3 1 O l earners incl asses conducted by the Di vi si on of Non- f or mal Educati on al l over
Ti mor , 70% of the parti ci pants are men3. There was no targeti ng of women inthe l i teracy
programpol i cy and i mpl ementati on, and thus, cl asses were opened to all adul ts regardl ess of
sex and age, wi th the hope that women woul d take the i ni ti ati vetol earn and attend the cl asses
on readi ng, wri ti ng and numeracy. Maj ori ty of the l earners inall di stri cts wer e men, wi th the
excepti on of Dili where there was an equal rati o of l earners f romboth sexes. InDili, most of
the men parti ci pants wer e young, whi l e women wer e bet ween 35 to 40 years ol d who onl y
managed to attend the cl asses as rel ati ves f romthe di stri cts took charge of the househol d
whi l e they were incl ass4.
Inrebui l di ng East Ti mor, there wer e affi rmati ve acti ons to broaden women' s rol e f romthe
pri vate towards the publ i c spheres. Asi de f roml i teracy programs, another key i nterventi on for
maki ng women parti ci pate i s through adul t educati on programs, set up by di fferent agenci es.
However , the same si tuati on of havi ng l owattendance of women had been observed. The
UNDP Ci vi c Educati on conducted bri efi ngs on the Consti tuti on and Law and on the Rol e of
the Pol i ce inBaucau f romMay toAugust 2003, and out of the 5, 813 adul ts who attended this
bri efi ng, 62%were men whi l e onl y 38%wer e women despi te the proacti ve efforts to i nvi te
women' . I n the trai ni ngs on Permacul ture (Trai ni ng on Sustai nabl e and I ntegrated
Agri cul ture)6, faci l i tators reported that onl y 25% of the parti ci pants wer e women. NGO
educators al so observed that when women di d manage to attend, they di d not parti ci pate
acti vel y and that men domi nat ed the di scussi ons.
The t ermi nol ogy ' adul t educati on' is used i nthi s research as thi s is a broader concept that i ncl udes the
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anal yti cal and thi nki ng ski l l s of l earners, whi l e l i teracy tends tof ocus on basi c readi ng, wri ti ng, and numer acy
ski l l s.
The Way For war d, Wor l d Bank Dec 2003.
Dr af t - Fr amewor k Paper f or Non- f or mal Educat i on, 2003
Based on an i ntervi ewwi th Di rector General Mahaf ut Bazj her, 3 1 Mar ch 2003
RRC UNDP Ci vi c Educati on Baucau, 2003
A Gender Anal ysi s for Permacul t ure inTi mor - Lest e, OGB, 2003
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Obsi acl cs to l he I ttCcti ve Paiticipaii~.m o' Woiricii in A d u i ~ Ktiucuiioii I~rogi.ariis
1:i~:iis o11 ~~i~~:i~~-~'L[tiiL~l Fuc,toi.,v
Aiipii~i 2004
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Despi te references tothe rol e of women under democrati c East Ti mor, encouragi ng women to
attend and acti vel y parti ci pate in l i teracy and other educati on acti vi ti es remai ns a chal l enge.
Thi s research ai ms to understand the factors and contexts i nf ormi ng the seemi ng di si nterest of
women inparti ci pati ng inthe l i teracy programs. The research startedwi th the questi on why
are women not parti ci pati ng inl i teracy programs? Thi s questi on was broken down i nto t wo:
1) why are women not parti ci pati ng, and 2) why l i teracy programs for women, and how are
these i mpl ement ed? Thi s move was necessary, as the research di d not onl y i nvesti gate the
reasons for parti ci pati on or non-parti ci pati on of women f romthei r end, but al so encouraged
an assessment of the i mpl ementati on of l i teracy programs inrel ati on to women s needs and
si tuati ons.
To better understand women s non-parti ci pati on, the research t eamdeci ded touse the cul tural
approach. It assumed that the women s deci si on whether to parti ci pate or not i s f ounded not
sol el y on the i ndi vi dual s want or unwi l l i ngness; thei rs i s a deci si on strongl y i nf ormed by the
norms, rol es, val ues and percepti ons embedded inthe home and communi t y. The cul tural
approach attempted to surface these i nfl uences on the everyday lifeof a Ti morese and how
they encouraged or hi ndered women s parti ci pati on.
Thi s research bui l ds upon the previ ous assessments of l i teracy programs in Ti mor with
parti cul ar attenti on to l ocal perspecti ves, f rameworks and approaches to encourage women s
parti ci pati on. By tal ki ng wi th parti ci pants and faci l i tators, as wel l as withpeopl e who di d not
parti ci pate, i t l ooked i nto how l i teracy for women i s appreci ated at the communi t y l evel . It
studi ed the possi bi l i ti es for the strong recommendat i on of many NGOs and devel opment
pl ayers for l i teracy programs to respect and adapt to the l ocal contexts of Ti mor. However ,
gi ven a cul ture that posi ti ons the women as subordi nate tomen, cauti on must be taken insuch
an adaptati on si nce this may l ead to a perpetuati on of the exi sti ng gender i nequal i ti es.
Theref ore, whi l e this research factors i nthe suggesti ons for l i teracy by women, i t anal yzes
these suggesti ons vi s--vi s the transformati ve f ramework of NGOs. Transf ormati on, inthi s
case, means engagi ng both the publ i c spheres of power-state and communi t y structures, and
the pri vate spheres and the everyday l i fe-fami l y, norms, habi ts and i nteracti ons where gender
i nequal i ti es are mor e easi l y reproduced.
Li teracy programs inEast Ti mor have been envi si oned indi fferent ways. Gover nment sees i t
as a way to provi de basi c l i teracy and Portuguese l anguage i nstructi on to the peopl e. The
UNI CEF i mpl ement s l i teracy for women inanti ci pati on of i ts i mpact on chi l dren s wel fare.
On the other hand, some NGOs carry out educati on wor k on the premi se that women inTi mor
have been hi stori cal l y di scri mi nated agai nst soci al l y and pol i ti cal l y. Wi t h this inmi nd, the
l i teracy programs hope to enabl e women to read and write towards devel opi ng thei r
conf i dence intransf ormi ng the unequal power rel ati ons wi th men.
The l ast f ramework of pri ori ti zi ngl i teracy for women gave way to a basi c questi on that kept
croppi ng up: why women? Why are women speci al ? Why are l i teracy programs al ways for
women? It may be a non- questi on for devel opment workers who have si nce been purveyors of
gender mai nstreami ng, but the questi on is a val i d and cruci al one f romthe poi nt of vi ewof
the Ti morese. It was argued out that women wer e not the onl y ones depri ved of opportuni ti es
for educati on inthe previ ous years. Men as well fai l edtol earn how to read and wri te duri ng
the col oni al peri od. At the same time, inthe context of Ti mor , men have al ways been at the
forefront of deci si on- maki ng whether i nthe f ami l y or inthe communi t y. The sudden shi ft of
pri ori ti es for women was thus regarded as surpri si ng and at t i mes of f endi ng tothe sensi bi l i ti es
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of the Ti morese. Targeti ng women for l i teracy has created questi ons and comment ari es that
are both cul tural and pol i ti cal .
The gender equal i ty f ramework inl i teracy and other i nterventi ons i s vi ewed by others as an
i mposi ti on f romthe Wor l d Bank and i nternati onal NGOs and not respecti ng the cul ture of
Ti mor and i ts tradi ti ons on women and f ami l y. The research engages this argument by aski ng
the peopl e thei r vi ews on the equal i ty of ri ghts bet ween women and men. Inthe process, i t
i denti fi es the real i ti es and contenti ous i ssues that may have i mpact on l i teracy and women s
empower ment .
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
To unravel that cul ture where l i teracy for women i s l ocated, the research questi ons covered
the everyday life of fami l i es and how expectati ons on the woman are consti tuted, the
communi t y bel i efs and the tradi ti ons that ei ther promot e or retard women s i nvol vement and
l astl y, cul tural percepti ons and practi ces that affect women s access to and wi l l i ngness for
educati on. I n these questi ons, there was an attempt to see how these percepti ons and nor ms
were constructed hi stori cal l y. The di l emma wi th cul tural anal ysi s i s the broadness of
concerns that a research may cover and the rather ci rcui tous approach to understandi ng.
Gi ven the col orful accounts gi ven by tradi ti onal l eaders and vari ed stori es and requests
expressed by the women, the research had to limit the i nsi ghts that are deemed to have a
strong beari ng on l i teracy work.
In formation sources
A total of 642 respondents parti ci pated in the research done through i ntervi ews and
workshops inthe di sti cts of Dili, Li qui ca, Mal i ana, Suai , Same, Vi queque and Baucau. The
respondents age range i s bet ween 1 l to 80 years ol d, and 64% of themcompri se women and
gi rl s.
The i dea was to get stori es and i nf ormati on f romdi fferent perspecti ves and inboth di rect and
i ndi rect manner. Fr omeach of the fi ve cl usters of respondents enumerat ed here, the research
t eami denti fi ed the body of i nsi ghts that i t want ed to sol i ci t:
1. Women- parti ci pants of l i teracy, wi dows, women s groups, women l eaders, uni versi ty
students, pri mary and seni or secondary school students and communi t y women.
Through educati on hi story workshops, i ntervi ews and key questi on workshops, the
women wer e abl e to share thei r everyday l i fe, rel ati ons inthe home and communi t y and
thei r experi ences ineducati on and attendi ng l i teracy and other communi t y proj ects. They
al so tal ked about the rel evance of l i teracy inthei r lifeand f ami l y and r ecommended ways
of desi gni ng l i teracy programs.
2. Tradi ti onal l eaders and communi t i es
East Ti morese are bound together by ki nshi p and tradi ti ons. The tradi ti onal l eaders pl ay a
maj or rol e inthe everyday life as sources of wi sdomand l aws of respect and di sci pl i ne.
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Focits (.ur Suci/~-~iilti,i.crl Fuctotiv
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Through communi t y meeti ngs and i ntervi ews, the research document ed when possi bl e,
the stori es, l aws, myt hs and tradi ti onal percepti ons that have hi stori cal l y and currentl y
i nf ormed the women s and gi rl s f ormati on, how the men s and the women s rol es have
been constructed through tradi ti ons and how these affect women s access to educati on.
A Ti morese sense of i denti ty and bel ongi ngness i s defi ned by l anguage and the f ami l y s
sacred house, among others. The research t eamtal ked with a f ew tradi ti onal l eaders
f romdi fferent sacred houses and ethno-l i ngui sti c groups. Despi te the respondents initial
apprehensi on intal ki ng wi th the research t eam, i t was abl e to have communi t y meeti ngs
and i ntervi ews wi th the tradi ti onal l eaders f romthe f ol l owi ng di stri cts:
Li qui ca - Tokodede
Suai - Kamnasan and Bunak
Mal i ana - Kemak and Bunak
Same - Mambai
Vi queque - Makasae, Nauti and Tet un Teri k
Baucau - Wai mua and Makasae
3. Men, seni or secondary and pri mary school students, and teachers
Across di fferent gender and age groups, the research l ooked at the percepti ons regardi ng
gender and educati on. Thr ough thei r parti ci pati on in the f ocus- group di scussi ons,
workshops, games and i ntervi ews, the groups gave i nsi ghts on the soci al i zati on of gender
among pri mary students (1 1 - 13 years old), seni or secondary students (16- 20 years old),
teachers (30- 40 years ol d) and si ngl e and marri ed men (20-60).
4. Di stri ct admi ni strators, chef de suco, and educati on offi ci al s
The research l ooked i nto the pol i ci es and i nterventi ons of government for devel opi ng the
capaci ti es of women, thei r percepti ons about the non-parti ci pati on of women and the
chal l enges for advocacy for women s empower ment .
5. Communi t y faci l i tators, NGOs, and agenci es doi ng l i teracy wor k
Li teracy provi ders f romNGOs, UNICEF and the government al ong wi th the communi t y
faci l i tators tal ked about their l i teracy f rameworks, pol i ci es, approaches and pedagogy.
They gave thei r observati ons on women s parti ci pati on, comment ari es about gender and
l i teracy and recommendat i ons for enri chi ng the l i teracy wor k targeti ng women.
Dynamics and Limits
The research rel i ed mai nl y on researches done in Ti mor si nce 1999, such as the strategy
papers produced by the f undi ng partners and bi l ateral agenci es. The bui l di ng bl ocks to this
research are the qual i tati ve researches by i nternati onal NGOs about women on di fferent
t hemes such as governance, j usti ce, permacul ture, l eadershi p, and deci si on- maki ng.
Most of the encounters withwomen, tradi ti onal l eaders and other key i nf ormants wer e done
for the fi rst time, and mai nl y through storytel l i ng, workshops and i ntervi ews. Thi s i s a
l i mi tati on of the research, as understandi ng cul ture takes a much l onger timeand coul d have
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i nvol ved other f orms of i nteracti on wi th communi t i es. Thi s research, therefore, is an initial
attempt at a cul tural understandi ng of the contexts for women s l i teracy.
Inthe workshops, some women or men had parti ci pated mor e acti vel y than the others inthei r
group. Thi s dynami cs was i nf ormed by the parti ci pants age, status in life or exposure to
communi t y acti vi ti es. To r emedy thi s si tuati on, the workshops wer e desi gned to al l ow
parti ci pants toi ndi vi dual l y gi ve thei r stori es and vi ews. Thi s proved useful inmany cases but
al so di ffi cul t at ti mes si nce a f ewwomen wer e embarrassed togi ve thei r opi ni ons.
Most i ntervi ews/ workshops were done in Engl i sh and transl ated to Tet umand vi ce-versa.
Makasae, on the other hand, was used in Vi queque and Baucau. The t eamrevi ewed the
questi ons and thei r transl ati ons f romti me to ti me, especi al l y duri ng the earl y weeks of the
f i el dwork to enabl e cl earer and mor e cul ture-sensi ti ve questi ons for data gatheri ng. Al most
all i ntervi ews, di scussi ons and workshops were audi o taped and wer e transcri bed f i -om
Tet udMakasae toEngl i sh.
Two i nterpretati ons faci l i tatedthe data gatheri ng of thi s research. One was f r oma woman
consul tant who rel i ed on her experi ences on popul ar educati on in the Phi l i ppi nes and
appreci ati on of di scourses on gender and cul tural anal ysi s. The other was medi ated through a
Ti morese man s transl ati on. Hi s transl ati on and faci l i tati on in Tet umhave medi ated the
questi ons and responses to questi ons, and therefore the meani ngs and stori es entrusted by the
respondents. As most i ntervi ews and workshops were open- ended and deepeni ng rel i ed on
the f l owof conversati on, f ol l ow- up questi ons took thei r cue f r omthi s transl ati on.
The Oxf am- GB Educati on Pr ogr amme Coordi nator provi ded much hel p and i nputs in the
research desi gn and anal ysi s whi l e member s of the educati on t eamassi sted inorgani zi ng and
faci l i tati ngworkshops.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The Case for Culture, Women and Education
Di fferent researches done in2003 emphasi zed the case for l ooki ng at women s parti ci pati on
f romthe perspecti ve of Ti mor s soci al and cul tural real i ti es. These hi ghl i ghted constrai nts
and opportuni ti es for women s parti ci pati on, for exampl e, in agri cul ture, communi t y
l eadershi p or j usti ce systemas embedded inthe strong communi t y and f ami l y tradi ti ons in
East Ti mor. Many of the studi es cal l ed for the critical rol e of educati on to enabl e the women
to partake of devel opment and democrati zati on. However , there has yet to be a research on
the real i ti es of women s f ormati on and possi bi l i ti es for l earni ng gi ven the patri archy in the
country.
InSept ember 2003, A Review of UNICEF Supported Women s Literacy Project in East Timor
was done by Dr. Roshan Chi trakar. The UNI CEF s Women s Li teracy Proj ect i s a j oi nt effort
wi th the Di vi si on of Non- f or mal Educati on l aunched in August 2002 wi th an initial 158
11
groups inei ght di stri cts7. Dr. Chi trakar revi ewed the i mpact of these initial l i teracy cl asses on
women wi th f ocus on the concept, strategy, met hods and i mpl ementati on of the proj ect. He
observed that the parti ci pati on in and compl eti on of l i teracy programhas not changed
peopl e s practi ces of l i teracy let al one a change inthei r l i vel i hoods. The graduates have not
f ound the l i teracy skills l earnt useful for thei r practi cal day- t o- day wor k.
Chi trakar posed the need tohave a mor e cul ture-sensi ti ve l i teracy programon several counts.
Three poi nts are of parti cul ar i nterest-l i teracy inthe soci o- economi c contexts of the peopl e,
the l anguage i ssue, and l i teracy across t hemes.
On the l anguage, Chi trakar rei terated the proven effecti veness of l earni ng initiallythrough the
fi rst l anguage. He supported the advocacy for the use of the mother tongue inl i teracy cl asses
and therefore the need to produce manual s and readi ng materi al s usi ng the vari ed l ocal
l anguages inTi mor. His argument was that the promoti on of l i teracy ina country depends to
a l arge extent upon how peopl e exerci se thei r l anguage ri ghts. Chi trakar ended hi s revi ewby
r ecommendi ng that l i teracy programs shoul d cut across themes. His chal l enge was rather
than i mpl ement i ng an excl usi ve l i teracy proj ect, bui l di ng on exi sti ng or on- goi ng
devel opment efforts in areas such as heal th, governance, natural resource management ,
mothers cl ub or women s mi cro credi t contri butes toyi el di ng mor e si gni fi cant i mpacts.
Chi trakar s cri ti que and recommendat i ons tackl ed the l owparti ci pati on of women f romthe
poi nt of vi ewof l i teracy programi mpl ementati on. The chal l enge i s to further pursue hi s
questi ons inthe speci fi c contexts of women. How i mperati ve i s the use of the mot her tongue
to women compar ed to men? How do women l earn the abilities of readi ng, wri ti ng, and
numeracy in l i teracy across t hemes? What are the soci o- economi c si tuati ons of women
compared tomen that make the contextual i zati on of l i teracy or any adul t educati on urgent for
women? Frei re, in hi s book The Politics of Education emphasi zed, Readi ng al ways
i nvol ves cri ti cal percepti on, i nterpretati on and rewriting of what i s read. Fol l owi ng this
f ramework, the questi ons on women and l i teracy become i mperati ve.
Researches that engaged the soci o-cul tural and pol i ti cal contexts of Ti morese women proved
useful for a broader understandi ng of women s parti ci pati on. The I nternati onal Rescue
Commi t t ee s Traditional Justice and Gender Based Violence gave vi vi d accounts on how
and why a woman fi nds i t di ffi cul t to conf ront domesti c vi ol ence. Ini ts fi ndi ngs, the research
sai d that A woman who presents a compl ai nt of vi ol ence to a l ocal j usti ce heari ng cannot be
guaranteed that j usti ce inthe true sense of the wor d will be del i vered. Women have mi ni mal
and often superfi ci al parti ci pati on inj usti ce heari ngs and fi nd that the rul i ngs that are passed
are often based on admi ni strators j usti ces own bi ases and cul tural bel i efs regardi ng women s
status insoci ety. Thi s real i ty inthe tradi ti onal system, therefore, mor e often than not dri ves
a woman to conf ormto the wi shes of her husband and hi s f ami l y and to limit her rol e wi thi n
the househol d. How the threat of domesti c vi ol ence and bi ases agai nst women of the
tradi ti onal j usti ce systemaffect the women s parti ci pati on in l i teracy i s al so worth
i nvesti gati ng.
-
A Review of UNICEF Supported Womens Literacy Project in East Timor, Dr. Roshan Chitrakar, September
2003
Paulo Freire was a radical educator who worked with many post-independence countries and theorized on
popular education and culture. His framework on reading the word and the world was his very important
contribution. This was the framework that inspired the literacy work of the resistance in East Timor in 1975.
12
i
Oxf am- CAA 2003 research on Underlying Cuuses of Gender Inequaliq in Cova Lima, Timor
Leste gathered i nsi ghts f roma si x- week parti ci patory research in all seven sub-di stri cts of
Cova Li ma. The research i denti fi ed the constrai nts to women s access to economi c
opportuni ti es. It pl aces much pr emi umon the Ti morese women s own percepti ons on i ssues
confronti ng t hemsuch as domesti c vi ol ence, reproducti ve heal th, riskprobl ems and deci si on-
maki ng, and l eadershi p in the communi t y. I nteresti ngl y, i t posed that women do not vi ew
reproducti on and barlake or bri de pri ce as risksi tuati ons for t hem. It al so sai d the percepti on
of poverty is not di rectl y rel ated wi th the amount of assets one has, but wi th the characteri sti cs
of the haml et int er ms of ki nshi p rel ati ons. The concl usi ons that poverty reducti on shoul d
f ocus not onl y on poor individuals but on support groups and economi c opportuni ti es for
women shoul d begi n wi th acti vi ti es women are al ready al l owed to do wer e i nsi ghts that
i nf ormed thi s research.
The Oxf am- CAA research rei terated the cal l for a cul tural approach towomen s parti ci pati on.
It comment ed that di scussi ons wi th women s groups, other communi t y servi ce organi zati ons
(CSOs) and government conti nual l y i denti fy that a number of i nequal i ti es exi st for women,
yet there has been l i ttl e debate of anal ysi s i nto the underl yi ng causes of gender i nequal i ty and
thus possi bl e strategi es to promot e equi ty f romthe grassroots to the nati onal l evel . In
addi ti on, there has been l i ttl edi scussi on on the East Ti morese perspecti ve, val ues and bel i efs
rel ati ng to gender i nequal i ty and processes that reproduce gender i nequal i ti es. Thi s research
on Women and Educati on takes its cue f romthi s i nsi ght.
Construction of Gender Relations
Anal ysi s f rameworks for engagi ng gender i ssues abound. The f rameworks parti cul arl y useful
for educati on wer e captured by Fi ona Leach in her book Practising Gender Analysis in
Education.
Accordi ng to Leach gender rel ati ons refers to i nteracti on and soci al rel ati onshi ps bet ween
women and men, both in the pri vate and publ i c arena. Gender rel ati ons can i nvol ve
cooperati on or confl i ct, trust or suspi ci on, partnershi ps and competi ti on, l ove or hate,
tenderness or vi ol ence, and compl ex combi nati ons among them. Gender rel ati ons are
i nfl uenced by other mar ker s of soci al i denti ty such as cl ass, race, ethni ci ty, rel i gi on and age.
Further, gender anal ysi s i nvol ves exami ni ng rel ati onshi ps bet ween women and men, and the
i nequal i ti es and power di fferences bet ween t hem, in a systemati c way. The ai mof gender
anal ysi s i s to unpack the hi erarchi cal nature of gender rel ati ons as part of a broader soci al
anal ysi s, to determi ne what changes are requi red if mor e equi tabl e rel ati onshi ps are to resul t
and ul ti matel y topromot e a mor e equal soci ety.
Of the many f rameworks in Leach s book, the Soci al Rel ati ons Approach devel oped by
Nai l a Kabeer proved most useful for thi s research. Kabeer anal yzed gender i nequal i ti es by
i nvesti gati ng the i nsti tuti onal rel ati ons bet ween State, market, communi t y and f ami l y or
ki nshi p. I n descri bi ng Kabeer s f ramework, Leach sai d that Nai l a Kabeer uses the t er m
Published by Oxfam-GB in 2003, the book was described by the author as a taster of analytical tools that can
Ibid. p. 33. Kabeer developed the approach in the early 1990s at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS),
be used for gender audit of education institutions.
University of Sussex.
10
Obsiac1c.s io Lhc Effiictic Piliticipaiioii of Woineii in AiluIl P<iucaiioii I+ogi.aiiis
Au:*.isi 2004
13
Focii,~ o// 5o(:ir~-Ct!tiirul I~~cicki~:~
soci al rel ati ons to descri be the structural rel ati onshi ps that create and reproduce systemati c
di fferences inthe posi ti oni ng of groups of peopl e. Such rel ati onshi ps l argel y determi ne our
i denti ty, what rol es and responsi bi l i ti es are, and what cl ai ms we can make. They determi ne
our ri ghts and the control that we have over our own l i ves and those of others. Soci al
rel ati ons produce i nequal i ti es, whi ch ascri be to each i ndi vi dual a posi ti on inthe structure and
hi erarchy of thei r soci ety.
I n Ti mor, the f ami l y and cl ans and the communi t y power structures defi ne the soci al fabri c
whereby women and men defi ne and negoti ate meani ngs and rel ati onshi ps inthei r l i ves. Fr om
these i nsti tuti ons emanat e the tradi ti ons that have kept Ti morese together throughout the
col oni al peri od, resi stance, f ami ne and other hardshi ps. Ospi na and Hohe s study on the
Tradi ti onal Power Structures and the Communi t y Empower ment and Local Governance
Proj ect provi des an i n- depth l ook i nto the l ocal power structures. A core usual l y i nhabi ts a
si ngl e house. It consi sts of a marri ed coupl e and thei r unmarri ed chi l dren. The core f ami l y
never exi sts by i tsel f; i t i s usual l y bound ina whol e uni verse of soci al rel ati onshi ps. Thei r
cl osest rel ati ves are member s of thei r l i neage. A l i neage consi sts of peopl e that are rel ated
to each other in a uni l ateral way. Thi s means ei ther through the father s (patri l i neal ) or
through the mot her s (matri l i neal ) si de. Ina patri l i neal system, all rel ati ves fi -omhi s father s
si de (e.g. hi s father s brothers, father s father or hi s own brother) are hi s cl ose rel ati ves and
they are all percei ved as bei ng connected through the same bl ood. The same structure i s
appl i ed ina matri l i neal system, wi th the di fference bei ng that the rel ati ves here are reckoned
onl y through the mot her s si de. East Ti morese soci eti es are mai nl y patri l i neal wi th some
excepti ons.
In such syst ems, all member s of the l i neage refer to a common ancestor. Thi s group of
peopl e f orms the descent group (uma kain/ahimatan). One or mor e descent groups can ref er
to a sacred house. One s sacred house i s one s i denti ty. A person who does not know the
name of hi sher sacred house i s not Ti m~r ese ~. Thi s i s a vi ew sti l l hel d dearl y by the
chi l dren and both ol d and young men and women. The sacred house is one s beari ng, one s
ancestral l i neage, and therefore, one s i denti ty.
14 C L
J ose Gonzaga, inhi s unpubl i shed thesi s16 establ i shed the central i ty of the sacred house and
the ancestors for the Ti morese by l ooki ng at barara, a sacred prayer expressed intradi ti onal
cer emony for bui l di ng the sacred house. Every barara has tradi ti onal el ements whi ch are
rel ated tothe ancestor of cl an inthe anci ent ti me. There i s a category of l i nes on hi stori es and
geneal ogi es that recount ori gi ns. There are l i nes that recount hi stori es and myt hs of ori gi n.
They are likethe ori gi n of the Kabi tareno, the styl e accounts of the wanderi ng of the cl an of
Lari bere - samasul a. Hi stori cal l y every cl an inthe Al awa vi l l age f romkabi tareo cl an, then
they are such as Duani ko, Al afatari a, Kabi tana, and Kabureno Kabu oso. The most substanti al
inthe ri tual l anguage i s the cl an hi story. (Gonzaga)
r.
Thi s bel i ef in the ancestors i s not onl y ceremoni al but exi sts in the everyday life of the
Ti morese. Gonzaga hi ghl i ghted the si gni fi cance and functi on of the barara for the Makasae
Leach, page 87
l2 Ospina and Hohe, September 2001, p. 16.
l 3 Ospina and Hohe gave the Bunaq in Bobonaro Distrrict as an example. In the course of this Oxfam-GB
research, the team talked with the matrilineal clans of Kamnasan in Suai and Bunak in Maliana.
l4 Ibid.
l 6 Written in 2002 and presented in 2003 for a diploma in AB English, Gonzagas thesis got a high mark.
14
conversations with a woman and man working in the NGO and with many traditional leaders, M a y 2004
communi t y of the Kabi tareno cl an. Thr ough the prayer, i t i s sai d that rel ati onshi ps and peace
are mai ntai ned through the i ntercessi on of the ancestors who protect the cl an f romdanger.
The cl an bel i eves in the worl d after death and that the ancestors al ways see what thei r
atti tudes are.
Further, Gonzaga observed that al though the communi t y has Cathol i c bel i efs, the peopl e still
bel i eve in thei r ancestors. For i nstance, if they have a si ck rel ati ve or someone di ed
mysteri ousl y, they will conduct a ritual or cer emony such as tu baru - asa iti. The ai mof thi s
ceremony i s toknow the cause of the si ckness or death.
The sacred house al so symbol i zes strong tradi ti ons that unti l now keep fami l i es in a cl an
together. These tradi ti ons i ncl ude si tti ng together to di scuss marri ages bet ween fami l i es,
medi ati on of probl ems by the katuas adat, storytel l i ng about the l aws of respect inthe cl an,
harvest cel ebrati ons, etc. Inall these tradi ti ons, men pl ay the key rol es and are the deci si on-
makers and hol ders of the l aw. It is therefore i mportant to see how these communi t y
tradi ti ons i nf ormwomen s rol es, demeanor and acti on.
Inboth patri l i neal and matri l i neal fami l i es, the rel ati onshi ps are patri archal innature. The
f ormati on of sons and daughters and rel ati onshi ps bet ween husband and wi f e and deci si on-
maki ng in the communi t y bet ween men and women are l i nked to Mi chel Foucaul t s
contenti on on patri archy wher e the di al ecti c of the f ami l y assumes that the man natural l y
hol ds power. It was al so useful to use as one f r amewor k Foucaul t s noti on on the power of
di sci pl i nary practi ces that tend to control the body and how thi s is perpetuated by an
i ndi vi dual s i nternal i zed oppressi on. Control l i ng the girls and al so the need for a marri ed
woman to control hersel f cropped up in many i nstances duri ng the research. What these
control s are and how girls and women negoti ate and al so gi ve consent to t hemis an area
studi ed inthe research.
Lastl y, barlake negoti ated duri ng marri age arrangements has been a bone of contenti on when
di scussi ng the pl i ght of Ti morese women. The barlake and how i t i mpi nges on a woman s
sel f - worth, rol e and subordi nati on has been contested in di fferent ways by both men and
women of Ti mor . It was useful to rel ate barlake to Fri edri ch Ni et ~sche s ~ i nsi ghts on how
rel ati onshi ps, whi ch are cul tural innature, are f ormed bet ween parti es. Inhi s Genealogy of
Mords, he wrote that the feel i ng of gui l t, of personal obl i gati on, had its ori gi n, as we saw, in
the ol dest and most pri mi ti ve personal rel ati onshi p, that bet ween buyer and sel l er, credi tor and
debtor: i t was here that one person first encountered another person, that one person fi rst
measured himself agai nst another. No grade of ci vi l i zati on.. . has yet been di scovered in
whi ch somet hi ng of thi s rel ati onshi p has not been noti ceabl e. Setti ng the pri ces, determi ni ng
val ues, contri vi ng equi val ences, exchangi ng - - - these preoccupi ed the earl i est thi nki ng of man
to so great an extent that ina certai n sense they consti tute thi nki ng as such: here i t was that
the ol dest ki nd of astuteness devel oped; here l i kewi se, we may suppose, di d human pri de, the
feel i ng of superi ori ty inrel ati on toother ani mal s have its first begi nni ngs.
Throughout the resi stance, Ti morese women acti vi sts protested vehement l y agai nst the human
ri ghts vi ol ati ons done to women duri ng the war . In the process, they produced numer ous
speeches, statements, appeal s and other papers that were presented insol i dari ty conf erences,
Geneal ogy of Mor al s, Ni etzsche, 1877. Basi c Wri t i ngs of Ni et zsche, transl ated by Wal t er Kauf mann, p. 506
17
Obsiuclcs 10 Lhc CHccliue 13ai.ticipai.ion of Wciincii in Adult Iducuiiciii Pi.ogimis
A i.iy.ic1 7001-
15
/JCllS O11 ~ ~ ( ~ [ : ; l ~ - ~ l ( I z / ~ ~ ~ ~ ~CI~~<lll\.
demonstrati ons or in the negoti ati ons before the Uni ted Nati ons. After i ndependence,
agenci es and NGOs, in ai d of thei r i nterventi ons, conducted researches about women on
di fferent t hemes, i .e., permacul ture, communi t y parti ci pati on, heal th, domesti c vi ol ence,
tradi ti onal j usti ce, etc. Thi s study on the Obstacles in the Participation of Women in Adult
Education Programs: Socio-Cultural Factors is yet another of those themati c researches.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Traditions, Myths, Metaphors: Womens Sense of Duty
One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. I - Simone de Beauvoir
The stori es that are bequeathed f romgenerati on to generati on, thepracti ces that are observed
by women and men, the spoken l anguage and even the accepted ways of dressi ng are
everyday mani festati ons of how a woman shoul d be inTi morese soci ety. Occurri ng inthe
everyday lifeof the f ami l y and communi t y, thei r power lies inthe seemi ng natural ness of the
val ues and rol es ascri bed to women. The i ntervi ews with tradi ti onal l eaders and women
provi ded a gl i mpse of how the sel f - worth and l ocati on of women have been hi stori cal l y
constructed.
She was the sacrijice that we gave the ocean.
Tradi ti onal l eaders ref used to share wi th us the stori es and myt hs about the ancestors. They
sai d that these are sacred and onl y a chosen man f romthe cl an knows the hi story. Ti o
August o Pi nto gave a previ ewof a myth inLi qui ca ami d hi s cauti on that one cannot tell the
whol e story or el se he will di e.
We are Asmanu peopl e and the forest bi rds (manuf ui k) brought us f r omAl or to put in
Asmanu. They created the sea inAsmanu, the hol e i s still there. Our ancestors prepared thei r
sister Barkasa de Roma, gave her a dress, gave t wo bags, and put a morten18 around her neck.
She was the sacri fi ce for the sea, to dri ve i t away. When she col l ected the sea, she was
marri ed wi ththe sea and di sappeared.
The myth hi ghl i ghted a woman s sense of duty to save her cl an f romdi saster and ensure the
conti nuati on of its l i neage. Thi s sense of duty repeats itself inanother myth inBaucau.
You are my shovel and my bag. You come to plant my land and you are my wealth, my
property. - - - Ti o August o, Tokodede, Li qui ca
A baby girl i s al ways wel comed wi th j oy inthe Ti morese househol d; a f ami l y that has mor e
girls than boys meant a bounti ful future. Fr omthe ti me of the ancestors unti l the 70s,
marri ages wer e al ready arranged bet ween cousi ns, as earl y as when a woman is pregnant or
when a baby was born. Ti o August o conti nued In our ti me, when a baby was born and her
aunt vi si ted, she d ask whether i t was a girl or a boy. I f i t were a girl, then she d say you are
my shovel and my bag, inthe future, you come topl ant my l and and bri ng me weal th.
l 8 Timorese necklace made out of stone, usually orange in color.
16
The meani ng of the baby girl as weal th is often associ ated wi th the val ue of ferti l i ty. It i s
not percei ved that the woman, as an i ndi vi dual person, i s passed on to another f ami l y, but that
the val ue of fertility i s suppl i ed to one s Wi f e Taker. I n the Wi f e Taker f ami l y, the new
woman produces new life agai n in her chi l dren and this new life i s then passed on to one s
own Wi f e Taker.
The bundl e of j oy, the baby girl, was therefore bound to a duty. Ti o August o further narrated:
After her marri age had been arranged to a cousi n, the aunt was to gi ve a buffal o or t wo as
initial barlake to the baby s f ami l y. The f ami l y then had to care for her unti l she s ol d enough
to marry. She had to stay at home and l earn the househol d duti es. She cannot go to school
nor pl ay outsi de and the parents had to control her. She had been betrothed for marri age.
The daughter coul d not possi bl y renege on this arranged marri age. I f she wer e not to marry
her cousi n, her f ami l y had to pay back the barlake and worse, she had brought shame to her
f ami l y. TioAugust o puts this vi vi dl y: Duri ng the Portuguese ti me, even if she does not want
to get marri ed to the man, I a m the father, I have to beat her so for i nstance, likewhen the
uncl e and aunt are by the door, even if she doesn t want to get marri ed wi th the man, and she
can run away to the J akarta, but her mother and father cannot l et her l eave because her parents
have the obl i gati on to her uncl e and aunt. So when her aunt and uncl e come, as parents we
have an obl i gati on to gi ve our daughter.
What i s si gni fi cant about thi s arranged marri age in the past and the story about barkasa i s
how sel f -sacri f i ce and sense of duty have repeatedl y been expected f romthe Ti morese woman
si nce bi rth. Obedi ence to the f ami l y, the gui l t of bri ngi ng shame to the f ami l y and doi ng
househol d chores are l earned earl y inl i fe. These val ues and nor ms are further rei nforced in
marri ed l i fe.
Once marri ed, i t i s a woman s duty to conti nue the f l owof l i fe bet ween f ami l i es. Thi s i s
captured in a myt h f romVemasse2 that emphasi zed the central i ty of a woman s fertility in
establ i shi ng and mai ntai ni ng the l i neage
My ancestors stem from Larantuka and I am not Lord of the Land here; I became liurai
through an oath. My ancestors came to Timor. There were three people; one went to
Vemasse, one to Los Palos, one to Lifao. They came for trading and then took the water from
the well in Vemasse. After they met with the liurai there, the people from Larantuka were
invited to his house because the liurai saw that these people were literate. H e broke the boat
that was sent from the liurai of Larantuka. Then he saw that these people were not married
yet, so the ancestor brought one woman for marriage. That woman stemmed from the Lor
family. They had no descendants and the woman died. They brought another woman from
Lor and she also died. Then they brought the child of the liurai Luka Viqueque. Afer
marrying with the child of liurai Luka they had descendants. Because of that, the lord of the
land started approaching the liurai from Larantuka, ifyou already have taken women from
l9 Ospina and Hohe are here refemng to the Wife Giver being associated with the value of fertility. The Wife
Giver refers to the family of the bride and the Wife Taker to the family of the groom. For the vivid and detailed
account on this Wife Giver and Wife Taker relationship, please refer to the study.
2o This myth was documented by Ospina and Hohe to illustrate the division of political and ritual authority. W e
now use this myth to illustrate the centrality of a womans reproduction to the families.
17
Obsi acl t s io t he LilFctivc Paiticip ion of \Voi~icii iii ,AcliJl~ Educaiioii I+ogi.ai.iis
F ~ J c L ~ , ~ (JI/ , ~ / ~ ~ : i / J ~ l [ i t / ~ j - ~ i l Fac,li)t:r
A iI~lJS1 2004
here and I a m the liurai here, but I do not know how to write and to read, I hand over to
you. After he hadpassed his power to him, they conducted an oath for the Lord of the Land.
Thi s myt h shows why i t i s i mportant for women to have many chi l dren and why a woman
who cannot gi ve bi rth i s l ooked down upon inTi mor. Thi s duty of the woman to conti nue the
f l owof l i fe may expl ai n why most women, as stated inthe Oxf am- OCAA21 research di d
not vi ewreproducti on as a risk and on the contrary, not havi ng an offspri ng poses a bi g
probl em.
0
Barlake: Ties that Bind Women
Blood oaths and marriage are the most crucial points in uniting people. I
Tradi ti onal l eaders say that nowadays, mor e than 50%of coupl es marry for l ovez3. Despi te
thi s change f romarranged marri ages bet ween cousi ns, the barlake i s still observed inmany
di stri cts. InBaucau, Vi queque and Same, the tradi ti onal l eaders sai dbarlake is not the pri ce
of the woman for marri age but is actual l y gi vi ng val ue to the woman. The hi gher the
barlake, therefore, the hi gher i s her val ue inrel ati on to the man. Conversel y, some say the
barlake i s the payment for the f ami l y, for havi ng rai sed the daughter to become a proper and
duti ful woman for the husband- t o- be.
Barlake i s not onl y bet ween the woman and the man tobe marri ed. Kat uas Ci pri ano Neto of
Makasae, Baucau sai d that the barlake came f romour ancestors and we conti nue i t. If you
gi ve barlake, we cal l i t t omat a- omaraha, tomata refers tothe rel ati ves of the man s f ami l y and
omaraha refers to the woman s rel ati ves. If you don t bri ng the barlake, then we cannot say
t omat a- omaraha. If you likemy daughter, you have to gi ve me barlake and then you can take
my daughter and then we are t omat a- omaraha.
Thi s exchange of goods bet ween the Wi f e Gi ver and the Wi f e Taker24 is sai d tobe the most
i mportant act in a marri age. The el ders of the Wi f e Taker and Wi f e Gi ver si t together to
di scuss what amount s of goods have to be exchanged for the marri age. Thi s i s a very
i mportant task of the el ders. They are the onl y ones to know all the ki nshi p rel ati ons and the
hi erarchy of the Houses and therefore know the appropri ate amount of goods tobe exchanged.
The marri age partners are not of bi g i mportance here. It i s of mor e i mportance what the Wi f e
Taker and the Wi f e Gi ver groups have tobri ng.
Women acti vi sts consi der barlake as the root of domesti c vi ol ence. Many respondents sai d
that i t was usual to hear a man say that when he beats up hi s wi f e, he i s j ust beati ng up hi s
barlake. But many, however, countered that thi s vi ol ence happens inthe home not because of
barlake but because of the man s i ndi vi dual characteri sti cs. I n the fi rst pl ace, they sai d, the
barlake gi ven to hi s wi f e s f ami l y was not f romhi mbut f romhi s parents rel ati ves. At the
same ti me, even in cl ans wher e barlake i s not observed, the men sti l l hit the women. The
Kamnasan (Suai), Bunak(Suai and Mal i ana) and Tet un Teri k (Vi queque), the fami l i es do not
21 Underlying Causes of Gender Inequity in Covalima, Timor Leste, 2003
22 Ospina and Hohe, p. 19.
23 This estimate was consistent with all the traditional leaders that the research team talked with. They said that
mostly families in the villages still arrange marriages. But nowadays, families allow women and men (or girls
and boys) to choose w h o m they want to marry, otherwise there will be a problem in the family or someone will
get sick.
24 Ospina and Hohe, p. 22
18
observe barlake but has ' boa ho mal us' (betel nut) to establ i sh fami l i es ti esz5. Barlake, even
the menti on of the t er mduri ng marri age di scussi ons, is consi dered an i nsul t to the f ami l i es
and the ancestors of these cl ans. Fami l i es of the bri de and gr oomsit together and share ' boa
ho mal us' to di scuss the marri age and rel ati onshi p bet ween fami l i es. I n these matri l i neal
fami l i es, the women stay with the f ami l y and the communi t y after marri age. The men of
Kamnasan and Bunak, on the other hand, once marri ed, have to l eave thei r fami l i es. Thi s
arrangement i s rel ated to l and ownershi p by the women, for i nthese cl ans, the l and has been
owned by women f romgenerati on togenerati on.
Thr ough barlake or boa ho malus, a marri age becomes mor e than a uni on bet ween man and
wifebut mor e i mportantl y a uni on bet ween fami l i es. The marri ed coupl es are expected to
hel p each other' s f ami l i es i nt i mes of probl ems. Such an arrangement puts ever mor e pressure
for the woman who i s expected to obey and f ol l owher husband at all ti mes.
What was cl ear i nthe workshops was that both men and women vi ewbarlake as a symbol of
subordi nati on of a woman to her husband and to her husband' s f ami l y. The barlake does not
onl y prej udi ce the woman soci al l y, accordi ng to the women studyi ng i n the uni versi tyz6, i t
al so limits the chi l dren' s access to f ormal educati on. The respondents sai d that thei r parents
compl ai ned that they had no money to send both boys and gi rl s to hi gher educati on.
However , they observed that they have money to gi ve to barlake or contri bute buffal oes or
tradi ti onal offeri ngs to a f ami l y of a rel ati ve who di ed. 27 Contri buti ng to the exchange of
goods between f ami l i es al so l eaves the women wi th l i mi ted budget for f ood and heal th care,
tothe detri ment of the nutri ti on and heal th of the chi l dren.
Control, Roles, Relations: Woman's Formation
It was the hospitality of the girls and women that greeted us in many of the houses that we
visited during the interviews. Almost automatically, a girl or a woman will set the small table
with a knitted tablecloth. Later, she enters with a tray of hot tea for all of us to drink.
Feto uma laran deit (Women should only be inside the house) - Mobility and Access
to information
The house is the domai ns of the woman- t o cook, cl ean, wash the cl othes, take care of the
chi l dren, etc. The man goes out of the house to earn a l i vi ng and provi de for the needs of the
f ami l y. Thi s di vi si on of l abor i n the house has rami fi cati ons for the woman' s mobi l i ty, as
women are expected to stay at home most of the time. Normal l y, she onl y goes out at l unch
to bri ng f ood to her husband i nthe fi el d, then goes back home to f eed the ani mal s and cook
di nner. She may go out tobuy thi ngs inthe market or to attend mass i nthe church, but she has
toreturn tothe house i mmedi atel y because she has to take care of the chi l dren.
Earl y on, the girls are brought up i nthe same mol d. The rul es restri cti ngmobi l i ty wer e argued
out as necessary to ensure the girls' safety. After school , girls are expected to go home
25 Ther e are many nuances inthe tradi ti ons, cust oms and l and owner shi p inthese matri l i neal f ami l i es.
Based on the l i fest ones and gr oup di scussi ons inthe uni versi ti es inDili and Baucau, Apr i l - May 2004
Read Zul mi ra' s account inpage 24.
Obsaclcs i(, i.hc Cf'f'ccti.i.c I"i~i.iicipiiiori or \Uolieii in Adii11 I3lucuiioil Piugi,rinici
I,Ci/.S on ~ ~ ~ J ~ : i / ~ - ~ . ~ 2 ~ l l l ~ ~ l l /:oclot:Y
A i.igllsi 2004
26
27
19
P
i mmedi atel y and hel p i n the househol d chores, to study and l earn how to sew. They are not
al l owed to wal k al one at ni ght. Those who stay outsi de the home beyond 7:OO inthe eveni ng
are consi dered bad girls or women. To renounce thi s norm of control may compr omi se a girl
or woman s i mage in the communi t y, and her f ami l y s i mage as well. Whi l e boys and men
spend mor e of thei r l ei sure t i me outsi de of the house, the women and girls spend l ess time
outsi de the home. There are al so limits to the ki nd of l ei sure that a woman can do.
Gossi pi ng, and pl ayi ng cards (especi al l y wi th men) are consi dered bad.
Li mi ted mobi l i ty of the women outsi de the home means f ewer i nteracti ons withother peopl e,
and theref ore l ess acqui si ti on of i nterpersonal skills and other l i fe skills. One i mpact of thi s
l i mi ted mobi l i ty i s the i nabi l i ty of women to l earn a second l anguage. I t was observed that in
areas wher e Tet umi s not the mother tongue, men wer e abl e to speak Tet ummor e than the
women because of thei r transacti ons i n Dili and i n other centers. Meanwhi l e, the woman s
access to i nf ormati on comes mai nl y f romher husband and fri ends in the i mmedi at e
communi t y.
Democr acy has i nsti tuted many opportuni ti es for the woman to devel op hersel f and
parti ci pate outsi de the home. However , there are vi ews that the tradi ti onal arrangements
bet ween husband and wi f e, when di sturbed may threaten the stabi l i ty of the home. I n some
i nstances, when the woman goes out of the house the husband starts questi oni ng the wi f e
about her whereabouts and acti vi ti es.
Some women sai d that thei r husbands wer e j eal ous when they go out and worri ed about t hem
havi ng an affai r. But the men di sagreed wi th thi s percepti on, sayi ng that that men coul d not
be j eal ous si nce ina communi t y, everybody knows who i s marri ed to whomand everybody
respects that. What i s cl ear, though, i s that in each f ami l y, dependi ng on the rel ati onshi p
bet ween husband and wi f e, there is a negoti ati on goi ng on the amount of space and timefor
the women to go out of the house. I n the process, a contestati on of the noti on feto uma l aran
dei t.
4
Feto rona deit, mane poder barak liu (Woman should only listen, man has more
power) --- Analysis and Decision-Making
The i nterdependence bet ween husband and wi f e was overwhel mi ngl y accepted in all the
i ntervi ews and workshops that we had conducted i nall si x di stri cts. The stabi l i ty of the f ami l y
is of utmost concern. Such stabi l i ty i s mai ntai ned wher e the wife i s subordi nate to the
husband who i s the chi ef of the house. Women can deci de i nthe house when i t comes to
f ood, buyi ng cl othes for the chi l dren or sel l i ngchi cken. As for the educati on of the chi l dren,
both husband and wi f e deci de on this in consi derati on of the avai l abi l i ty of money. The
woman al so deci des on how many tais (tradi ti onal fabri c) the f ami l y will bri ng when hel pi ng
a rel ati ve.
When a parent di es, most of the time, the daughters are the ones who take care of the funeral
expenses i nthe f ormof money, buffal oes or pi gs. Whi l e there i s recogni ti on of the abi l i ty of
the women to provi de, the men, usual l y the el der one i s to deci de how much each woman has
to gi ve, whi l e the men are not obl i gated to gi ve as much.
As chi ef of the f ami l y, the man i s the key deci si on- maker. I n three i ntervi ews, i t was sai dthat
Even if he i s deaf and mut e, he i s still the chi ef of the house. Men are the ones who resol ve
the bi gger probl ems or deci si on- maki ng i n the f ami l y and most of the ti me, women are
20
expected tol i stento the man and f ol l owhi s deci si ons. A woman becomes the mai n deci si on-
maker onl y when her husband di es.
Women are supposed to l i sten to thei r husbands. When there i s a probl em, the man has to
thi nk of ways to resol ve the probl emand the woman has to f ol l ow. I t was usual to hear that
when the woman talks too much, she gets the i re of the husband and at ti mes gets the beati ng
that she deserves. Whi l e the man still speaks, the woman comes to cut hi s speech, so he
gets angry. We are not angry, but we say that we are sti l l di scussi ng and you are cutti ng our
di scussi on. W h o i s goi ng to l i sten? So when we are fi ni shed, you can tal k and we can l i sten
to each other. 28
The l i mi ted space provi ded for women to speak out thei r i deas inthe home and the threat of
puni shment f r omthe husband because she tal ks too much di d not encourage the women s
capaci ty tothi nk and anal yze probl ems for hersel f and the f ami l y and therefore, affected al so
her conf i dence to speak out on matters beyond that al l owed for her.
The woman s demeanor of l earni ng to control her tendency to tal k a lot i s al so l earned earl y
on inlifeby the gi rl s. Thi s is one of the traits that the man s f ami l y l ooks for ina future wi f e.
The questi on does she talktoo much or not i s consi dered al ong wi th does she come f roma
good cl an or not? The hi erarchy bet ween husband and wi f e i s al so mani f ested earl y on
duri ng courtshi p or engagement peri od. Ineveryday Tet um, the gi rl / woman i s cal l ed by her
boyf ri end as hau nial abari k, transl ated literallyas my chi l d. She on the other hand, refers
toher boyf ri end as maun or el der brother.
Popul ar sayi ngs inTi mor portray the unequal rel ati onshi ps that di scri mi nate a woman. When
the husband beats up hi s wife, peopl e say bi kan ho kanuru mak bako mal o, meani ng that
such i s normal likepl ate and fork hi tti ng each other. There i s al so the sayi ng feto hanesan
nai n, mane hanesan asu that compares a woman as meat and men as dog. Ina tradi ti onal
medi ati on of a probl embet ween husband and wi f e inMal i ana29, the men who wer e around
were quoti ng thi s and sai d the wi f e and her f ami l y had l ess chances of wi nni ng the case.
Cul tural di ctates that men have mor e power and that i t i s better for women toremai n silent l ed
women to endure vi ol ence inthe home. The IRC research observed that women do not l ook
for j usti ce. They may remai n si l ent, and try to cope wi th the probl emthemsel ves. Many put
up wi th domesti c vi ol ence for a l ong peri od unti l they reach a poi nt wher e they j ust cannot
take anymore.
Under i ndependent Ti mor , there was a cl amor for women s voi ce and parti ci pati on.
However , there i s a seemi ng i mpati ence when women are not abl e to speak out. In one
workshop, a man comment ed to the women You shoul d gi ve your vi ews so you won t say
that i t i s al ways the man who speaks. Yet another remark was we gi ve the women the
opportuni ty to get i nvol ved but they do not want to. There seems tobe an expectati on for the
Based on discussions with men in Viqueque.
The research team observed a traditional mediation where the traditional leaders sat on the chairs to mediate
the problem while the families of both the husband and wife were sitting on the mats to give their side. The
mediation lasted only for half a day. The families were not able to reach an agreement and the case was turned
over to the police and tribunal.
28
29
Obsta<:lc:i 10 ilic Iflcctiue Participaiim ~~Y\\OJTI~II in Adul i IX(lucati~~ii Ii.oyi~~iiis
Aiiyisi 2o(i 4
21
/.-fX!llS /III zSOCf0 - ~-Ll~//7Y/l ~UClOIS
woman tobe automati cal l y conf i dent inhersel f si nce Ti mor i s now under democracy. For the
educated woman who has been exposed to several i nteracti ons in life, thi s may not be a
probl em. But for the woman who had l ess mobi l i ty and depended on her husband to do the
deci si on- maki ng based on the cul ture and where she has tol i sten, this may take some time.
I n most workshops done duri ng the research, even wher e the respondents were all women, the
parti ci pants needed proddi ng f romthe research t eamand the l i teracy faci l i tator. InBaucau, a
woman sai d I onl y tal k once. In Same, three women managed to speak out ami d thei r
trembl i ng voi ces. Certai nl y, i t i s not enough to get women to attend l i teracy and other
acti vi ti es outsi de the home. They shoul d al so be pati entl y encouraged to arti cul ate thei r
vi ews, an act that i s a cul tural break f r omthe noti on that a woman who tal ks too much i s no
good.
Knowledge and Power in the Community and Government
During a community meeting with traditional leaders, women sat at the side or behind the
men. In one instance, a young woman who wanted to share her opinion about the traditions of
their clan had to ask the tacit approval from a traditional leader. %is is to show respect to
the wisdom of the traditional leader.
Whi l e women wer e i nfl uenti al innutri ti on, reari ng of chi l dren and agri cul ture inthe home,
there are mi ni mal spaces for women s voi ces at the communi t y and government . The
tradi ti onal j usti ce systemthat i s still very much al i ve inTi mor i s domi nat ed by men and offers
l i ttl econsol ati on towomen.
Inthe i ntervi ews wi th tradi ti onal l eaders, they sai d that onl y men can be tradi ti onal l eaders
and this i s true in all of Ti mor. Even inthe matri l i neal fami l i es of Bunak and Kamnasan,
women, even when they own and deci de on the use and ownershi p of the l and, were never
appoi nted tradi ti onal l eaders. Tradi ti onal l eaders are deci si on- makers inthe communi t y; they
make and keep the l aws and medi ate when there are probl ems. The reconci l i ati on ensures
that the ancestors are appeased and that by cl osi ng the shame on a f ami l y s name there i s no
risk of future retri buti on or sancti ons f romthe ancestors. These processes are overseen by
vari ous authori ti es that act as a representati ve of the ancestors and due to thei r l i neage have
the power to execute these ~er emoni es. ~ Among these, dependi ng on the l ocati on i s the Li an
Nai n who i s the keeper of the word/ the owner of the words, the macai r f ukun who i s the
hol der of the l aw and the Dat o Uai n who exerci se power to make deci si ons in l ocal
rul i ngs.
On the other hand, intradi ti onal ceremoni es or inthe communi t y, the women are expected to
prepare f ood, perf orminthe dances and songs, at ti mes, hel p resol ve probl ems of women and
attend to other tasks. However , thi s l i mi ted rol e took a turn duri ng the resi stance.
Tradi ti onal l y margi nal i zed, East Ti morese women f ound thei r rol es transf ormed by war. A
smal l mi nori ty j oi ned the gueri l l as. Many mor e f ound themsel ves headi ng the househol ds
duri ng day and spyi ng and carryi ng messages at dusk. Some women wer e traumati zed by the
war but to others the changes boosted thei r sel f -conf i dence. 32 The deci si on- maki ng powers,
however, still rested on the men. Al though as many women as men parti ci pated in pro-
b
30 Nixon and Hohe, 2003, p.17.
31 Babo Soares, 2001, p.3. Both quotes were lifted from Swaines research on traditional justice.
32 East Timor Transition to Statehood, Catherine Scott, CIIR p.10
22
Freti l i n ral l i es throughout 1975, apart f rom Muki Bonaparte (the onl y woman si tti ng on
Freti l i ns Central Commi ttee), and some school teachers on the Commi t t ee for Educati on and
Cul ture, women wer e absent f romFreti l i ns l eader ~hi p. ~~
After i ndependence, there were a lot of efforts to i ntroduce changes inthe tradi ti onal deci si on-
maki ng i n the communi t y, parti cul arl y, to gi ve women the opportuni ti es to parti ci pate and
arti cul ate thei r concerns. I n the assessment of the Wor l d Bank Communi t y Empower ment and
Local Governance Proj ect (CEP), i t was observed that women s parti ci pati on vari ed
accordi ng to i nternal gender dynami cs, soci o- economi c and educati onal background as wel l
as age di fferences and geographi c l ocat i on^. " ^^ Whi l e women and men wer e equal l y
represented i n most vi l l age counci l s, a requi rement set out by CEP, no woman was f ound at
seni or l evel s of the vi l l age or sub-di stri ct counci l s. Invi l l age meeti ngs, the f emal e member s
timei s often taken up servi ng f ood and dri nks to i mportant parti ci pants such as the tradi ti onal
and vi l l age member s. 35
Thi s margi nal i zati on of women f romkey posi ti ons often t i mes was traced to the women s
l ack of capabi l i ty or educati on. Whi l e this may be true, thi s i s not the onl y reason. The
tradi ti onal noti on that women are l ess capabl e than men al so hi nders the appreci ati on of
women s efforts preci sel y because of her tradi ti onal rol es i n the f ami l y and communi t y. In
the workshops and i ntervi ews, this vi ewwas very much preval ent. Whi l e there was an
overwhel mi ng acceptance that under i ndependent East Ti mor, the women can parti ci pate i n
government , NGOs and in the communi t y through the Popul ar Organi zati on of Ti morese
Women (OPMT) or the Organi zati on of Ti morese Women (OMT), there i s al ways that
qual i fi er if she i s capabl e.
Questi ons abound as to the wi l l i ngness and capabi l i ty of women toparti ci pate. Mostl y i t was
the men who remarked that We gi ve t hemthe proj ects but they do not want to be i nvol ved.
We gi ve t hemthe chance to speak but they don t speak36. Thi s atti tude i nti mi dates rather
than encourages women. I n an i ntervi ewwi th a Di stri ct Admi ni strator, she sai d that insome
vi l l ages, the women wer e even prevented f romtaki ng up posi ti ons inthe counci l s. She al so
narrated how her men col l eagues tested her tol erance, strength and capabi l i ti es to hol d on to
her posi ti on. Once ina meeti ng she was tol d to thi nk as a di stri ct admi ni strator and not as a
woman acti vi st. To thi s, she retorted that bei ng a woman hersel f, she coul d not deny the
perspecti ves and the i nterests of the women. Si nce men have tradi ti onal l y domi nated the
l eadershi p at the communi ty- l evel , apparentl y, a Ti morese woman has to prove hersel f
capabl e of hol di ng on to a posi ti on mor e than the man has to. On the other hand, some women
who are al so not used to this arrangement of tenti mes gi ve way to the men s deci si ons as a
way of respect.
Reproduction of Gender Perceptions in Girls and Boys
Aditjonndro 2001. Quoted from W o m e n in East Timor: A Report on Womens Health, Education, Economic
W o m e n in East Timor: A Report on Womens Health, Education, Economic Empowerment and Decision-
33
Empowerment and Decision-Making
making, p.75
35 Ibid.
34
From an interview with a district administrator and a meeting in Maliana.
36
23
Obsiacles to thc Ii:,ifcctivc I.ai.ticipaiioii of W(il.ricii in i\tlult klucuiioii Pi . ogi . ani s
Foc1 IS o Pl socro - ~ M l ! r d Foclci I s
Ailpsi 7001
/
In a heated discussion with secondary school students, w e asked: Can men hit their wives?
In a chorus, they answered BELE! (ney can!) A boy offered an explanation, The man
teaches his wife and gives her advice but she never listens, so he hits her because of love. So
this is not domestic violence, this is not a crime. To this the girls agreed. But when asked
whether the girls want their future husbands to beat them up, they said, again in a chorus
TA BELE!(%ey cannot!). To this, the boys answered we will teach you a lesson.
The workshops wi th girls and boys inthe pri mary school , grades 5-6, and seni or secondary
hi gh school , cl ass 3 provi ded i nsi ghts on the reproducti on of gender rel ati ons i n the young
generati ons. Inthe workshops in Seni or Secondary School (SMA), students wer e asked to
gi ve thei r opi ni ons to a set of si tuati ons regardi ng women and men. I n all SMA, the i ntense
debates/ di scussi ons wer e around the i ssue of equal power between husband and wi f e in the
home and on the real i ty of pregnant or mamed students goi ng back to SMA. It was
i nteresti ng to note that the students al so agree withthe val ues hel d dearl y by adul ts such as
that on the stabi l i ty of the home and that mor e chi l dren means weal th. There wer e nuances
inthei r responses, though.
Rol es and Mobi l i ty
Bot h boys and girls have responsi bi l i ti es at home. However , boys seemto have mor e
mobi l i ty than gi rl s. Inthe workshops done wi thpri mary school students, when asked what
they do duri ng l ei sure time, maj ori ty of the girls answered that they wash di shes, study or
l earn how to sew. On the other hand, most boys stayed outsi de topl ay bal l whi l e a f ewsai d
that they study. When asked what thei r el der si ster or aunt does, boys and gi rl s sai d that they
wor k at home to cook and wash cl othes. Meanwhi l e maj ori ty sai d that el der brother or uncl e
or badi u stays outsi de the house wi th fri ends and a fewdri nks tua (pal mwi ne), whi l e others
work.
I n SMA, the girls compl ai ned that they have l ess timeto study at home because of the many
househol d chores they have to do. They are al so not al l owed to go out and meet withfri ends
except when there are school acti vi ti es to wor k on wi th thei r fri ends. Meanwhi l e, boys,
al though they do chores likecol l ecti ng wood or fetchi ng water, have mor e timeto study and
rel ax.
0 Percepti ons on the Fami l y
On Power between men and women in the home, i n all workshops wi th seni or secondary
students, both girls and boys bel i eve that under i ndependent East Ti mor , men and women
have the same ri ghts. However , they al so sai d that men have mor e power than women. The
man i s the chi ef of the house and the woman shoul d al ways support hi m. Even an educated
woman, some sai d, must return to the ki tchen to cook. Equal ri ghts wer e most of the time
referred to as the ri ght to do certai n rol es. For exampl e, now women can al so go to the fi el d
or be represented inthe communi t y through OPMT/ OMT. The man can al so cook when the
woman is si ck and can take care of the chi l dren.
I n all SMA, the vi ewthat a woman can have the same ri ghts AND power as the man i s f ought
out by mi nori ty, mostl y by gi rl s groups and a fewboys. I nteresti ngl y, they rei teratedthat in
the moder n democracy, women, if they are capabl e (agai n the qualifier), can go to wor k and
get a househol d hel per to do the chores.
24
O n the man hitting his wife, in all workshops wi th secondary students, there was an
acknowl edgment that i t i s accepted that a man hits hi s wi f e to teach her a l esson especi al l y
when she was not abl e to prepare the f ood. However , the maj ori ty of the girls admi tted that
they do not want this tohappen tot hemwhen they get marri ed, but woul d prefer toget advi ce
f romthei r husband. Thi s i s still refl ecti ve, however, of the usual rol e of the men to teach hi s
wi f e.
O n whether many children are wealth to the family, maj ori ty of the SMA students thi nk
that i t i s good for Ti mor to have a lot of chi l dren because they are the f ut ure of Ti mor.
Accordi ng to t hem, whether East Ti mor will devel op or not depends on t hem. Theref ore,
they have to study hard and wor k hard todevel op Ti mor.
Inevery school , a mi nori ty group of girls and boys argued otherwi se. They thi nk that chi l dren
are weal th but now they asked how are we goi ng to use t hemas weal th? For i nstance, ina
poor f ami l y, there are many chi l dren and they cannot send themto school . Then, we use the
wr ong way the chi l dren who are supposed to be our weal th. When we consi der chi l dren as
weal th, we shoul d create good thi ngs for t hem. We have to have chi l dren based on our
economi c power. When we consi der chi l dren as weal th, we have to l ook after t hemwell. I f
we don t have enough economi c support for t hem, we are goi ng to destroy thei r future.
0 On Gi rl s Educati on
On pregnant girl or girl who gave birth returning to secondary school, there was a
maj ori ty percepti on that the girl cannot and will not be al l owed to return to school . The
students sai d that Students and teachers will talkbehi nd her back and she will be shamed and
will not be abl e to study wel l . They al so opi ned that a marri ed girl i s bound toher duti es to
takecare of her chi l d and husband. Thi s i s the same for the boy who i s expected to earn a
l i vi ng for hi s f ami l y. Theref ore, they cannot return to school si nce they cannot concentrate in
thei r studi es anyway.
At the same time, the students, al ong wi th the teachers, cl ai med that there i s a school
regul ati on prohi bi ti ng pregnant or marri ed girls to return to secondary school . Others
consi dered thi s percei ved school regul ati on as both an i ncenti ve for girls to concentrate in
their studi es to be abl e to graduate and a puni shment for those who woul d dared to get
pregnant earl y in life. The students sai d that gi rl s in the uni versi ty in the same si tuati ons,
however, are al l owed toconti nue studyi ng.
An offi ci al f r omthe Offi ce for the Promot i on of Equal i ty (OPE) and a consul tant for the
Mi ni stry of Educati on, however, sai d that thi s regul ati on does not exi st. OPE S Pr ogr am
Coordi nator sai d Somet i mes, husband or rel ati ves still send the girl to secondary school after
gi vi ng bi rth. The grandmothers and rel ati ves take care of the baby. Teenage pregnancy i s not
a scandal . Somet i mes inEast Ti mor, peopl e make i t controversi al because they do not have
knowl edge of gender. There i s a pol i cy inthe Mi ni stry al l owi ng girls to go back to secondary
school but i s has to be i mpl ement ed step by step. Thi s vi ewwas brought up inthe SMA
workshops inVi queque and Baucau where i t was reported that a si ngl e teenage mot her coul d
25
i ndeed go back to school because she does not have a husband to l ook after to. But the
overwhel mi ng vi ewremai ned that she coul d not go back because of the regul ati on.
W o m e n can have an active role in government as l ong as she has the capaci ti es. The
students ci ted the rol e of OMT/ OPMT i n medi ati ng confl i cts regardi ng women and the
presence of women i nthe Parl i ament and inkey posi ti ons i nthe Di stri ct Admi ni strati on. It is
i mportant to menti on, the qual i fi er as l ong as she has capaci ti es. Whi l e women s
parti ci pati on inthe communi t y and government was accepted because of thei r rol e in the
communi t y, the students sai d that the woman has to prove that she is capabl e through her
educati on and capaci ty to speak. They al so added the condi ti onal i ty that the woman, even if
she is worki ng, must mai ntai n the rol es ascri bed toher inthe f ami l y.
TRACING WOMENS ACCESS TO FORMAL EDUCATION
W h y most women today did not go to school
PortugueseRule. Women who are 40 years ol d and above and who currentl y attend
l i teracy programs narrated how, duri ng the Portuguese time, onl y a f ewboys and gi rl s went to
school . They sai d that boys mostl y l ooked after the buffal oes whi l e the girls stayed at home
to l earn the househol d chores i npreparati on for her marri age. At the same time, they sai d
that mostl y the chi l dren of the Ziurai and chef de suco wer e sent to school . These observati ons
substanti ate the l i terature descri bi ng the educati on systemduri ng that ti me. Duri ng the
Portuguese col oni al peri od (mi d 1500s to 1975), mi ni mal attenti on was gi ven to the
devel opment of the educati on systemin East Ti mor. 37 The f ewthat benefi ted f romthe
col oni al educati on systemwer e the Assimilados (Ti morese who wer e assi mi l ated i nto a hi gher
standi ng) and Mesticos (those of mi xed bl ood), whi l e the Chi nese and the Mosl ems ran thei r
own
Four women that wer e i ntervi ewed wer e abl e to go to school duri ng the Portuguese time.
They wer e ei ther daughters3 of the Ziurai or chef de suco or had an uncl e who was a teacher.
They sai dthat peopl e wer e al l owed to attend four years of school i ng, j ust enough for t hemto
be abl e to read and wri te i n Portuguese. However , onl y a f ewwer e abl e to conti nue to
secondary school , most of t hemboys. One of the goal s of the Portuguese admi ni strati on in
broadeni ng access to educati on over i ts l ast decades of rul e was to prepare Ti morese for
admi ni strati ve posi ti ons i ngovernment . Pri mary school enrol ment went f rom8, 000 in1954 to
57, 000 in 1974; however, i n 1973, 93%of the popul ati on remai ned i l l i terate.40 Si nce i nthe
tradi ti onal system, onl y men became l eaders, so i t was that mostl y boys wer e sent to school
and gr oomed as l eaders for the Portuguese admi ni strati on.
The tradi ti onal l eaders and the women that we i ntervi ewed al so sai dthat the taxes col l ected
by the Portuguese offi ci al s al so l eft fami l i es wi th no money to send the chi l dren to school .
The story by Lui s Cardoso41 is al so worth consi deri ng as a reason for not sendi ng chi l dren to
school . I n hi s experi ences as a pri mary student i nthe school named after Dom Nuno Al varez
h
37 Greenbl ott, Kar a. The Humani t anan Response inthe Educat i on Sector, 2001, p. 6.
38 I bi d.
39 Two of t hemeventual l y cont i nued school i ng under the I ndonesi an rul e.
40 Ranck, 1977, Quot ed from the Pri ce of Fr eedom, J ohn Tayl or, Quoted f r omGreenbl ott, 2001
4 Car doso, Lui s, The Crossi ng, A Story of Timor, 1997. p.40.
26
Perei ra, he narrated Any hi nt of ol d and pagan val ues was compl etel y f orbi dden. Stori es
wer e tol d of pupi l s who had run away f romthe mi ssi on several t i mes onl y to be sent back by
thei r parents; the nati ve ci rcl e was ti ghteni ng, purgi ng i tsel f of contami nated el ements i norder
tokeep the tri bal systemstrong and al i ve.
I ndonesi an Rule. Fol l owi ng the I ndonesi an i nvasi on, expansi on of the educati on system
was a pri ori ty of the new government. The educati on sector was seen as the pri nci pal
mechani smfor i ntegrati ng East Ti mor wi ththe rest of I ndonesi a, through the promoti on of the
I ndonesi an l anguage and nati onal pol i cy (the Pan~i ci l a) . ~~ Duri ng thi s time, fami l i es43 had to
send both boys and girls to school because of the enf orcement of the government . The
tradi ti onal l eaders sai d that those who chi l dren came f romvery poor fami l i es wer e gi ven
uni f orms, textbooks and other materi al s to enabl e themto study. The f ol l owi ng wer e the
stati sti cs in 199844:
0
Percentage of the chi l dren who went topri mary school : gi rl s- 70%, boys - 71%
But 60% of the worki ng popul ati on (age 10 yrs and above) never attended school
Pri mary reason for not attendi ng was poverty wi th 70% of chi l dren f rompoor fami l i es
attended school compar ed tothe 96%f romwel l - of f f ami l i es.
Di srupti on of studi es due to agri cul ture and domesti c chores prevented 20% of
chi l dren i nthe 12-14 age group and 40%inthe 15-18 age group to attend school
Duri ng this t i me, though many school s wer e opened, the women inthe l i teracy groups sai d
they di dnot go to school because gi ven the ti ght economi c condi ti on of the f ami l y, the parents
preferred to send the boys. The boys wer e to stay wi th the f ami l y after marri age and therefore
wer e the f uture of the f ami l y. The girls wer e second pri ori ty si nce they wer e to l eave the
f ami l y to stay wi th the husband. The parents vi ewed that there was no use spendi ng on the
gi rl s educati on si nce this was j ust tobenefi t the f ami l y of her husband. Duri ng this t i me, the
parents still want ed to control the girls who had been betrothed for marri age.
On the other hand, some f ami l i es ref used to send thei r gi rl s to school for f ear of thei r safety
gi ven the i nti mi dati ons done toteenage gi rl s by the mi l i tary duri ng the I ndonesi an rul e.
The i mpact of Portuguese and I ndonesi an rul e int er ms of educati ng the popul ati on of East
Ti mor can be seen cl earl y by l ooki ng at the educati on l evel of i ts worki ng- age popul ati on, as
ci tedinthe stati sti cs above.
Current Perceptions on Education for Girls
At the present time, both boys and girls go to school . Some of the parents i ntervi ewed sai d
that si nce women i n Ti mor can now have j obs i n the offi ce and the government , mor e than
ever, they see the val ue of sendi ng al so thei r daughters to school . If she i s i ntel l i gent, then,
she can graduate f romschool . If she gets l ucky and gets a j ob, then I a m happy because then,
she can take care of us, her parents. Others, however, still doubt the i ncenti ves that one may
Greenbolt, p.6
Social and Economic Conditions in East Timor, Jon Pedersen and M a n e Ameberg, quoted from Greenbolt.
42
43 Based on interviews and workshops done in Liquica, Suai, Maliana and Baucau, Apr-May 2004.
P.7
44
Obs1aclc.s io t he 1Xcctir.c Pai . ri ci ]mi i i i O F \V/oincii i n Ahlt Mctiioii Ikqg~ariis
Foci I S 011 So cio- (Irli i d FCLL,~(J I .:
A i ~ ~ 1 ~ S I 2004
27
get f romeducati on. They felt that even if thei r chi l dren go to school , there are no j obs for
themanyway and that they are to return to the field to pl ant ri ce and com. They bel i eve
therefore that sendi ng the chi l dren to pri mary school i s enough. At the same timethat the
boys had to take care of the buffal oes, the gi rl s have to stay at home to control t hemand to
l eamthe househol d chores.
A l ook at the educati on stati sti cs inthe Wor l d Bank Report45 further i l l ustrates thi s atti tude
towards educati on. Among the chi l dren 7- 12 years ol d, about 22 percent consi dered that
they wer e not of the ri ght school age. I n the same age group, about 32 percent of the poorest
and 26 percent of the ri chest had no i nterest inschool i ng. The document ci tedthe l ack of
i nterest as the maj or reason for not attendi ng school , parti cul arl y among the ol der age
groups. Gi ven the very smal l percentage of wage empl oyment inthe economy, i t i s di ffi cul t
for many parents tosee thei r chi l dren s educati on l i nked tofuture i ncome growth.
Even for those al ready inschool , there i s al so an al armi ng trend. Currentl y, bet ween 20 and
25 percent of students repeat and about 10percent drop out f romeach grade inthe pri mary
and j uni or secondary l evel s. If thi s l evel of i nternal effi ci ency persi sts, i t i s l i kel y that onl y 47
percent of those who enter Gr ade 1 woul d eventual l y compl ete Grade 6, whi l e 53 percent
woul d drop out. On average, the dropouts woul d compl ete four years of school i ng after some
repeti ti on. Cri ti cal l y, the l evel of ski l l acqui red by these chi l dren are l i kel y tobe very l ow, as
they are not in school l ong enough to mast er basi c l i teracy and numeracy. When repeti ti on
and dropout are hi gh, f ewer chi l dren acqui re the requi si te ski l l s to become producti ve
workers, parti cul arl y inthe f ormal sector.
As tothe di fferences inthe attendance of girls and boys inthe school , the 2001 data46 showed
that inpri mary school (7-12 years old), there are mor e girls than boys. Fr omthe poorest
fami l i es, al most 80 percent of gi rl s go to school compared tothat of 77%for boys whi l e inthe
ri chest fami l i es, an esti mated 90%of the girls attend school compared to onl y 86%of the
boys. However , among 13- 15 years ol d, there i s a drop in gi rl s parti ci pati on; f romthe
poorest, 77%for girls compar ed to 81% for boys and f romthe ri chest, 80% for gi rl s
compared to 84%for boys. 47
Up towhat extent the girl can have conti nued access to educati on i s i ndeed another matter. I n
a si tuati on of l i mi ted money and many chi l dren inthe f ami l y, some of the parents sai d that
they have to wei gh thi ngs and pri ori ti ze the boys. Whi l e they woul d prefer to keep their
daughters l onger inschool , most of the time, poverty prevents t hemf romdoi ng so. Thei rs is
a deci si on that i s al so i nf ormed by soci al norms. Boys are the future of the fami l i es. When
they are marri ed they stay withthe f ami l y and conti nue provi di ng for the f ami l y. But the girl
will l eave and stay wi th her husband. Why spend so much for her educati on when i t i s onl y
the husband s f ami l y that will benefi t f romher. 48 There i s al so a common vi ewhel d by
peopl e, some secondary school students i ncl uded, that women, even if they are educated have
to go back to the same ki tchen and cook. An i l l ustrati on of thi s can be gl eaned f rom
~ul mi r a s lifestory4:
45 Timor-Leste Education: The W a y Forward, World Bank, December 2003, pp. 4-6
46 Ibid. p. 3
47 Ibid. Based on estimates from Fig. 3.
48 Based on the workshops and interviews in Liquica, Same, Baucau, Viqueque
49 Zulmira is 21years old and is on her third year in a university in Dili.
28
After seconday school, I discussed with my parents about going to the university. But they
said there was no money. But my brother then was in the university. It was hard to stay at
home so I decided to take the exam to join the police. When Ipassed the test, I told my family
but they were not happy. My uncle said that ifIjoin the police, people would think I am easy.
They told me to stuy at home and get married. I asked them why they have money for
traditional things but no money for me to continue my studies in the university. Ipersisted.
So, they had a discussion and my uncle said I could study in the university and stay with our
relatives in Dili. M y father agreed and now I am studying Math.
There are areas i n Suai and Mal i ana wher e f ami l i es woul d rather send the gi rl s to school . I n
Bunak and Kamnasan matri l i neal cl ans, they sai dthat si nce the gi rl s stay wi th the f ami l y even
after they are marri ed, they like sendi ng girls to school mor e than the boys. But as in the
patri l i neal cl ans, they are al so afrai d about the gi rl s meeti ng boyf ri ends i n school and getti ng
marri ed earl y. Theref ore, they send thei r girls onl y to pri mary and at t i mes secondary
school s.

For other women, i nstead of ursui ng educati on, they choose marri age as an i nevi tabl e route
to sol ve poverty. A woman i n Suai sai d that even though she want ed to study, her parents
had no money and so she has to get marri ed so my husband can take care of me and my
f ami l y. The other women sai d that this story i s the same for many women i nTi mor.
5 9
Literacy and Womens Empowerment
During the resistance, we cawed the letters on the ground because our fingers were stiff from
working in the rice field. When we got used to writing the letters, we used the charcoal and
wrote on the bamboo leaf (ai kuti) and then on the notebook. - - - Mana Leonilda, Bucoli
Womans Emancipation and Getting Out of the Dark
If Same was the seat of the rebel l i on headed by Dom Boa Ventura agai nst the Portuguese
duri ng the earl y 1900s, Bucol i was the center of resi stance under the l eadershi p of Sahe
agai nst the I ndonesi an occupati on. Mana Sabi na, a woman l eader and l i teracy faci l i tator i n
the Naroman Communi t y Center inBucol i recal l ed the rol e of Sahe:
Vicente Sahe was the son of a traditional leader here in Bucoli. The communitypooled its
resources together to send Sahe to study in Portugal. There in Portugal, he met Paulo Freire
and learned about popular education. In 1974, Sahe came back and introduced a program
for the adults and youth. I was supposed to finish the allowed four years of schooling in the
Portuguese school but I stopped going to school when Sahe came. I joined the second batch
that studied how to use the gun and I also helped in the literacy classes. W e worked together,
sang together, planted together and studied together. However, in 1975, the Indonesian
military killed Sahe and we had to retreat to the mountains.
Li teracy was l i nked to the pol i ti cal act of getti ng out of the dark wher e the Portuguese was
sai d to have kept the Ti morese for hundreds of years. I n other di stri cts, l i teracy programs
29
sprouted as well, i ni ti ated by the Freti l i n l eaders who mostl y studi ed inPortugal . . . . whi l e
Freti l i n encouraged l ocal -l evel l i teracy campai gns inTet um, on a Paul o Frei re model , inthe
bri ef moment f rom1974-1 976, the nati onal i st l eaders themsel ves wer e pri mari l y Portuguese
speakers, and they decl ared Portuguese as the offi ci al l anguage of an i ndependent East Ti mor
at l east for the ti me bei ng. 52
For Mana Leoni l da, who never went to school , the l i teracy cl ass made a bi g di fference inher
l i fe. Al ready 18 when she j oi ned the cl ass in 1975, she was abl e to read and wri te Tet um
wi thi n mont hs of her routi ne of pl anti ng inthe ri ce fi el dthen attendi ng cl ass inthe afternoon.
She sai d that Sahe i mparted that women have the same ri ghts as men and that they al so need
to study and hel p the men inthe resi stance. Thi s sudden shift of rol e f romthe house to the
communi t y was f ormal i zed in 1975 through the OPMT f ounded by Muki Bonaparte53, who
al so j ust returned f r omPortugal . She descri bed OPMT as a mass organi zati on to enabl e
women fi rstl y, toparti ci pate di rectl y i nthe struggl e agai nst col oni al i sm, and second, tofi ght
in every way the vi ol ent di scri mi nati on that Ti morese women has to suffer in the col oni al
soci ety. y354
Parti ci pants to thi s research recounted how women brought f ood for the resi stance fi ghters
when they were indangerous pl aces, how women provi ded crche and took care of the
babi es and chi l dren of comrades who di ed inthe resi stance and al so those who wer e fi ghti ng
for the resi stance. Under the watchf ul eyes of the I ndonesi an mi l i tary, the women managed to
regul arl y pass on i nf ormati on to pri ests about arrests of the member s of the cl andesti ne
movement . The women al so f ormed wi thi n Fal i nti l a bri gade of ar med women, and f ought
hard al ongsi de thei r mal e counterparts, baby in one arm, gun in the other (Bi-Hali cited by
Watson s 1999; p. 72,P
Duri ng the resi stance, comrades al so rai sed the i ssue of the barlake as a mani festati on of the
subordi nate posi ti on of women in Ti mor . At present, some l eaders and member s of the
Nar oman Communi t y Center sti l l put f orward the need toreduce barlake si nce i t i s one of the
reasons causi ng peopl e s poverty. Mana Sabi na sai d that Somet i mes, the men s f ami l y had
to borrowa lot of money j ust to gi ve tothe women s f ami l y. And then, the coupl e and their
chi l dren l i ve inpoor condi ti ons. Reduci ng barlake does not mean l osi ng our cul ture. It i s al so
i mportant for the husband and wi f e to see how they can support thei r own f ami l y. Even the
Katuas Adat of Wai mua, who are l eaders of Nar oman, agree to thi s. As spoken by Comr ade
Si l veri o, What i s pri mary i s to gi ve val ue to the human bei ng. Barlake i s secondary. When
men and women are marri ed, they shoul d gi ve val ue to chi l dren and gi ve t hemeducati on. If
one gets educated everybody knows you but if you gi ve barlake, nobody knows who you
are.
Meaning-Makng on Gender
c
~
52 Joliffe, 1978 quoted from Colonization, Decolonization and Integration: Language Policies in East Timor,
Nancy MelisaLutz, 1991, p.11.
53 Muki was killed in 1975 on the first day of the Indonesian invasion (Aditjondro).
54 Aditjondro 2001, p.129 Quoted from A Report on Womens Health, Education, Economic Empowerment and
Decision-making, 2002 p. 1 O.
and Decision-Making, 2002 p.11.
30
Pinto and Jardine 1996; p.96 Quoted from A Report on Womens Health, Education, Economic Empowerment
55
At the onset of the research, the t eamused the t er mgender. However , si nce the t er mwas
vague for most peopl e that we had workshops and i ntervi ews wi th, thi s was repl aced wi th
equal i ty bet ween women and men. There wer e varyi ng i nterpretati ons about gender, equal
ri ghts and power. Peopl e understand ri ghts di fferentl y f rompower. Ri ghts are appreci ated as
opportuni ti es to do somethi ng or possi bi l i ti es for respect and Power as the capabi l i ty to do
thi ngs and to deci de. As i n the secondary school workshops, all men and women i n the
communi t y workshops, and the tradi ti onal l eaders, as well agree that under i ndependent
Ti mor , they have equal ri ghts. However , the ri ghts refer to the rol es that women and men can
both do likeinagri cul ture, taki ng care of the chi l dren, worki ng i n the offi ces and goi ng to
school .
But even if women and men have equal ri ghts, parti ci pants i nall di stri cts 56 argued out that the
power bet ween t hemi s not the same. The man has mor e power as he remai ns as chi ef of the
f ami l y and key deci si on- maker and that a wi f e shoul d conti nue to cook and do domesti c
chores, l ook after the guests and at the most part, take care of the chi l dren at home. Thi s
i nterdependence i s i ntended to keep the stabi l i ty of the home and thi s i s very i mportant for
Ti mor.
The three women l eaders that we i ntervi ewed expressed thei r consent to thi s vi ew of
i nterdependence. They percei ved that accepti ng equal ri ghts woul d mean embraci ng the
cul ture of the forei gn women. Two communi t y faci l i tators sai d that women shoul d conti nue
thei r tasks at home and that i t i s i mportant for t hemto control themsel ves. I want to cook
for the f ami l y, i t i s okay to do the househol d chores after my communi t y wor k. Thi s equal i ty
bet ween men and women will destroy the f ami l y. It i s not ri ght for women to go out at ni ght
or to have an affai r wi th another man or not l i steni ng to her husband. We have to control
oursel ves because the f ami l y i s i mportant. A woman worki ng inan offi ce shared the same
opi ni on. She sai d that Gender equal i ty i s okay in government but i t cannot make rul es for
the f ami l y. I n domesti c vi ol ence, she ci tedthat The woman compl ai ns to the pol i ce because
her husband hit her. But the probl emshoul d be anal yzed as to who made the mi stake. The
woman has to control her emoti ons. It was her faul t.
The experi ences and vi ews about worki ng for the ri ghts of women ranged f r omresi stance to
negoti ati ng wi thi n accepted spheres to radi cal changes. Some sai d that gender i s a forei gn
i mposi ti on and does not respect the Ti morese cul ture. Inone gender wor kshop of the Ci vi c
Educati on Pr ogr amone man stood up and asked why shoul dn t my wi f e do exactl y as I
say?57 I n Li qui ca, the faci l i tators narrated how the men got mad wi th a TV adverti sement of
government wher e a man, when he di ed was sent to hel l because he al ways beat up hi s wi f e.
They sai d the men comment ed that Now, the man is bad and the woman i s good. Our
government does not understand the cul ture of Ti mor.
The tradi ti onal l eaders expressed that i t i s not easy to change thi s rel ati onshi p bet ween men
and women in Ti mor because of the tradi ti ons i nheri ted f romthe ancestors. They sai d that
changes coul d onl y be done step by step under democracy. A Ti morese woman who works
wi th the Ci vi c Educati on t eamal so observed that after a gender wor kshop The posi ti ve
i mpact i s that women know that they have ri ghts and how to use t hemand to ask for t hem.
31
But they sti l l go back i nto tradi ti onal rol e. It is not easy. They feel that the i deas are good
and new. But when they go home, they cannot practi ce t hemdi rectl y. They are l i mi ted by
some rul es.
The women who wor k inNGOs themsel ves l ament ed that they had todo the vari ous chores at
home even after a ti ri ng day inthe offi ce. But they sai d i t i s di ffi cul t to total l y i gnore the
cul ture. What they manage todo is tonegoti ate power and space wi th the husband by aski ng
themtohel p inthe chores or intaki ng care of the chi l dren.
Contesti ng men s power and goi ng beyond the boundari es i s i ndeed a chal l enge. Duri ng
our research, we encountered three stori es, t wo of t hemtol dtous i nf ormal l y, of women who
got good j obs after 1999 and then encountered probl ems inrel ati onwiththe husband l eadi ng
toseparati on. Thi s account is one of t hem:
Tf women control their (own) lives, then it means less power for men. For my mother, after
the ballot in 1999, that was when the problems started. M y mom got a vey good job after
1999 and got into Parliament. But my father didnt. M y father felt less powerful than my
mom. H e was always jealous of all the men who worked with my mother. He kicked my mom
out from the home. mey used to be of the same party, but when my mom became a womans
candidate; my mom went to the independent party. She left the party and all the members of
the party were jealous of my mom. I was happy that my mom was the first to be an
independent candidate in our district. Men did not want to share power and this is a basic
gender issue. I dont know if they can still live with other women if they dont change
themsel~es.~ I
INTERVENTIONS AND PERCEPTIONS
Mapping of Literacy Programs
It was di ffi cul t to ascertai n the number and reach of current l i teracy programs all over East
Ti mor for t wo reasons. The first is the l ack of updated data. There wer e i nstances when
stati sti cs on current l i teracy programs di d not refl ect what was actual l y happeni ng on the fi el d.
Offi ces based in Dili reported a l i teracy cl asses in Same and Li qui ca but the communi t y
faci l i tators inthe area, duri ng our fi el d research, sai d that the programhas been cl osed for
mor e than a month. The second reason i s the i nterl ocki ng rel ati onshi p of l i teracy provi ders.
Gi ven the si tuati on wher e government and bi l ateral agenci es are supporti ng NGOs to
i mpl ement some of thei r l i teracy programs, the tendency for doubl e reporti ng i s unavoi dabl e.
Establ i shi ng the reach of the l i teracy programs is i mportant in determi ni ng how far the
government and NGOs are f r omachi evi ng the target of eradi cati ng i l l i teracy of the esti mated
350, 000 Ti morese wi thi n ten years. However , the Di vi si on of Non- f or mal Educati on
observed that there i s a l ack of coordi nati on among l i teracy provi ders. Inparti cul ar, he sai d
that i t is di ffi cul t to moni tor NGO s l i teracy programs in the di stri cts, sub-di stri cts and
vi l l ages.
W h o is Working Where?
58 Account from a woman working in an NGO, April 2004.
32
Based on the initial scanni ng, these are the organi zati ons worki ng on l i teracy:
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NGO
/Local Organization
SAHE/ Nar oman Communi t y Center (wi th
support f romOGB)
Districts
Bucol i
TOHA/ Vi da Nova (wi thsupport f romOGB)
T O W (wi th support f romOGB)
Ti mor Ai d ( Ti mor Ai d is cl osi ng i ts l i teracy
program. Cl asses inSuai and Same al ready
cl osed. The others will cl ose by the end of
2004)
Concern - Los Pal os
Feto Hasuro Anal f abeto
Uatol ari
Kraras
Suai , Same, Oecusse,
Vi queque, Baucau
Luro
Oecusse
Approach es
GFFTL
UNI CEF (At the timeof the research, onl y
cl asses inBaucau wer e taken pl ace)
Government ' s Non- f or mal Educati on
ClassicalApproach. Most of the faci l i tators i ntervi ewed sai d that they have been
gi ven t wo tothree days of trai ni ng about faci l i tati ngl i teracy programs for adul ts. The
met hod they used i nvol ved l earni ng to read and wri te. the l etters of the al phabet,
parti ci pants wri ti ng down thei r own names and the names of thei r Co-parti ci pants,
l earni ng toread and wri te words from the manual and then on tophrases. Dependi ng
on the l ength of the programand paci ng of the parti ci pants, cl asses then proceeded to
readi ng and wri ti ng sentences. However , faci l i tators sai d that si nce thei r programran
onl y f r omthree tosi x mont hs toone year, on the average, the l earners were not abl e to
read and wri te a whol e paragraph.
All di stri cts except Oecusse,
Suai , Vi queque
Mal i ana, Li qui ca, Manat ut o,
Los Pal os, Er mer a and
Baucau
All 13 di stri cts
Wor ds for study pri mari l y came f r oma manual produced by Mar r y Mcki l l op
consul tancy firm that featured words inPortuguese/ Tetumfor common thi ngs such as
house, f l ower, ri ce, etc. Bl ackboard and chal k wer e the materi al s used for teachi ng.
Si mi l ar to a cl assroomsetti ng, the approach was rote l earni ng wher e i nteracti on was
mai nl y bet ween the faci l i tator and the parti ci pants.
Most of the cl asses have 15-25 parti ci pants who study together twi ce a week for a
sessi on of three hours. Other cl asses, l i ke those inBaucau, meet 3 ti mes a week.
33
Popular Education Method. Thi s approach i s f ounded on the Paul o Frei re s
f r amewor k readi ng the wor d and the worl d that emphasi zes l i teracy inthe context of
cri ti cal l earni ng based on peopl e s experi ences and i ssues. There i s no preset manual
but a gui de is provi ded for faci l i tators to enabl e t hemto ri gorousl y faci l i tate the
l earni ng process. The wor ds chosen for study, therefore, were generated through the
acti ve parti ci pati on of l earners. Inone cl ass, for exampl e, parti ci pants studi ed the wor d
l i berdade or f reedomand f romthere proceeded to l earn the syl l abl es - - - l a-l e-l o-l u,
bar- bi r- bor- bur, and so on.
The popul ar educati on approach was punctuated by parti ci patory tool s such as map-
maki ng, songs, games, use of vi sual s, rol e-pl ay and other probl em- posi ng materi al s.
The faci l i tator al so used vari ed materi al s for teachi ng such as crayons, cartol i na paper,
pente1 markers, bl ackboard, chal k, stori es, songs, etc. Thr ough these tool s and
materi al s, the faci l i tator stri vedto medi ate the process of l earni ng among parti ci pants
and share her own vi ews about the subj ect on hand. Popul ar educati on encouraged
i ndi vi dual and col l ecti ve l earni ng.
Most cl asses have 15- 20 parti ci pants who meet twi ce or 3 ti mes a week a week for
three hours.
Sustainability
InSame and Suai , t wo women that wer e i ntervi ewed inMal i ana, attended l i teracy programs
that have been cl osed down. They wer e sti l l l ooki ng f orward to a reopeni ng of the cl asses so
they can move on to readi ng and wri ti ng sentences. They wer e worri ed that if they wer e to
stop l earni ng now, they will ul ti matel y forget the l i teracy ski l l s that they have l earned.
Thi s expectati on f r omwomen bri ngs to fore the conti nued commi t ment of l i teracy provi ders
to ensure basi c l earni ng competenci es and f ol l ow- up i nterventi on that will al l owwomen to
conti nue l earni ng mor e on thei r own. Inone area, a faci l i tator compl ai ned that the NGO
partner di d not have any pl an after the l i teracy program. After gi vi ng out the certi fi cates to
the women, she sai d the NGO coordi nator remarked NOWthat the programi s fi ni shed, the
women can take a rest.
Post-l i teracy i nterventi on i s i ndeed an area of concern for l i teracy provi ders. To address post-
l i teracy, other groups, parti cul arl y those usi ng the popul ar educati on f ramework, are currentl y
worki ng on devel opi ng readi ng materi al s and bui l di ng communi t y l i brari es and resource
centers. The pl an toprovi de materi al s and space for readi ng and wri ti ng i ntends to encourage
women toconti nual l y use and devel op thei r l i teracy ski l l s even after the cl asses fi ni shed.
Literacy and Incentives
, The life of a Ti morese woman revol ves around the f ami l y - - - wel f are of the chi l dren and her
sense of duty toher husband and rel ati ves. Theref ore, her i dea of devel opi ng hersel f is cl osel y
l i nked tothe benefi ts that she can get for her f ami l y mor e than for her sel f - devel opment. Thi s
expl ai ns why most women prefer adul t educati on that will bri ng inl i vel i hood for thei r f ami l y
l i ke sewi ng, weavi ng tais and pl anti ng vegetabl es. For most women, whi l e they appreci ate
recei vi ng a certi fi cate, they comment ed that thi s was not enough. They sai d that certi fi cate
we j ust keep, what we need i s somet hi ng useful . Thi s i s al so the vi ewof most husbands who
sai d I f she gets money or thi ngs f r omthe cl ass, i t i s okay. But if she does not, then i t i s
34
r
II
L
better that she does not attend the program. They sai dthat l i nki ng educati on to concrete or
i mmedi at e needs i s one way of maki ng i t rel evant for women.
Thi s expectati on of getti ng monetary assi stance or i ncenti ve f roml i teracy was borne out of
the approaches to l i teracy by di fferent groups. I n one l i teracy cl ass, the parti ci pants wer e sai d
to have recei ved $220 as seed money to start a proj ect after they fi ni shed cl asses in six
mont hs. I n others, peopl e sai dthe l i teracy mi ssi on gave out ri ce and cooki ng oil whi l e others
offered snacks to the parti ci pants. Inl i teracy cl asses wher e there wer e no provi si ons for such
i ncenti ves, the faci l i tators had to use thei r own honorari umto keep thei r cl asses together ami d
threats froma fewparti ci pants to transfer to other cl asses. Faci l i tators, on thei r own, deci ded
to l end the parti ci pants money or created a mi ni -credi t proj ect. Still another promi sed the
women gi fts likea bal l or t-shi rt f romthe organi zati on that i ni ti atedthe l i teracy. When the
faci l i tator was unabl e to del i ver this promi se, the parti ci pants got mad. Duri ng the fi el d
research, a parti ci pant of a l i teracy cl ass inBaucau brought this up and sai d We don t likei t
when they l i eto us. Worse, the faci l i tators who offered no i ncenti ves wer e accused of usi ng
the names of the parti ci pants, getti ng money f romthe proj ect and then keepi ng the money for
themsel ves. In all the workshops that we had wi th faci l i tators, thi s accusati on f romthe
parti ci pants was a common sad experi ence that made the task for faci l i tators doubl y hard.
Thi s urgent need to meet the concrete needs of the peopl e can al so be seen inthe contexts of
poverty and reconstructi on after the 1999 destructi on. I n many i nstances, men and women
comment ed that si nce they wor ked so hard duri ng the resi stance, the government shoul d now
provi de for their needs. On the same vei n, i nternati onal NGOs wer e seen as medi ators of
resources and proj ects. I n one i nstance, a woman sai dthat inone l i teracy cl ass, they gave out
roofi ng for the house. She was obvi ousl y referri ng to another proj ect. Thi s conf usi on i s
understandabl e gi ven the myri ad efforts done tohel p i nthe reconstructi on of East Ti mor.
Literacy and the Peoples Lifeworld
In the peopl e s percepti on, educati on, and for that matter, l i teracy was rel ated mor e to the
moder n ways of l i vi ng. Most respondents see the need to read and write to know the
Consti tuti on, vote in el ecti ons and get i nvol ved in OMT/ OPMT or other government
acti vi ti es. Readi ng and wri ti ng have strongl y been rel ated to getti ng a j ob inthe government ,
school or offi ce. Getti ng educated was al so seen as a way to achi eve a hi gher status inlife.
Most women sai d that when they expressed thei r i ntenti on of attendi ng the l i teracy program,
thei r husbands or rel ati ves asked t hemWhy, do you want to be chef de suco? Do you want
to be presi dent? Do you want to be likeme (the husband referri ng to hi msel f)? Inal most all
di stri cts vi si ted duri ng the research, the fi rst two questi ons wer e common arguments used to
di scourage women f romattendi ng l i teracy cl asses.
Si nce peopl e do not see themsel ves getti ng j ob opportuni ti es outsi de agri cul ture, they doubted
the benefi ts f roml earni ng to read and write. Peopl e sai d they have l i ved thei r l i ves wi thout
havi ng to read and wri te. Thei r questi on was What i s the use of us l earni ng now when we
j ust wor k i nthe fieldanyway? Wor ki ng i nthe fi el ddoes not requi re readi ng and wri ti ng and
nei ther does taki ng care of the f ami l y. Most f ar mer s sai d they j ust rel y on thei r i nsti ncts
when worki ng i nthe fi el dand conti nue to use the technol ogi es i npl anti ng and harvesti ng that
they l earned f romthei r parents. For t hem, there i s no fel t-need for l i teracy,
35
I nf ormati on systems in the communi t y have been mai nl y through oral communi cat i ons.
Adul ts and chi l dren l earned about tradi ti ons and stori es of the communi t y through
storytel l i ng. Tradi ti onal l eaders medi ate confl i cts through oral testi moni es. I nstead of keepi ng
wri tten l aws, chosen men keep the l aws and stones al i ve through memor y and then pass these
on tothe next hol der of the wor d through oral tradi ti on.
The shift f i - omspeaki ng Tet umtoreadi ng and wri ti ng i t is al so a shift inthe ways and habi ts
by whi ch peopl e thi nk and communi cat e inthei r everyday life. Pri or to the i ndependence,
Tet umwas nevr used as a medi umof i nstructi on inthe school s under the Portuguese and
I ndonesi an ti mes. It has exi sted as an oral l anguage, and t hough the resi stance used Tet um
duri ng the l i teracy programs in1975, i t is onl y now that i t i s bei ng standardi zed as a wri tten
l anguage. Lastl y, the absence of newspapers, readi ng materi al s, posters or bul l eti n boards
wri tten inTet umdoes not encourage i ts regul ar use among the peopl e.
To be sure, there are al so countl ess Ti morese who appreci ate l i teracy as comi ng out of the
dark. When asked about thei r vi ews about l i teracy programs, the women enthusi asti cal l y
rei teratedthat they want to l earn mor e si nce they have been depri ved of l earni ng for so l ong.
A woman inher l ateforti es bl urted out You are tal ki ng about educati on for women? Thi s i s
what I want to hear! Li teracy programi s i mportant for us who were never abl e to go to
school , Tel l me wher e I can attend the cl asses! Thi s was duri ng our meeti ng wi th the
tradi ti onal l eaders of Mambae inSame. Li kewi se, women whose l i teracy programhas been
cl osed down by the sponsori ng organi zati on requested for a reopeni ng of thei r cl asses so they
can frther thei r l i teracy ski l l s. The i ndependence ti me was consi dered a comi ng back to
peace and normal cy and a t i me for peopl e todo thi ngs that they wer e not abl e todo duri ng the
col oni al and resi stance peri ods. Learni ng toread and wri te towards further l earni ng is one of
t hem.
MOTIVATIONS FOR LEARNING
Even i f they said that our facilitator was lying to us and that she was getting the
money, w e still came to class. She can teach us how to read and write and w e want to
learn to read and write. W e may not be as clever as the other people but at least w e
know a little. - - - Mana Jacinta
There wer e many women and communi t i es who wel comed l i teracy programs wi th
enthusi asm. Ami dst the pressures that affect thei r parti ci pati on, these women inthe l i teracy
programs ci ted concrete uses of l i teracy inthei r dai l y life. They have persi sted inattendi ng
l i teracy for vari ous reasons:
0
LI VELI HOOD SKI LLS: Some of the women want ed to l earn to read and wri te to
enabl e t hemto l earn new ski l l s that coul d augment thei r resources inthe f ami l y. Ina
wor kshop in Same, the women sai d that al though we have many acti vi ti es in the
home, we still want to l earn a new skill that can hel p us be producti ve for the sake of
the chi l dren. They bel i eve that havi ng l i teracy skills coul d faci l i tate a better
understandi ng of agri cul tural producti on, parti cul arl y in pl anti ng vegetabl es. In
Vi queque, the women appreci ated the l i teracy programbetter because i t i s bei ng
i mpl ement ed al ongsi de a programfor i mprovi ng agri cul tural producti on.
36
MOBI LI TY: I want to l earn the ABC to be abl e to read the si gn on the bus.
Currentl y, the women i n the l i teracy cl asses i n Kr ar as and Bucol i sai d that they
navi gate thei r way to Baucau or Dili through the hel p of a fri end. There wer e t i mes
when they had to go al one, but ended up somewher e el se and j ust had to return back
home. Theref ore, they hope to be abl e to read si gns to have mor e conf i dence to go
around wi thout havi ng to al ways ask peopl e for di recti ons or hel p.
A f ewwomen, on the other hand, want to know how to tell the ti me. When we are in
the fi el d, when the sun i s on top of our head, i t means we have to eat l unch. When the
sun i s goi ng down, i t means we have to go home. But i t i s di ffi cul t to know the exact
timefor goi ng to l i teracy cl ass if we don t know how to tell the ti me.
AGRI CULTURAL PRODUCTI ON: The f armers have thei r way of esti mati ng how
many seedl i ngs to pl ant in a pi ece of l and or how much harvest of comand ri ce they
made. Two tins of ri ce seedl i ngs are pl anted to one hectare of l and. Twel ve ti ns of
ri ce harvest means good harvest whi l e si x ti ns means bad. Parti ci pants want to l earn
mor e ways of counti ng and the abi l i ty to read and writeto l earn technol ogi es that can
i mprove thei r producti on i nthe fi el d. They al so want to further engage i ntrade. I
want to l earn how to measure my harvest and count money so peopl e cannot l i e to
me.
CHI LDREN S CONCERNS: I want to read my chi l dren s l etters f romschool .
Currentl y, when parents want to know the contents of the l etters f romschool , they ask
thei r chi l dren or nei ghbors to read for t hem. As for readi ng the report card, they say
that a red mar k wi th number 5 means a l owgrade whi l e a bl ue or bl ack mark wi th 6 i s
a good grade. But if they knewhow toread and write, then they can better understand
what and how thei r chi l dren are doi ng at school . Other women al so want tobe l i terate
so they can l earn mor e about heal th care for thei r chi l dren.
COMMUNI CATI ONS AND MARKETI NG: It i s i mportant to l earn to write my
name and my fri ends names. Later, i t woul d be ni ce to writel etters. Thi s was an
expectati on f roma woman who wanted to conti nue thei r l i teracy programthat was
cl osed down. Inanother cl ass i nBaucau, a woman who had been attendi ng a cl ass for
mor e than two years narrated how l i teracy hel ped her communi cat e wi th her husband
who for a time, stayed i nDili. She sai d that her husband coul d not bel i eve i t when she
wrote hi ma l etter. The abi l i ty to read and writehel ped her and her husband mai ntai n
l i nks even whi l e they wer e far f romeach other. Most women, on the other hand, want
to l earn toread and writeto have mor e conf i dence i nbuyi ng f romthe shop. They sai d
that si nce every i t emi s l abel ed wi th words, they are afrai dor embarrassed to go i nsi de
a shop unaccompani ed. I f they l earn how to read and write, they sai d they coul d l ook
at the i tems themsel ves.
CI TI ZENSHI P: Readi ng and wri ti ng wer e deemed necessary to parti ci pate in the
el ecti ons (like the comi ng suco el ecti ons) or in knowi ng the Consti tuti on or
understandi ng the l awor tobetter engage invenues for women to voi ce out thei r stand
on i ssues. A woman who i s currentl y attendi ng a cl ass i n Bucol i sai d that i nstead of
37
j ust affi xi ng her t humb mark on document s, this ti me, she want s to si gn her name in
the comi ng el ecti ons or other government acti vi ti es.
0
DI GNI TY: I don t want peopl e to step on me because they thi nk I amstupi d. When
they wer e young, the women wer e not abl e to go to school because thei r f ami l y was
poor. They al so sai d that duri ng thei r ti me, boys wer e sent to school and the girls j ust
stayed at home. Now, under democracy, they want to l earn to read and wri te because
t i mes are changi ng.
In Same, a woman tol d us Peopl e say that our school gi ves us nothi ng and the
faci l i tator gets everythi ng. They al so sai d that we are al ready ol d and that we shoul d
cook and stay i nsi de the house. But we sti l l attend the school because we want to
know, we want to understand and i mprove our knowl edge so peopl e will not l augh at
us. Sadl y, they sai d that those who j eered at thei r efforts to l earn wer e the educated
peopl e inthei r communi t y.
Difficulties of Women in Continued Participation
Getti ng women to si gn up for l i teracy programs i s one thi ng but counti ng on thei r acti ve
parti ci pati on until the end of a programi s another. The faci l i tators sai d that i t was hard to
f ol l owthrough the l earni ng of the parti ci pants because of the i rregul ari ty of thei r attendance.
Thi s si tuati on requi red much pati ence and understandi ng f romthe faci l i tators. Unf ortunatel y,
this chal l enge was di ffi cul t for other faci l i tators. Inone l i teracy cl ass, the women compl ai ned
that thei r faci l i tator got angry wi th themwhen they fai l edto show up incl ass. Chi trakar5 in
hi s Revi ewof the UNI CEF- Funded Li teracy Program, ci ted an experi ence where a faci l i tator
requested those women who had many absences not to conti nue anymor e si nce they were
l aggi ng behi nd the l essons.
Women s parti ci pati on, therefore, shoul d be ensured on two l evel s - - - one i s attendance, and
the other i s acti ve/qual i ty Parti ci pati on. Looki ng at the factors affecti ng parti ci pati on coul d
offer i nsi ghts for strategi zi ng or desi gni ng l i teracy programs:
0 LOSS of TI ME: Thi s i s the number one reason that women sai d affected thei r
parti ci pati on. Gi ven that the average househol d inTi mor has 7. 5 chi l dren and that
women l eave ina househol d that i ncl udes the husband s rel ati ves, i t i s not surpri si ng
that women are preoccupi ed wi th many chores. Most women, both young and mi ddl e-
aged women, al so take care of babi es and toddl ers wi th mostl y one- year age gap.
Loss of ti me can agai n be contextual i zed in the expectati on that l i teracy shoul d
provi de i ncenti ves for l earners. Many of the respondents sai d that si nce they spend
t i me away f romworki ng inthe ri ce fi el d, they shoul d be gi ven i ncenti ves for thei r l ost
ti me. In Mal i ana and Suai , they sai d that they are busy duri ng the mont hs f rom
J anuary toJ une because this i s the pl anti ng and harvesti ng peri od.
0
QUESTI ONI NGRELEVANCE: I amal ready ol d. Thi s i s the next oft-repeated
expl anati on for the l ack of i nterest inl i teracy program. Si nce i t i s i mpossi bl e for t hem
to get a j ob inthe offi ce or ingovernment , there i s no use l earni ng to read and write.
Even women in thei r late 30s consi dered themsel ves ol d. Thi s may be
59 A Review of the UNICEF-Funded Literacy Program, Dr. Roshan Chitrakar, 2003
38
understandabl e gi ven that inTi mor , the lifeexpectancy of peopl e i s 57 ( Worl d Bank,
2001).
DOMESTI C DUTI ES: If I don t cook, my husband will hit me. Thi s i s a
predomi nant concern of all women parti ci pants. Al t hough, thei r husbands al l owthem
toattend the l i teracy cl ass, they have tomake sure that the f ood has been prepared and
that everythi ng inthe house i s inorder (e. g. ani mal s had been fed). Havi ng done these
chores bef orehand, a fewwomen, however, sai d they still worry about thei r chi l dren
or the home when they are inthe cl ass.
Based on the tradi ti onthat women shoul d mai nl y stay at home, there i s often pressure
f romthe husband and hi s rel ati ves who questi on the woman about her acti vi ti es duri ng
the cl ass6. Such questi ons were: What are you doi ng there, havi ng snacks, maybe?
or Don t you have lot of wor k todo at home?
Heal th reasons likechi l dren getti ng si ck or the woman gi vi ng bi rth wer e i mpedi ment s, too.
At the same ti me, women wer e preoccupi ed wi th thei r tradi ti onal rol es gi ven that fami l i es are
i nterconnected and there are a lot of events l i ke death, si ckness, communi t y ri tual s or
weddi ngs, whi ch are consi dered far mor e i mportant than the l i teracy cl ass.
STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Framework on Literacy and Women
I mmedi at e and Transf ormati ve Frameworks. Li teracy programs coul d be l ocated wi thi n the
f ramework of women s concerns or i t coul d be tackl ed wi thi n an advocacy of gender equal i ty.
Gi ven the l i mi ts and opportuni ti es for women in the cul ture of Ti mor , the l i teracy programs
coul d be envi si oned wi thi n the range of what women thi nk shoul d be strengthened and what
needs tobe changed or transf onned:
0
Strengthen the capaci ti es of the women to meet the chal l enges they conf ront inthe
home and communi q- f ami l y, heal th and nutri ti on, agri cul tural producti on, women s
own heal th and reproducti on, and f ormati on of the chi l dren. Li teracy can provi de
women mor e access to knowl edge that coul d i mprove her ways and approaches in
deal i ng wi th these concerns.
Desi gn l i teracy programs that will engage women to refl ect and act on the unequal
soci al and cul tural constructi ons on women- men rel ati onshi ps inthei r everyday l i fe.
Li teracy ski l l s coul d al so gi ve her mor e conf i dence i nengagi ng indeci si on- maki ng at
the communi t y l evel that had tradi ti onal l y been domi nat ed by the men.
The soci al rel ati ons bet ween the f ami l y, cl ans, tradi ti onal power structures and the nor ms,
practi ces and bel i efs ineveryday lifehave subj ugated women s knowl edge. For most mi ddl e-
aged women, this al so resul ted inl ess access to f ormal and non- f ormal educati on when they
39
were young and the limits of the ascri bed tradi ti onal rol es for women. Usi ng the f r amewor k
of readi ng and wri ti ng as key to understandi ng, l i teracy programs coul d faci l i tate a whol e
range of l earni ng that coul d encourage women to have conf i dence inthemsel ves not onl y as
provi ders for the f ami l y but as partners for soci etal and cul tural change as well. Conf i dence
inarti cul ati ngthei r worl dvi ews coul d al so pave the way for women to genui nel y contri bute to
the producti on of knowl edge for Ti mor .
Cuts across Themes. Li teracy coul d be i ntegrated i nto t hemes wher e women have a
rol e topl ay and whi ch government and NGOs want toadvocate. Heal th, l i vel i hood, nutri ti on,
agri cul ture, arts, ci ti zenshi p and f ami l y rel ati onshi ps are the vari ed t hemes that coul d be the
contents for readi ng, wri ti ng and numer acy in the cl asses. I ntegrati ng i ssues shoul d be
accompani ed withpedagogi cal f rameworks and tool s that i ntegrate the soci al i ssues wi thi n
l i teracy and not as an add- on. There wer e efforts where after women l earned the basi cs of the
al phabet, the faci l i tators cl osed thei r programwi th a wor kshop on women s ri ghts. Whi l e this
is one approach to i ntegrati on, a mor e effecti ve way coul d be touse women s lifeas contents
for readi ng, wri ti ng and speaki ng duri ng the enti re program.
Culture and Womens OWN critical thinking. To conf ront the gender i nequal i ti es in
everyday l i fe, l i teracy programs coul d put at the center of di scussi ons the Ti morese cul ture on
women. Cul ture i s not gi ven and is infact created by peopl e and the women coul d be made
aware that its i nequal i ti es coul d be changed. Usi ng Ti morese words/ phrases/ concepts that are
used inthe everyday life to unpack meani ngs coul d faci l i tatewhat Frei re cal l s readi ng the
wor d and the worl d. For exampl e, the wor d tai s (tradi ti onal fabri c) whi ch women have
been taught to weave f r omgenerati on to generati on coul d j umpstart a di scussi on on i ts
symbol i c i mportance to Ti morese l i fe. The wor d bi kan (pl ate) on the other hand can be
tackl ed wi thkanuru (spoon) and the noti on of man hi tti nghi s wi f e as normal . Wri ti ng and
readi ng etu (cooked ri ce) coul d bri ng out di scussi ons on the i mportant rol e of women i n
cooki ng and agri cul ture. What seemed to women as trivial or as gi vens inlife coul d reveal
meani ngs for readi ng and wri ti ng together.
Literacy and Life Skills. Li teracy coul d be broadened f romreadi ng and wri ti ng to
devel opi ng women s abi l i ti es indeal i ng wi th l i fe. These abi l i ti es i ncl ude oral communi cat i on
ski l l s, anal yti cal ski l l s and devel opi ng sel f-confi dence. These l i teracy ski l l s are i mportant in
encouragi ng the women s voi ce inthe communi t y and nati onal government . They are al so
necessary for a woman to have a deci si ve voi ce inher own home and f ami l y. Taki ng i nto
account the cul tural i mpedi ment s to women s devel opment becomes an i mperati ve to
understand the ways through whi ch the women coul d negoti ate thei r powers in di fferent
arenas of life.
Speaking with Reading and Writing. Pr ogr ams coul d be desi gned to support women s
abi l i ty to anal yze and speak out as part of l i teracy ski l l s asi de f romreadi ng and wri ti ng. The
women who have l ong been taught to l i stenand f ol l owthei r husband or al so the men inthe
communi t y coul d be gui ded to have conf i dence in themsel ves. Encouragi ng women to
arti cul ate and share thei r knowl edge will make t hemappreci ate themsel ves al so as producers
and not mer e recei vers of knowl edge. Creati ng a l earni ng cl i mate that al l ows women to speak
out coul d faci l i tatea refl ecti on on one s own lifeand aspi rati ons and a l earni ng tobe. 61
Del ors f r amewor k i nthe Conf i nt ea V, a conf erence on adul t educati on.
40
Pedugogy
Assessi ng Learni ng Compet enci es. Li teracy programs shoul d start wi th an assessment of
current competenci es of parti ci pants and use these as bases for desi gni ng contents and
methodol ogi es. Starti ng l i teracy programs wi th this assessment will al so i nf ormeducators
about the l earni ng curve for women of Ti mor . The women s i nabi l i ty to arti cul ate i s not onl y
due to her l ack of educati on but because of the tradi ti onal nor ms that l i mi ted her f ormati on.
Assessi ng the l earni ng competenci es of the women, e. g. how they wer e abl e to manage
counti ng money, how they manage to sustai n the heal th of their chi l dren, coul d be a basi s for
desi gni ng obj ecti ves, pedagogy, approaches for l i teracy programs. .
In the process, women are i nvol ved in i denti fyi ng thei r expectati ons and areas of
i nterestshhemes for l i teracy. Together wi th the women, the faci l i tator can al so share the
limits and possi bi l i ti es for the l i teracy - - - the l ength of the l i teracy, desi gn of the program,
speci fi c l earni ng competenci es and pedagogy. Thi s coul d hel p mi ni mi ze fni strati on over
expectati ons not met at the end of the l i teracy proj ect.
Evaluating Impact. Programs shoul d i ntegrate wi thi n thei r desi gn an Eval uati on Syst em
that l ooks at i ndi cators and processes that show the i mmedi at e and strategi c i mpact of l i teracy
on women. At the end of the program, these targets shoul d be gauged inrel ati on tothe actual
changes inthe l i ves of women faci l i tatedby the acqui si ti on of l i teracy.
I nstruments for Eval uati ng I mpact. There i s a need to devel op i nstruments that will al l ow
educators to see the i mpact of thei r programs on peopl e s everyday life and abi l i ty to
parti ci pate inthe communi t y and government . Currentl y, there are cl assi cal i nstruments for
eval uati ng readi ng and wri ti ng but materi al s on eval uati ng the i mpact of l i teracy on women s
l i ves have yet tobe devel oped. Broadeni ng the f r amewor k f romreadi ng, wri ti ng, numer acy
to l i fe ski l l s requi res assessi ng l earni ng competenci es- anal ysi s- probl em sol vi ng,
communi cat i on ski l l s, sel f-confi dence, etc. How the acqui si ti on of life skills, on the other
hand, have hel ped women i mprove thei r fami l i es and mor e i mportantl y, thei r sel ves coul d
provi de i nsi ghts on vari ed i mpact of l i teracy on women s empower ment . There are a lot of
l i teracy/ educati on f rameworks f f omi nternati onal conf erences and experi ences f romother
countri es that coul d be a ri ch resource for l i teracy provi ders for Ti mor.
Literacy: Speaking, Analyzing, Self-Confidence. Pedagogi es that will faci l i tate l earni ng
to be shoul d be i ncorporated inthe programs to go beyond methodol ogi es that emphasi ze
mer e acqui si ti on of readi ng and wri ti ng skills. In parti cul ar, methodol ogi es shoul d hel p
achi eve l earni ng obj ecti ves for speaki ng, readi ng, anal yzi ng and conf i dence bui l di ng.
Traci ng the hi stori cal constrai nts for women to devel op themsel ves, the conf i dence for
women to arti cul ate thei r i deas shoul d not be presumed but i mportantl y shoul d be encouraged
inthe process of the l i teracy program. An exampl e coul d be to compl ement the acti vi ty of
wri ti ng one s name wi th storytel l i ng about onesel f. Agai n, this i nvol ves sensi ti vi ty to
di fferi ng i ndi vi dual communi cat i on needs-the wi dows who wer e vocal about thei r i deas may
need a strengtheni ng of thei r arti cul ati on abi l i ti es whi l e some women may need mor e
encouragement for getti ng out of the shel l .
41
Broadening the Role of the Facilitator. A l i teracy faci l i tator shoul d broaden her rol e as
teacher to that of an advocate of l earni ng and change. She i mparts readi ng and wri ti ng
ski l l s and equal l y i mportant, organi zes, l eads and supports the women inher cl asses. Gi ven
the myri ad acti vi ti es and duti es of the parti ci pants in the home, cl an and communi t y, a
faci l i tator stri ves to ensure conti nuous l earni ng by weavi ng l i teracy i nto the women s dai l y
life. Whi l e not l osi ng si ght of the l earni ng obj ecti ves and ti metabl e of the l i teracy program,
the faci l i tators coul d adj ust the desi gn of the programbased on the emergi ng contexts of the
l earners.
Ensuri ng an atmosphere conduci ve tol earni ng and di al ogue is a mai n task of a faci l i tator. It is
essenti al to observe dynami cs wi thi n the group - parti ci pati on among women of di fferent
status inlife(hi erarchi cal rel ati ons bet ween fami l i es inTimor), age groups, exposure togroup
acti vi ti es, etc. The faci l i tator shoul d encourage l earni ng f r omand l i steni ng to each other, and
provi de pati ent yet proacti ve ways to faci l i tate readi ng and wri ti ng and strengtheni ng
women s arti cul ati on.
Learners l earn to read and wri te in vari ous paces based on thei r exposure to educati ve
acti vi ti es. Others l earn ina qui cker pace, others are better inspoken than wri tten l anguage.
The sensi ti vi ty of the faci l i tator inmoni tori ng l earni ng competenci es and pace of l earners
coul d hel p determi ne what coachi ng and gui dance she can do for the group and i ndi vi dual s.
Dependi ng on the strategi c f r amewor k of the l i teracy program, the faci l i tator coul d al so act as
organi zer and advi ser. She coul d bri ng inwomen s personal probl ems or i ssues as contents
for l i teracy cl ass. Thi s rol e i s worth l ooki ng i nto gi ven that inTi mor, most women j ust keep
thei r probl ems inthei r heart.62 Li teracy through drawi ngs, storytel l i ngand songs can hel p
women todeal wi th thei r probl ems col l ecti vel y.
Developing Capabilities of Educators. Conti nuous trai ni ngs, di scussi ons and refl ecti ons on
the practi ce and other capabi l i ty-bui l di ng acti vi ti es shoul d be i nsti tuted to hel p educators
devel op the ri gor inpopul ar educati on for l i teracy programs.
There is an ongoi ng one- year programfor devel opi ng the capaci ti es of popul ar educators in
Ti mor through a TOT (Trai ni ng of Trai ners) i ni ti atedby Oxf am- GB in partnershi p wi th the
MST in Brazi l . The faci l i tators come in for t wo- week trai ni ngs on popul ar educati on
f r amewor k and methodol ogi es every three mont hs. Inbet ween, the l i teracy provi ders f rom
the NGOs and l ocal communi t i es in Ti mor experi ment on the newapproaches or tool s
l earned. The TOT encourages educators to l earn f romthe parti ci patory approaches inother
countri es and toadapt these methodol ogi es tothei r l ocal contexts.
The parti ci patory approaches can be chal l engi ng. I f not gi ven regul ar venues for di scussi ng
and l earni ng the pedagogi cal f r amewor k and ski l l s, educators may sl i de back to the
mechani cal way of teachi ng readi ng and wri ti ng. Capabi l i ty-bui l di ng for educators,
therefore, shoul d be an ongoi ng, conti nuous and refl ecti ve process of theory and practi ce on
popul ar educati on inEast Ti mor.
Smal l Li teracy Gr oups inthe Communi t y. Gr ouped infi ve to seven l earners, women groups
inthe i mmedi at e communi t y coul d be faci l i tatedby mobi l e faci l i tators. Starti ng f r omthe
condi ti ons wer e women have many acti vi ti es inthe home and cul tural l i mi ts to her mobi l i ty,
62 Wi dows inLi qui ca and women inSuai , April - May 2004 duri ng the fi el dresearch.
42
in some areas i t may be useful tohave l earni ng groups i nstead of l i teracy cl asses. Thi s ki nd
of setti ngcoul d provi de a mor e conduci ve l earni ng for women who are not comf ortabl e wi th
bi g groups. Gi ven a smal l group, the faci l i tator can al so experi ment mor e on i nf ormal ways of
l earni ng likestorytel l i ng, fi el dtri ps, etc. She coul d conduct one to t wo hour sessi ons and go
f romone group toanother inone day. Thi s approach, however, requi res mor e timeand effort
for the faci l i tator int er ms of travel and prepari ng speci fi c l esson pl ans.
Peer mentoring and Support. Programs shoul d be desi gned to al l owparti ci pants to l earn
f romeach other through peer mentori ng and group work. Thi s emphasi zes the f ramework
that the faci l i tator i s not the onl y source of knowl edge but that every one has knowl edge and
capaci ti es to share wi th each other. Learners can ei ther wor k intri ad or dyad l earni ng about
each other' s names or wri ti ng down thei r sacred houses. Interms of met hodol ogy, i t al so
provi des for effecti ve l earni ng and effi ci ent use of time. The parti ci pants al so devel oped
accountabi l i ty and support to each other' s l earni ng inthe group. Gr oups can al so be gi ven the
task of checki ng up on each other when there are probl ems inattendi ng the cl ass.
All-Women Literacy Groups. It i s i mportant to conduct al l - women cl asses to gi ve women
the space to l earn l i teracy and di scuss women' s i ssues freel y. Men have al ways domi nat ed
di scussi ons and al l - women cl asses can be effecti ve in meeti ng l earni ng obj ecti ves for
speaki ng, readi ng and wri ti ng. These cl asses shoul d al so be fl exi bl e to the schedul e of
women, e. g. they can be hel d inthe eveni ngs when women have mor e t i me unl i ke duri ng
dayti me.
Tools and Techniques
Radio, TV, Video.
campai gn on the i mportance of l i teracy; the second i s touse i t as a tool for l earni ng.
The use of technol ogy shoul d be tapped in t wo ways: one i s for a
There are currentl y 17radi o stati ons63 inTi mor wher e awareness campai gns on educati on and
i ts powerf ul i mpact on l i vel i hood, heal th, peace and communi t y devel opment can be tackl ed.
Announcement s can i nf ormwomen and men about ongoi ng l i teracy programs and wher e they
coul d j oi n incase they are i nterested.
Technol ogy faci l i tates effecti ve l earni ng and shoul d compl ement tradi ti onal cl assroom
techni ques. Duri ng our research inVi queque, a stati on was broadcasti ng a course on Engl i sh.
Thi s met hod coul d al so be done through "l i teracy programs on radi o" for those who are
unabl e to attend l i teracy cl asses. However , the radi o programs can compl ement the cl asses
but shoul d not be a substi tute, parti cul arl y if we talkabout devel opi ng cri ti cal and anal yti cal
skills. On the other hand, the use of vi deo for l i teracy coul d encourage sustai ned l earni ng. In
Bucol i , peopl e, young and ol d, men and women came every ni ght tothe Nar oman Communi t y
Center to wat ch a movi e shown through a comput er or a tel evi si on. Even wi th l i mi ted
announcement , al most 40 peopl e wer e gl ued watchi ng the movi e, whi ch was unfortunatel y, a
vi ol ent one for the chi l dren present. Thi s gi ves a gl i mpse of the possi bi l i ti es for maxi mi zi ng
vi deo and the chal l enge for produci ng l earni ng materi al s on vi deo. However , the use of
technol ogy may be constrai ned by l ack of resources for el ectri ci ty, equi pment and producti on
of rel evant vi deo.
'' Based on a conf erence on radi o broadcasti ng i nTi mor . See
http: / / www. worl dbank. org/ gender/ di gi tal di vi del communi ty- radi o- notes . pdf
Obsiaclcs to Lhc j ?, ffcctvc i'ai.ticpaloii ul'\voiricii in f\ihll Iducaii~m 1~i.ogi.arris
Foms 0 1 1 Sociri..(.''tllll!,.ul Fircfots
A iIpi.isi. ?om
43
Local history and issue research. Communi t y- speci f i c researches done with women
shoul d provi de contents for the l i teracy materi al s. Anecdotes about peopl e, ri tual s that show
di fferent rol es for women and men, l egends and myt hs about thepl ace, heal th probl ems, l ack
of water, soci al i ssues, etc. are ri ch and i nteresti ng sources of materi al s for readi ng and
wri ti ng. Researches can be done with women doi ng i ntervi ews wi th peopl e and then
rememberi ng wor ds that wer e of i nterest tot hem. These i ntervi ews can be di scussed and the
i nteresti ngwor ds can be wri tten down on the board by the faci l i tator as subj ects for l earni ng.
Document at i on and col l ecti on of the stori es and i ntervi ews are an added work for the
faci l i tator or NGO i nvol ved. Whi l e this may be di ffi cul t at the start, thi s is necessary tobui l d
up resources for contents and pedagogi es of current and future l i teracy programs.
Field Trips, Story-telling about women. Fi el d tri ps are an effecti ve tool that the faci l i tator
shoul d use tobreak the myth that l i teracy i s onl y for worki ng inthe offi ce or school . A wal k
through the communi t y and readi ng the posters inthe communi t y heal th center or the church
or the communi t y hal l coul d devel op inthe l earners the appreci ati on of readi ng and wri ti ng as
i ntegral to thei r dai l y l i fe. What coul d have been mer e si gns inthe past coul d be exci ti ng
sources of l earni ng for women. It coul d al so faci l i tateeffecti ve l earni ng of speci fi c wor ds as
women pass by the si gns everyday.
Literacy and Citizenship. The understandi ng of women that l i teracy i s i mportant in
exerci si ng ci ti zenshi p shoul d be maxi mi zed by l i nki ng l i teracy wi th current government
acti vi ti es. For exampl e, the comi ng suco el ecti ons can be an encouragement for women to
l earn how to wri te the name/ s of thei r chosen offi ci al /s. It i s i mportant for women, as
menti oned inthe moti vati ons for l earni ng, to be abl e toread and si gn thei r names i nstead of
j ust affi xi ng thei r t humb mar k on the bal l ot. Thi s i s an i mportant use of l i teracy that the
faci l i tators shoul d not mi ss inthe desi gn of the program.
Informal ways of sharing information. Faci l i tators coul d establ i sh rel ati onshi p and share
i nf ormati on wi th women through i nf ormal ways l i ke havi ng tea i n the af ternoon or whi l e
doi ng l aundry together. These i nf ormal shari ng bui l ds rapport and can be mor e educati ve for
some women. I nf ormal gatheri ngs can al so provi de the faci l i tators updates on the factors
affecti ng women s parti ci pati on inthe cl asses. For a faci l i tator, however, this means spendi ng
mor e ti me and effort wi th women parti ci pants outsi de of the f ormal sessi ons.
Homework, Reading Materials, H o m e Visits for Continuous Study. Faci l i tators shoul d
further the l earni ng of the parti ci pants by devel opi ng homewor k, readi ng materi al s and
exerci ses that the women can do on thei r own when they have ti me at home. At the same
time, the women can l earn f r omthese materi al s when they cannot go to the cl ass duri ng
pl anti ng or harvest season or when she has to take care of her si ck chi l d at home. The
provi si on of l earni ng materi al s, therefore, ensures that l earni ng i s not di srupted even when
women are not abl e toattend the cl asses. The faci l i tator coul d al so do home visits tohel p the
women wi ththe l earni ng materi al s.
Community Resource Center. A communi t y resource center that provi des space, readi ng
materi al s and other resources i s a key i nterventi on for conti nuous i ndi vi dual and group
l earni ng. Such a resource center can provi de access to l earni ng materi al s l i ke books,
magazi nes, newspapers, vi deo, audi o, l earni ng modul es, etc for parti ci pants of l i teracy
programs and the communi t y as a whol e. A resource center can be a reposi tory of the l ocal
stori es, anecdotes, myt hs and i mages that have been document ed by the women and other
44
parti ci pants inthe course of thei r communi t y research. Conti nui ng l earni ng and shari ng of
i nf ormati on in the center coul d al so be through fora, storytel l i ng, poetry readi ng, dr ama or
other educati ve acti vi ti es in the communi t y. These regul ar venues for l earni ng and the
exposure of peopl e to readi ng materi al s coul d boost the i nterest inparti ci pati ng i n l i teracy
programs or i ni ti ati ves for i ndi vi dual l earni ng. They are key to post l i teracy programs and
hel p todevel op a l earni ng envi ronment at the communi t y l evel .
Approaches for Organizing
Develop Awareness on Womens Empowerment among the Men. The faci l i tator, the
government , or the NGO organi zi ng the l i teracy programshoul d encourage awareness among
the men of the strategi c i mportance of l i teracy for women s devel opment . Currentl y, men (and
hi s parents) are wi l l i ng to bend some cul tural barri ers as l ong as the women s parti ci pati on
will benefi t the economy of the f ami l y or as l ong as the woman does not negl ect her
househol d chores or when he has been convi nced of the i mportance of the program. Inmost
workshops, i t was sai dthat the husbands di d not prevent the women f i - omgoi ng to l i teracy
cl asses. I n fact, they were wi l l i ng to gi ve in to some changes in the arrangements in the
house. However , many women sti l l mai ntai n that they have to prepare f ood and make
arrangements at home bef ore l eavi ng for l i teracy cl ass toavoi d the fury of a hungry husband,
The women, through the hel p of the faci l i tator or organi zi ng NGO or Gover nment , coul d
engage these si tuati ons wi th the husband to al l owfor mor e f undamental changes in the
rel ati onshi p wi thi n the fami l y. The cul tural i mpedi ment s to women s deci si on- maki ng coul d
be tackl ed by maki ng the men understand the i mportance of l i teracy for women and the
i mportance of women devel opi ng themsel ves outsi de the home.
Community Support. Launch the l i teracy programas a communi t y acti vi ty by seeki ng the
support of the tradi ti onal l eaders, chef de suco and other l ocal government offi ci al s. Thi s i s in
keepi ng wi th the tradi ti ons of Ti mor where ki nshi p and communi t y well bei ng is of key
si gni fi cance. Getti ng the support of the chef de suco and tradi ti onal l eaders inthe tradi ti on of
tuur hamut uk, (sittingtogether) proved very i mportant. InSame, the women wer e at fi rst
rel uctant about attendi ng the cl asses. But they conti nued parti ci pati ng because they get a lot
of encouragement f romthe chef de suco. Inthe process, the women wer e abl e to fi ni sh and
appreci ate the cl ass on i ts own meri ts.
Li kewi se, accordi ng to the experi ence of the Ci vi c Educati on, I nvi ti ng women as a group
and not as an i ndi vi dual is easi er. Women then go together for a meeti ng and thi s i s
acceptabl e. The men will not be j eal ous or suspi ci ous of what the women are doi ng.
Dealing with Children of Mothers. Dependi ng on the resources avai l abl e, the l i teracy
programs coul d provi de spaces or acti vi ti es for chi l dren of women parti ci pants. Ina l i teracy
cl ass, the mothers bri ng al ong thei r babi es and toddl ers, whi ch at t i mes di stract l earni ng in
cl ass. I t coul d be useful toprovi de spaces for babi es to sl eep on or acti vi ti es for toddl ers to do
so that the women can l earn effecti vel y duri ng cl ass. Communi t y vol unteers coul d take turns
intaki ng care of the chi l dren.
Targeting Young Women. The government and ci vi l soci ety organi zati ons shoul d expand
thei r l i teracy programs for young women mot hers. Currentl y, most l i teracy programs have
45
been desi gned for mi ddl e- aged women who were not abl e to go to school because duri ng thei r
time, school i ng for girls was not a pri ori ty. However , there are al so a lot of young women
who were depri ved of school i ng because of poverty and earl y marri age. Si ster Margaretha
sai d Most of the young mothers went to school but they dropped out earl y. As there wer e no
opportuni ti es for usi ng the l i teracy competenci es, they forgot the abi l i ty to read and wri te.
Si ster Margaretha s congregati on conducts educati on acti vi ti es such as sewi ng, cooki ng,
baki ng for young, si ngl e mothers inDili. However , she observed that there are fewefforts for
si ngl e-pregnant and young mothers who wer e not abl e tol earn basi c l i teracy.
Policy advocacy
Policy Targeting Women. The government shoul d target women in its pol i cy and
i mpl ementati on of l i teracy programs. The government s l i teracy cl asses are open toboth men
and women because of the argument that men and women have equal ri ghts to l earni ng.
Whi l e this may be true, the fact that there are mor e women i l l i terates inTi mor and gi ven the
l i mi ted opportuni ti es for women to l earn, targeti ng women is necessary. In Baucau, the
l i teracy coordi nator sai d that maj ori ty of the l earners intheir cl asses are women. However ,
thi s i s not the same inDili and inmost di stri cts. Affi rmati ve acti ons for women, as a pol i cy
i s i mportant and can be done by setti ng a quota for women parti ci pants or by proacti vel y
seeki ng l ocal l eaders support for women s l i teracy programs. It is al so necessary for
government toi mpl ement al l - women l i teracy cl asses.
Equivalency to Formal Education. The Mi ni stry of Educati on shoul d set up an equi val ency
systemthat will accredi t the l earni ng competenci es l earnt by the parti ci pants in l i teracy
cl asses. Theref ore, through a syst emof equi val ency, the parti ci pants who studi ed through the
non- f ormal coul d go back to f ormal school s or even graduate or get a di pl oma. Thi s coul d be
done through a mul ti - department task force to wor k together to devel op the equi val ency
system, l ooki ng at the f ramework, program, i nstruments for recogni zi ng the comparabi l i ty of
l i teracy and knowl edge l earned in the non- f ormal to the f ormal educati on system. The
comparabi l i ty of l earni ng competenci es acqui red through civil soci ety l i teracy programs
shoul d al so be recogni zed. A parti cul ar i nterest inTi mor woul d be an equi val ency systemthat
takes i nto account the vari ous l anguages and di verse cul tures of Ti mor.
Ci vi l soci ety groups have been advocati ng an equi val ency systemtogovernment and have put
f orward a draft f r amewor k and possi bl e i nstruments for i t. However , the government and
civil soci ety have yet to wor k together and di scuss this cruci al i ssue on the educati on for East
Ti mor.
Literacy and Language. A pol i cy encouragi ng the use of the mother tongue inthe l i teracy
cl asses shoul d be inpl ace especi al l y innon- Tet umspeaki ng areas. The argument for usi ng
the mot her tongue inl i teracy cl asses inareas where women do not speak Tet umor Portuguese
cannot be overemphasi zed. Accordi ng tothe East Ti mor Human Resources Survey in2001,64
The mai n l anguages of f ormal educati on in Ti mor Leste are Portuguese, I ndonesi an and
Tet umPraa. However , a survey of human resources conducted i n al l di stri cts of Ti mor Leste
f ound that women are consi stentl y l ess l i kel y to speak any of the above mai n l anguages.
Women represented:
0
1/ 3 of respondents who spoke I ndonesi an
b
64 ETDA (2001) East Ti mor Human Resour ces Survey: Fi nal Report , ETDA, Ti mor Leste. Quoted fromthe
Oxfam-GB research on Permacul t ure.
46
0
0
114of respondents who spoke Portuguese
1/ 3 of respondents who spoke Tet um
The use of the mot her tongue has been proven effecti ve inl earni ng l i teracy skills. Thi s coul d
al so avoi d the further margi nal i zati on of women f romproduci ng knowl edge and acqui ri ng
l i teracy competenci es.
Networks and Structures.
Setting up a Working Group. Gi ven the conti nui ng need for l i teracy wor k inTi mor , i t i s
i mperati ve to create a worki ng group composed of l i teracy provi ders f romci vi l soci ety and
government . Thi s structure coul d functi on as a coordi nati ve group that will map out updated
data on areas and scope of i nterventi ons of government and civil soci ety programs. Inthe
process, i t coul d i denti @ the overl aps, gaps and chal l enges for l i teracy and provi de an
anal ysi s of areas where l i teracy i s very much needed and areas wher e there i s a need toj oi n
efforts.
The worki ng group coul d al so be a venue for di scussi ng i ssues affecti ng educati on and
eval uati ng the practi ce inl i teracy programs. Exchanges on the ri gors of l i teracy wor k inthe
contexts of women, cul ture and soci ety coul d pave the way for a l i terature on educati on
f rameworks and pedagogy for Ti mor. Thi s coul d al so provi de venues for engagi ng the i ssues
of uni versal i ty of women s ri ghts and respect for Ti morese cul ture. As f rameworks and
methodol ogi es are not set in stone, the regul ar eval uati on coul d encourage sel f-refl exi vi ty
among popul ar educators towards mor e effecti ve and rel evant l i teracy programs in East
Ti mor.
Data base on Literacy work Devel op an updated database of l i teracy programs to moni tor
the progress ineradi cati ng i l l i teracy. A l i terature on who s doi ng what , wher e and how i s a
bi g chal l enge for NGOs, agenci es and government . Thi s coul d provi de i nsi ghts on whi ch
areas are bei ng negl ected or whi ch have dupl i cati on of efforts. Thi s database coul d gi ve
i nf ormati on on areas of compl ement at i on or pri ori ti zati on or coordi nati on. Thi s coul d al so
provi de the trends and chal l enges for conti nui ng and devel opi ng further l i teracy programs in
Ti mor. Si nce the database coul d al so gather annual reports f roml i teracy provi ders, i t coul d
generate i nsi ghts on the i mpact of l i teracy wor k, parti cul arl y, on the l i ves of the women.
Sustainability of Literacy. Li teracy provi ders shoul d ensure that women acqui red basi c
l earni ng competenci es enough to sustai n thei r sel f-l earni ng. Thi s can be done ei ther through a
l onger durati on for l i teracy programs or by i mpl ement i ng post-l i teracy acti vi ti es for women.
Thi s recommendat i on i s of utmost si gni fi cance to l i teracy programs that envi si on women s
empower ment and i t i s shared by most of the faci l i tators that we tal ked on the course of the
research. The l i teracy programs shoul d be of l onger durati on gi ven the si tuati ons of the
women. Many respondents wer e di sappoi nted when programs wer e termi nated by vari ous
NGOs and cl amored for mor e proj ects.
Sustai ni ng and ensuri ng l earni ng of women coul d pose a chal l enge for l i teracy provi ders
gi ven the dwi ndl i ng resources for l i teracy. What i s the sustai nabi l i ty of the current l i teracy
and commi t ment towomen/ men s educati on? What are the conti nui ng proj ects? Howfar can
47 A
the ai d and resources go? These questi ons coul d be answered inthe context of the broader
agenda and pl ans of government and NGOs in devel opi ng capabi l i ti es of the Ti mor peopl e
and soci ety. We shoul d al so maxi mi ze the use of exi sti ng organi zati ons and networks and the
avai l abi l i ty of materi al s produced by them.
Organizing local women organizations. The f ormati on of women s organi zati ons in the
communi t y shoul d be encouraged so that women are abl e to cooperate even after the l i teracy
programs. The women s l i teracy cl asses inMal i ana and Same remai ned i ntact even after the
programs have been cl osed down. However , they wer e cl asses wai ti ng tobe opened agai n.
Inmost l i teracy programs, organi zi ng women for l i teracy and other proj ects has mai nl y been
done through the i ntercessi on of a communi t y faci l i tator, NGO or government . Faci l i tators of
NGOs shoul d not stop at organi zi ng l i teracy cl asses. They coul d hel p the women to f orm
thei r own groups as support structures for conti nued l earni ng and cooperati on. What coul d
sustai n the women s enthusi asmto l earn to read and wri te coul d be the establ i shment of sel f-
hel p groups or women- hel pi ng- women at the l ocal l evel .
Building Better Partnership between Literacy (Education) Providers and Community,
Strategi ze l i teracy programs as a partnershi p bet ween the communi t y and government or
sponsori ng NGO. Most programs inthe past were mai nl y i nf ormed by the vi si oni ng of NGOs
i mpl ementi ng the programand hi ri ng the communi t y faci l i tators. The same i s true wi th those
spearheaded by the government . The women parti ci pants and communi t y l eaders and peopl e
had little parti ci pati on inthe targets, desi gn, i mpl ementati on, eval uati on and termi nati on of
the l i teracy programs.
Devel opi ng partnershi p bet ween the l i teracy provi ders and the communi t y wher e the program
i s bei ng i mpl ement ed coul d usher in mor e rel evant and effecti ve l i teracy programs. Such
partnershi p coul d mani f est in di fferent ways. Asi de f r omthe usual vi si ts of the program
coordi nators of NGOs based i n Dili,65 i t woul d be better if NGOs wer e to have regul ar
meeti ngs wi th the communi t y faci l i tators, parti ci pants and other l eaders to di scuss chal l enges
and probl ems inthe program. Gover nment l i teracy coordi nators coul d do the same and inthe
process val i date i ts government pl ans for l i teracy and adul t educati on wi th the emergi ng needs
and aspi rati ons of the adul ts who want to be educated. These meeti ngs coul d generate the
necessary support and adj ustments whi l e l i teracy programs are sti l l runni ng.
At the same ti me, insuch a partnershi p f ramework, the communi t y coul d be encouraged tobe
accountabl e to the success of the programby doi ng their share in pool i ng resources for
materi al s or ensuri ng the acti ve parti ci pati on of women. The links bet ween the l i teracy
provi ders and communi t y coul d al so encourage the transformati on of l i teracy cl asses i nto
women s organi zati ons that will enabl e women to wor k together even after the l i teracy
program.
Synthesis of Strategies
The sets of strategi es bei ng put f orward in this research start with both the vi si ons and
f ramework for movi ng f orward strategi c l i teracy and adul t educati on in Ti mor. These
conceptual f rameworks, to be effecti ve and real i zabl e, have been fl eshed out through
recommendat i ons for pedagogy, tool s and techni ques. Al ongsi de these recommendat i ons are
those that will provi de the necessary structures and envi ronment, needed both at the nati onal
and l ocal l evel s for pursui ng authenti c, sustai ned and ef f ecti ve l i teracy programs for women.
* Based on i ntervi ews wi th faci l i tators and parti ci pants i n Same and Mal i ana, Apr i l - May 2004.
48
They are suggesti ons that cover approaches for organi zi ng, pol i cy advocacy, net works and
structures.
Howl i teracy and adul t educati on programs are i nextri cabl y l i nked withthe everyday l i fe,
needs and aspi rati ons of the women and how they hel p women cri ti cal l y engage in
transf ormi ng the real i ti es of power rel ati ons inthei r lifeis the test of the mettl e.
49
ANNEX 1: LIST OF RESPONDENTS
Thank you very much for the contri buti ons of the persons and groups, who despi te the short
noti ce, gl adl y gave us thei r stori es and i nsi ghts on cul ture, women and educati on. The t eam
was fortunate enough to have shared moment s of storytel l i ng and workshops wi th 642
persons. However , we apol ogi ze for not bei ng abl e towri te down each and everyone s name.
Obri gada barak!
N o
1
2
3
4
5
Dili
N a m e Organization Obs
Mr. Mahaf ud Ambar ac Bazi her Mi ni stry of Educati on - I ntervi ew
Di rector Di vi si on of Non-
f ormal Educati on
Educati on
Dani el l e Boom Di vi si on of Non- f or mal I ntervi ew
Marqui ta Soares and Bendi ta GFFTL I ntervi ew
Ted Redden UNI CEF I ntervi ew
Sra. J oana Mari a Dul ce Vi tor Of f i ce for the Promot i on of I ntervi ew
Eaual i tv (OPE)
7
8
9
10
I 6 1 Laura Abrantes I RedeFet o l I ntervi ew I
J eni fer Wort hi ngt on UNDP: Ci vi c Educati on I ntervi ew
El da Da Si l va Guterres Ti mor Ai d I ntervi ew
Nuno Rodri gues SAHE I nsti tute for I ntervi ew
Mi l ena Pi res UNI FEM I ntervi ew
Li berati on
12
13
14
Sr. Margari ta Holy spi ri t I ntervi ew
Sebasti ana Perei ra Oxf amAustral i a I ntervi ew
Adel i na ADari ci o Teacher I ntervi ew
I 15 1 Manuel a I Student I I ntervi ew I
16 Al i ci a Student I ntervi ew
UNTL University students Discussion
1
2
Norberta R. Net o
Terezi nha Amor al
.
3
4
Zul mi ra Xi menes Da Costa
Umbel i na Fi l omena Da Si l va
I 8 I Dortei a Dos Rei s l I l
5
6
7
I .
Zenny Correi ra
Agusti nha Cabral
Al emi na De J esus
I 9 1 I naSeac I l I
1
2
Liquica
INo IName I Organization I Obs
Mr. Agust o Pi nto Da Si l va Tradi ti onal Leaders I ntervi ew
Ms. Aurora Xi menes Li qui sa Di stri ct I ntervi ew
I I 1 Admi ni strator I I
51
3
4
5
6
Fel i ci ano dos Santos Tel ecurso I nstructor I ntervi ew
Wi dower s Gr upo Feto Fal uk Gr oup i ntervi ew
Li qui sa Secondary School Students Wor kshop wi th
Gregori o Madei ra Chef e de Suco I ntervi ew
questi onnai re
3 I Fl avi a I I I
1
2
uai
Literacy facilitator UNICEF Group Interview
Ana Paul a da Si l va
Lol a
N o IName 1 Organization 1 Obs
1
Suai
Ave Mari a Secondary School Students Wor kshop &
2
Questi onnai re
Suai Pri mary School Students Questi onnai re
1
1
Kam anasa
Tradi ti onal Leader & Communi t y Kamanasa Vi l l age Gr oup i ntervi ew
Women
Holbelis
Tradi ti onal Leader and Communi t y Hol bel i s Vi l l age Gr oup i ntervi ew
Women
1
2
Salele
Women s group Gr upo Feto Gr oup i ntervi ew
Mana Mari a Nunes Gr upo Feto I ntervi ew
No N a m e Organization Obs
1 Secondary School Students Workshop wi th
2 Mari a Verdi al Gana Coordi nator of Cul tural I ntervi ew
Maliana
Questi onnai re
Educati on DeDart ment
u
3
4
5
6
Abel Mai a NDI I ntervi ew
Ms. Mari a Verdi al NDI I ntervi ew
Pri mary School Students Questi onnai re
Mr. Pedro Tradi ti onal Leader I ntervi ew
17 I Bunak Tradi ti onal Leader I Tradi ti onal Leader 1 GrouDI ntervi ew
8
9
10
Mal i ana Li teracy Parti ci pants For mer OGB Li teracy Gr oup I ntervi ew
Mana Mart a Faci l i tator I ntervi ew
Tomas Kal o Chef e de Suco Lahomea) I ntervi ew
Cl ass Parti ci pants
.
1
2
3
4
I,
Apol i nari o Barros Tradi ti onal Leader I ntervi ew
( Kemak)
Memo Li teracy Parti ci pants For mer OGB Li teracy Gr oup I ntervi ew
Cl ass Parti ci pants
Graci ana De J esus Li teracy Faci l i tator I ntervi ew
Arl i ndo Dos Santos Chef e de Suco I ntervi ew
I I Memo I I I
1
2
Domi ngas Verdi al
Domi ngas Moni z
I I Nove-Nove I Grupo Feto Faluk 1 Gr oup I ntervi ew I
4
5
Agust a Da Santos
J aci nta
3 I Luci nda
No
1
Name Organization Obs
Secondary school Students Wor kshop wi th
Same
2
3
4
5
6
Questi onnai re
Pri mary school Students Questi onnai re
Tradi ti onal Leaders Mambae I ntervi ew
El sa and Leoni l da Xi menes Ti mor Ai d faci l i tator I ntervi ew
Luci a and J oaqui m GFFTL Faci l i tator I ntervi ew
Cami l a Ti mor Ai d Li teracy I ntervi ew
faci l i tator
N o
1
Name Organization Obs
Vi queque
J oao Bapti sta Tet un Tradi ti onal Leader I ntervi ew
12 I Secondaryschool Students
Makasae Tradi ti onal
Leader
Students
Makasae and Nauti
Tradi ti onal Leaders
Communi t y Gr oup
Wor kshop wi th
Questi onnai re
I ntervi ew
Wor kshop Wi th Questi on
I ntervi ew
Gr oup I ntervi ew
I I Uatuiari
3
I 1 I Secondarvschool
J ose Xi menes
I 2
I Mr. Al berto & Mano
3 1 Vi da Nova Men
1
I 2 I Eva Soarez I l I
Vi da Nova Women Communi t y Gr oup Gr oup I ntervi ew
Al da Pi nto
3
4
5
*I
Mari a Manuel a
J ul i ana Soarez
Cel esti na Da Costa
I 3 I Pal mi ra I l I
1
2
Kararas Literacy Participants Community Group Gr oup I ntervi ew
J anuari Soares
Ol i nda Soares
4
5
Esperanca Da Costa
J oana
I 1 Dilor I I I
6
7
8
9
El i za Dos Santos
Marti nha Da Costa Soares
Recardi na
El da Rangel
1 O
11
Baucau
I N o [ N a m e
Angel i na Gomes
Esperanca De J esus
Mr. Constanti nho Da Costa
Mr. Si l veri o Da Si l va
1
2
I 3
1 Bucol i l i teracy cl ass
Men and women group Communi t y Gr oup Gr oup I ntervi ew
Fi l omeno Da Cr uz Sub Di stri ct coordi nator I ntervi ew
14
I Mana Sabi na Da Si l va
3
15 ~ I Ms. Leoni l da Da Si l va
SMA Students Wor kshop Wi th
Questi onnai re
Faci l i tator - Gr upo Nar oman
Communi t y- Gr upo Nar oman
I ntervi ew
Gr oup I ntervi ew
Pri mary School
Li teracy Parti ci pant of
1975 s l i teracy program
I ntervi ew
Organization I Obs
6
Tradi ti onal Leader I I ntervi ew
Natal i a Da Cost a
1
2
Li teracy Parti ci pants I I ntervi ew
Baucau
Mi cael a Xi menes
Mr. Ci pri ano Net o
Faci l i tator - Gr upo Nar oman I I ntervi ew
Di stri ct Admi ni strator
Tradi ti onal Leader
Head Mast er of Bucol i I I ntervi ew
I ntervi ew
I ntervi ew
3 Baucau Secondary School Students
Coordi nator of Non Formal
Educati on
54
~
Wor kshop Wi th
Questi on
I ntervi ew 4 Mr. Fel i x J eroni mo
1
2
3
4
University of Matebean Community University Student Workshop With
Raf ael Da Costa Fernandez
J oana Mari a Da Si l va
Agusti na Xi menes
Ursul a Li nda Marcha1
Question
I 1 Bahu I I I
1
2
Samagia - Laga
Li teracy cl ass Gover nment Li teracy Cl ass Gr oup I ntervi ew
Fl orenti na Correi a Faci l i tator - government I ntervi ew
l i teracy program
f
1
2
55
Li teracy parti ci pants Gover nment Li teracy Cl ass Gr oup I ntervi ew
El i sa Xi menes Bel o Faci l i tator - government I ntervi ew
l i teracy program
Annex 2: LIST OF REFERENCES
Cardoso, Luis (1997). The Crossing: A Story of Timor.
Chritrakar, Roshan (2003). A Review of UNICEF Supported Women s Literacy Project in
East Timor.
ETDA (200 1). East Timor Human Resources Survey: Final Report
Freire, Paulo. The Politics of Education.
Gonzaga, Jose (Umpublished 2004). Barara Oma Falu: A Narrative Poem of Alawa Kraik
Village, Bagui Sub District, Baucau.
Greenblott, Kara (200 1). The Humanitarian Response in the Education Sector.
International Rescue Committee. Traditional Justice and Gender Based Violence.
Leach, Fiona (2003). Practising Gender Analysis in Education.
Literacy Working Group (2003). Framework Paper for Non-Formal Education (Draft).
Lutz, Nancy Melisa (1 99 1). Colonization, Decolonizution and Integration: Language Policies
in East Timor.
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1 877). Genealogy of Morals.
Ospina & Hohe (2001). Traditional Power Structures and the Community Empowerment and
Local Governance Project.
Oxfam CAA (2003). Underlying Causes of Gender Inequality in Covalima.
Scott, Catherine. CIJR East Timor Transition to Statehood.
World Bank (2003). Timor Leste -Education: The Way Forward.
World Bank. Women in East Timor: A Report on Womens Health, Education, Economic
Empowerment and Decision-Making.
,-
57