Personal Status Law and Women's Right to Equality in Law and in Practice: The Case of Land Rights of Balinese Hindu Women

Abstract

Some multicultural countries, such as Indonesia, that have become parties to international human rights treaties continue to make allowances for personal status of ethnic and religious groups which enable such groups to live in accordance with traditional laws and customs particularly with regard to marriage, divorce, and inheritance, although these traditional rules and regulations are not based on the basic human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. In this article, the position of Balinese Hindu women is taken as an example to show that by maintaining personal status laws, the land rights of girls and women belonging to the Hindu community are negatively affected and it is very difficult for these women to change this situation themselves as they are caught between their rights and needs on the one hand and their loyalty towards their families, communities, and culture on the other. By accommodating personal status laws, states, including their organs at central, regional and local level, not only violate their international law obligations but are also responsible for undermining women's right to equality. In order to remedy this, they should take all appropriate measures—both legal and extra-legal—to modify laws, customs and traditions in such a way that they are geared to non-discrimination and equality without harming the cultural identity of the ethnic or religious group. For government officials it will be next to impossible to have an impact on people's frame of mind. That is why the authorities should actively and financially support campaigns of non-state actors that support equality, such as grassroots NGOs, local authorities, and academics. Because these actors speak the local language and have intimate knowledge of the religion and culture, they are best placed to bring about a change in practice.