LSPPA uses a variety of methods to teach parents that telling their sons they mustn't cry, or forbidding their daughters from being active and playing sports, can be damaging to their development. These methods include parenting training and discussion groups, magazine articles, creativity workshops for children, and television and radio programs.

Feudal, Patriarchal Values Survive in Civic Society

LSPPA's existence owes much to Margiyani's upbringing. She credits her parents with going against the tide of traditional society in which she was raised by allowing her to ride her bike far from home to swim practices and athletic events. Her father encouraged her to stand up for what she believed, even if it meant she had to defend herself against neighborhood bullies.

Margiyani demonstrated entrepreneurial skills from a young age. In high school, she created the first Nature Lovers group, taking a leadership role in an activity that was not generally acceptable for girls.

During the mid-1980s, Margiyani attended of Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta, the university and cultural center of Indonesia. She was a student activist who helped to establish Vidya Dhari ("Woman with Knowledge"), a student group that discussed issues influencing women and children. LSPPA evolved out of this discussion forum.

Photo by Freddy

Lusi Margiyani participates in a weekly discussion at the LSPPA office with staff and other activists, developing and strengthening LSPPA's cooperation with other organizations

Yogyakarta is a city of about 3.5 million located in the heart of the island of Java. It is known for its traditional Javanese court culture, but it is also home to one of the most thriving civil societies in Indonesia.

This is due, in part, to the lively, intellectual atmosphere fostered by Yogyakarta's numerous universities, and also because, for generations, the Sultans of Yogyakarta have been consistent in their support of the aspirations of the people. The current Sultan serves as governor of the province and is widely respected as a democratic leader.

Although this has created a realm of liberal thinking and activism, male-dominated systems are still the norm. The culture of Java and much of Indonesia is historically a feudal, patriarchal culture.

Even after Indonesia gained independence in 1945, and especially during the 32-year New Order Regime of former president Soeharto, there was a conscious continuation of this feudal mentality in order to co-opt any critical power arising within society. Within the formal education system, and even within the family, this is seen as the way to control children and teach rigid norms of behavior.

Learning Pleasurable Parenting

Margiyani is a dynamic mother of three young children whose enthusiasm sparkles in her flashing dark eyes and broad smile. She had many ideas and a clear sense of where she was heading when she founded LSPPA, but she credits the teamwork of her staff with helping her to implement her vision.

Photo by Freddy

Working and learning

LSPPA is located in a comfortable rented house in a quiet neighborhood just east of the Sultan's palace today, and consists of four divisions: Family, School, Mass Media, and Community Education. The staff of 37 includes seven full-time staff, ten part-time staff and 20 volunteers. They come from varied backgrounds and include university students, homemakers, psychologists, and doctors. Margiyani, who has a degree in Indonesian literature, says she is continually learning from her work and her colleagues, especially in the fields of psychology and communications.

The Family Division programs focus directly on parents and other family members who act as caregivers. Pamong (which literally means guide) emphasizes "learning pleasurable parenting" and is an innovative parenting program created by Kate Birch of New Zealand. Sophie Thompson, an Australian volunteer and early childhood educator, introduced it to Margiyani and the LSPPA staff.

Margiyani and her team have worked to adapt this program to the Indonesian cultural context. Ten LSPPA staff members have been trained to lead the program, which involves ten two- to three-hour participatory sessions over a period of two-and-a-half months.

Photo by LSPPA

Proud participants pose with Sophie Thompson after completing the Pamong parenting course

"There is no schooling to become a parent, so LSPPA has worked hard to help parents realize that we still have a lot to learn," Margiyani said.

During discussions about beliefs ("What I believe in, and what I do"), parents learn to deconstruct myths related to gender stereotypes. By listening to recordings of real parent-child interactions, parents are encouraged to not only break down myths embedded within gender stereotypes, but to gain skills that help them become aware of, and understand, their own responses and actions. The time between sessions allows parents to reflect and put the ideas into practice.

"The key to fostering respect of parents for their children and vice versa is communication," said Dr. Margaret Shore, a leading early childhood education specialist from Queensland University who is working as a volunteer over a two-year period (2001-2003) with LSPPA. "Pamong teaches parents a new type of communication. Parents learn how to 'hear' what their children are expressing, both verbally and physically. They learn to stand back and reflect: 'What did I say, what was the response?'"

Photo by LSPPA

A mother joins her child in a LSPPA creativity workshop

Narti and Ami, two mothers who have participated in Pamong, said the sessions are lively so that participants are eager to share their experiences and discuss their feelings. Narti said she found the process of reflection and analysis can be applied to all forms of communication.

Previously, if her son were involved in a conflict with another child, Narti said she would immediately blame and scold him. Now she can remain cool and talk to him about what happened.

Pamong helps to reduce parents' abusive behavior towards their children, which includes verbal and psychological abuse as well as physical abuse. Ami described how, when trying to get her children to put away their toys, she had nagged and threatened them.

Photo by LSPPA

A family attends a Pamong course

Through Pamong, she has learned to express her feelings when they leave a mess. In turn, her children have grown more responsible and have gained empathy and understanding for her, she said.

Valuing children's accomplishments, even in small everyday tasks, is one of the principles parents learn. Both Narti and Ami stressed that they have gained tangible skills for parenting, and now feel more relaxed as parents, while their children are more independent and responsible.

Some 150 parents have taken part in the Pamong program, and the LSPPA staff has received requests for Pamong workshops in other areas, including Jakarta and Cirebon. Parents who have participated in Pamong, like Narti and Ami, say they have become more interested in what happens in their children's schools, and they are eager to help spread the "virus," as they call it. LSPPA encourages Pamong graduates to volunteer at LSPPA, and to lead other groups.

Finding a Non-Threatening Way to Promote Gender Equity

Pendampingan ("Support and Facilitation") is a more informal parent support program that provides neighborhood discussions as a support group for parents. It has been piloted in seven neighborhoods, and more than 100 mothers have participated. LSPPA volunteers are trained to facilitate these groups, which meet in members' homes.

The groups discuss parenting issues and members share problems they face. LSPPA staff supervise the meetings and provide introduce toys for children. The groups provide a non-threatening way to spread LSPPA's gender equity message.

Photo by Freddy

"Bebaskan Tumbuh" is encouraged when children tell who they are, what they like, what they dislike, and how they feel about others

The results of a recent evaluation of the program show that "the participants really feel they have made progress," said Ibu Pujiasih, a volunteer facilitator. "There are problems that have been resolved."

The programs achievements include teaching the participants new skills for relating to their children. LSPPA staff have observed girls playing more freely in the neighborhood and other clear evidence that there are less rigid gender roles in children's play and toys.

Ibu Pujiasih's only criticism is that until now, only women have participated. In the coming months, LSPPA has decided to try to shift the targeted audience to include fathers.

A male staff member has been asked to take responsibility for leading the Family Division, and to encourage fathers to take a more active role in parenting. Parents who have participated in Pendampingan are encouraged to join Pamong workshops if they want to be involved in a more intensive program.

Bringing Teachers and Parents Together

LSPPA's School Division has been training teachers for play group, kindergarten, and elementary school classes, both in the city of Yogyakarta and in several surrounding rural areas. "The impact of these trainings has been intensive," said Mustaqfirin, a lecturer in psychology at Gajah Mada University who volunteers with LSPPA as a teacher trainer.

"Parents and teachers are attracted to the programs because they are interested in searching for the best ways to educate children. In our work, the psychological influence of education and upbringing are stressed. The socialization of gender equity is an entry point."

For many parents and teachers alike, these concepts are new. Not only have they been unaware of the ways that gender stereotypes limit a child's potential, but early childhood teachers say they had not before considered how requiring their students to all draw the exact same landscape stifles children's creativity. Workshop participants become interested in these issues, and then invite their colleagues and friends to attend subsequent sessions.

This year, LSPPA opened its own playgroup and day care center, based on the principles of "freedom to grow." Its educators and volunteers are all students and graduates of psychology departments at universities in Yogyakarta.

Dr. Margaret Shore is helping LSPPA work with a community-based team of parents, doctors, lawyers, psychologists and educators to develop early childhood curriculum modules and materials that focus on gender equity. These will be piloted in Yogyakarta and the province of Central Java, and the goal is eventually to have them incorporated in the national curriculum.

Photo by Freddy

The LSPPA philosophy: when children feel free, they play happily. When parents restrict them, they can't be creative.

This work is possible because LSPPA has established a good reputation, and good relationships, with both the community and policy makers. LSPPA has fostered these relationships, in part, through a public awareness campaign. It promotes the importance of the "freedom to grow" principle, using media such as a magazines, posters, stickers, t-shirts, and highly effective public service ads (cartoons) in local newspapers.

LSPPA staff have begun working with the Gramedia Group, Indonesia's largest publisher of children's books and magazines, by doing trainings every two months for the staff of these publications at their center in Jakarta. Through these trainings, the writers and editors are becoming sensitized to gender issues, more conscious about the impact of biased messages in their media, and they have begun to make changes.

The public awareness campaign also includes a regular radio talk show and the opportunity to help produce episodes for a popular Yogyakarta television program entitled, "Bangun Desa" ( Development of the Village). Here, popular actors and children present the message of gender equity in the stories.

Planting Seeds for the Next Generation

LSPPA has received funding from organizations including the Ford Foundation, The Global Fund for Women, and Australian Volunteers International. However, it is becoming increasingly self sufficient through sales of its products, and by charging fees for its trainings and lecture services.

Margiyani works to involve the volunteer staff, program participants, children, parents and teachers in evaluations and strategic planning for LSPPA's future. Within the next six months, plans call for the opening of a Resource Center for children, parents and educators, thanks to the contribution of a building and funding from PLAN International.

Photo by Freddy

This Resource Center will house a library and audio-visual materials, and will provide a space for trainings and workshops. LSPPA's plans for the next five years call for establishing an Academy that teaches skills to educators and parents, and a school that puts principles into practice and serves as a model.

Margiyani admits experiencing some self-doubt when she reflects back on her original goals, and her days as a student activist. She asks hereself, is the work of LSPPA really significant? How does it connect to the many macro problems facing Indonesia today?

But she seems to have found the answer: "What we are doing is taking small steps towards equality, plurality, justice and anti-discrimination, all of which are humanist values that flourish if implanted in childhood. The results of this kind of work are not immediate, but I still see it as a strategic choice to prepare the coming generation to uphold justice and equity for all."