Twitter Interview

26/07/2010

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This is the second issue of the Twitter Interview. This month we had the pleasure to interview Rahajeng Tunjungputri. She has a lot of interesting things to say about how she sees women in science.

Rahajeng Tunjungputri: “I’m 25 year old and I finished my medical school last year. In 2005, as a student I received a grant from Asia Europe Foundation to join Asia Europe Young Volunteers Exchange in France and Italy, which introduced me to inter-cultural communication and sparked my interest to work with international communities. I was selected for a short course in Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 2007, which further exposed me to the scientific community and eventually made me want to pursue a career in research. In 2009 after graduating I served as a doctor for a small rural hospital in Matak, a remote island in Indonesia. After few months I was asked to join my school, Faculty of Medicine Diponegoro University as teaching staff and junior researcher in genetics and infectious diseases with various international collaborations. Being a physician within an international academic community has allowed me to pursue my passion for medical science, as well as my interest in inter-cultural learning and communication. In 2010 I receive Beasiswa Unggulan, a honorary scholarship from Ministry of National Education of Indonesia, to continue my research in the Netherlands. My interest is infectious diseases, global health, and advocacy for women’s health rights.”

- What is your perception of the difficulties for women in science?

“In my opinion, it seems like the point of conflict is between pursuing a career in science, nurturing a family and cultural expectations. It’s a blow to my stomach whenever I hear the term “career woman”, as that implies only men are normal to have careers, while it’s unusual for women. Women, especially in my culture, are traditionally expected to dedicate themselves primarily for their families. And I have seen too many instances where women have to adapt their plans in order to meet their husbands’ expectations, falsely believing it’s what women must do. Even worse, women sometimes were put in the position where they had to choose one extreme over the other, either their career or their family life. Talented and bright women are constantly pressured to sacrifice their career and plans and not having equal voice with men in deciding what’s best for their lives together as a family. It’s almost like women have to fight against cultural expectations when they want to dedicate themselves and advance in science. I believe that successful women in science in my country are exceptional and have such a strong drive and belief in what they do, because indeed they and their progressive families have made their sacrifices.”

- What does being a women bring to the scientific field ?

“Women are bringing more women in this field! The field is changing as we have more leading women in science. The expectations of the field is also changing to accommodate women and their unique contributions and approach in science. We now have more female than male physicians in Indonesia, and more and more of these female physicians are drawn to research. I believe it’s not medicine that has accommodate women, but rather women who have shaped medicine in order to accommodate female researchers and practitioners in this field.”

- How do you manage to make your research go with your everyday life as a woman?

“At the moment I have not yet started a family of my own, so I am focusing all my time for my studies, teaching, and research. But I am well aware of the time when I will have to do a balancing act between family and a career in science. For the future I’ve considered focusing on research and teaching. Many physicians in my country spend 12-15 hours everyday working, but I will choose to limit my clinical time as a doctor, and working mainly in research and teaching which has a more convenient work hours. I will still like to have sufficient personal time with my family despite of the demands of my work.”

If you to know more about her, you can read her on her blog http://dokterblog.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter @AjengMD .

Comments

Bell Noor 27/07/2010

She tells it as it is with out control, she is an educated woman, lived and worked in developed and developing counties. She tells you how difficult it is to work in her career and fulfil the spouse’s expectations as well as the cultural conditions that are put on her. She ends up teaching in a University. Rather then doing the job, she is after all too young to teach just yet in my view…! Having no choice left she made sacrifices so far as I can see….
I think, it’s unfair to expect the system to support and educate the individuals where they are going to be limited in given back the learning to the industry and society, harsh but, realty is that one other person with less commitments demeaned would have given and obtained more both as person and societies would have benefited more.
Yes, as woman in modern world, our roles have changed and we have responsibilities that need to be fulfilling. This is the consequences of so called equality that many can not actually practice. Perhaps many woman face the conflict is between pursuing a career in science, nurturing a family and expectations that cultural differences demand. But, its harder in the Islamic culture and many change must be put in place before many more places are used up with less and good outcomes for majority.

My argument is, if it’s a “almost like women have to fight against cultural expectations” why danm obey it and force it upon children who are 4-5 years of age have given no consent to learn or be?!
Rahajeng Tunjungputri 31/07/2010

Hello Noor!

Thank you for your comment. I appreciate your stating your concerns and opinions here. I agree with you that I’m quite young, but when I’m asked to perform a responsibility in something that I’m passionate about, for example teaching, it’s an honour and privilege to respond to that opportunity, and in the mean time learn more as I go. We may not be the best right from the start, we will need time and training while doing it. And I believe that as our learning experience grow, so will we. There is also an education issue that has been growing in my country, that the education system will need to invest in younger people who are interested in teaching. Therefore there has been a growing trend lately to employ “younger” teaching staffs at the beginning of their career, hoping that in time they will be able to grow and develop not just themselves but also the faculties and their field of interest.

I agree with you that culture plays a big part in influencing the choices available for women. Religion itself does not prevent women from being able to participate in science, although patriarchal views may somewhat limit what women can do. In my country for example, cultures heavily influence how people perceive women and what they expect from women. However, even in these cultures, there are always women who raise to challenges, be different from what most people expect, and stay committed to what they think is necessary to be done as a woman in science. As I said before, leading women in science will eventually pave the way for more women to get into science.

Regards,
Rahajeng Tunjungputri