Two Court employees reporting the results of their graduate study at Utrecht University, Monday (9/11/2023). Photo by MKRI/Ilham W.M.

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JAKARTA, MKRI — Constitutional Court (MK) hearing manager Aqmarina Rasika and expert assistant of constitutional justice Sharfina Sabila presented the report on their graduate study before the head of the Human Resources Development Division Andi Hakim and Court staff on Monday, September 11, 2023 both online and on site. Sharfina presented her thesis entitled “The Development of International Law to Address the Impact of Climate Change on Water Security” while Aqmarina presented her comprehensive thesis on the right to work leave entitled “Parental Leave, Especially for Fathers: Understanding Obligations from CEDAW, CRC, and ILO Conventions in the Indonesian Context from the Perspective of Women’s Equality and Childrens’ Best Interest.”

In her brief presentation, Aqmarina shared that she was inspired by the lack of legal norms on the right to work leave for new parents, which is still a source of debate among policymakers. She did a comparative analysis by examining the provisions that apply in Sweden and Russia and compared them to the legal phenomenon in Indonesia. Despite various conventions on the right to work leave for women, discussions on parenting and the role of fathers, currently in Indonesia there are no provisions that highlights the need of a balanced lifestyle between mother, father, and child in the child’s early development.

“The Maternal and Child Welfare Bill (KIA) in Indonesia has not introduced the concept of parental leave. It only introduces maternity leave, but what I want to observe is the collective effort to transform people’s perception of inequity in childcare arrangements. Parental leave can be interpreted to mean that the child has the right to attention from their parents. Parents refer to two people—mother and father,” Aqmarina said.

Meanwhile, Sharfina emphasized that her thesis discusses the perspective of international law in resolving issues brought by climate change and the conservation of water resources. In between the presentations, Court employees asked questions to dig deeper into the presenters’ research topics and congratulated them on their academic accomplishments in completing their graduate program at Utrecth University, the Netherlands.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Nyi Mas Laras Nur Inten Kemalasari/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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