Menilik Ketimpangan Gender dalam Film “Ave Maryam”
“Ave Maryam” telah dirilis di bioskop Indonesia sejak beberapa hari lalu. Reaksi pertama kami ketika mengulasnya adalah betapa secara visual film ini memanjakan mata para penontonnya. Film garapan Ertanto Robby Soediskam ini memberi warna baru pada genre perfilman Indonesia dengan memasukkan banyak unsur seni dan bisa dikategorikan sebagai art house film. Sekilas, unsur religi yang sepertinya kuat, hanya muncul sebagai lapisan luar dari apa yang film ini tawarkan.
“Ave Maryam” has been released widely on cinemas across Indonesia since a few days ago. Our first reaction upon watching this movie was how visually appealing this cinematic piece. The film which was directed by Ertanto Robby Soediskam offers a different genre to our country’s film industry by injecting a lot of art and can be categorized as art house film in a sense. For a brief moment, this movie seems to spotlight a religious nuance, however, it only acts as an upper layer to what it really has to offer.
Sosok Suster Maryam yang diperankan secara apik oleh Maudy Koesnaedi terlibat dalam romansa terlarang dengan Romo Yosef yang dimainkan oleh Chicco Jerikho. Terlepas dari ulasan kami secara sinematik, “Ave Maryam” sepertinya menyimpan beberapa ketimpangan gender yang secara subtle dimasukkan ke dalam narasi. Kalau kamu belum menonton “Ave Maryam”, kami sarankan untuk berhenti membaca artikel ini dan membaca ulasan kami sebelumnya. Bagi yang sudah, mari kita menilik lebih dalam film yang didistribusikan oleh Summerland Films tersebut.
Sister Maryam who was portrayed gracefully by Maudy Koesnaedi was involved in a dangerous affair with a young pastor named Yosef which was played by Chicco Jerikho. Putting our cinematic review aside, there was something that left a sour taste in our mouth after watching it. Those who haven’t watched the movie is suggested to stop reading this article and head to our first review instead. If you have watched it and read our take on this film distributed by Summerland Films, let’s go ahead and break down what we thought was wrong in this movie.
Ketimpangan gender yang kami maksud terletak pada akhir cerita. Setelah seluruh kesusteran mengetahui hubungan terlarang antara Suster Maryam dan Romo Yosef, beban yang sangat berat tampak di diri Maryam. Lain halnya dengan Romo Yosef yang tampak tidak terlalu terpengaruh pada kesalahan yang sama-sama mereka perbuat. Ketika Suster Maryam memutuskan untuk meninggalkan asrama suster dan komunitasnya, adegan ini cukup membuat kami mengernyitkan dahi. Kenapa hanya dia yang harus pergi? Tidak adakah sanksi moral yang dibebankan pada Romo Yosef sebagai pemuka agama Katolik?
What we try to pinpoint here, was a gender disparity that was clearly laid out towards the end of the film. After the whole debacle that Sister Maryam and Father Yosef had to go through, it seemed like it only troubled heavily on Maryam’s side. Father Yosef showed little to no remorse about the sins that they both commited. After Sister Maryam decided to leave the monastery, this particular scene raised a huge question in our head. Was it always the woman who took all the blame? Was there no moral sanction given to Father Yosef that somehow could endanger his position as a leader in the Catholic church?
Menjelang akhir cerita ketika Romo Yosef berada di satu ruangan dengan para suster. Para suster senior tampak membenci tingkah lakunya, namun tidak bisa berbuat banyak untuk menyingkirkan dia dari paroki yang dipimpinnya. Mereka pun sepertinya sadar akan status superior para romo dengan menahan diri untuk tidak terlalu vokal mengekspresikan kekecewaan dan kekhawatiran mereka terhadap kepergian Suster Maryam. Mengingat Romo Yosef-lah yang justru pertama kali menaruh perhatian kepada Maryam dan mengambil langkah pertama, hal ini benar-benar meresahkan.
Near the end of the movie when Father Yosef was in a room full of senior nuns, a subtle kind of judging and questioning was apparent. However, no matter how much the nuns wanted to denounce Father Yosef, they clearly didn’t hold as much power to get rid of him or belittle his influence at the church. Father’s superior position from the nuns held them back from expressing their anger, disappointment, or worries about Sister Maryam’s future. Putting Father Yosef’s flirtatious attempt to Sister Maryam in the first place, this kind of treatment was clearly troubling.
Adegan terakhir menurut kami adalah suatu pencerahan dan pernyataan jelas bahwa menjadi seorang laki-laki yang kebetulan juga merupakan pemimpin agama datang dengan banyak keuntungan. Selain terbebas dari beban moral ketika melakukan kesalahan, ia juga bisa menjalani tugasnya kembali seperti tanpa pernah melakukan dosa. Romo Yosef dengan santainya menyebut dirinya mewakili Tuhan untuk memberi pertaubatan pada Maryam, ketika dirinya bisa saja memilih untuk jujur atau menanggalkan bilik pengakuan dosa. Dengan nasib Maryam yang belum begitu jelas diceritakan di akhir film, kami yakin ending-nya bisa begitu berbeda jika pihak gereja sama-sama menjatuhkan sanksi pada Romo Yosef atau ia secara sadar memohon ampun atas kesalahannya.
The closing scene added some kind of affirmation towards our initial thought that men who rank high in religious hierarchy come with a lot of advantages. Besides avoiding moral sanction after commiting certain sins, he could also return to his position as a religious leader without being held accountable. In this movie, Father Yosef could easily utter that he was there as a representative of Christ on earth who was willing to forgive Sister Maryam’s sins. The event could take a 180-degree turn if Father Yosef was judged the same way that Maryam did, admitted his wrongdoings, or even went as far as stepping down from his coveted status. With Maryam’s fate being vaguely narrated at the end of the movie, we believed that it could have a very different ending once the church took some action in this case.
– Diskursus Gender dalam Gereja Katolik/ Gender Discourse in the Catholic Church
Ketimpangan gender di film ini memang tidak terlalu kentara, tapi sedikit banyak berpengaruh pada keseluruhan narasi yang ada. Menurut artikel yang dipublikasikan oleh The Guardian, ketimpangan gender di gereja memang ada dan tumbuh subur berkat budaya patriarki yang melekat pada agama Katolik. Dari artikel yang sama, diketahui bahwa para suster di Vatikan seringkali dibebani jam kerja yang lebih panjang dibandingkan para romo atau frater dengan tanggung jawab meliputi memasak, membersihkan, hingga melayani para romo dan kardinal yang bertugas. Pada beberapa kasus ekstrim, para biarawati Katolik di India bahkan mengalami kekerasan seksual oleh para frater atau pastur yang mereka anggap sebagai perwakilan Kristus di dunia.
Gender inequality in this film was not explicitly shown, but it affects the whole narrative there. According to an article published by The Guardian, gender disparity in the Catholic church exists and was nurtured by the patriarchal system built a long time ago. From the same article, it was also known that the nuns in the Vatican often undergo a longer period of work hours compared to their male counterparts with responsibilities like cleaning, cooking, and serving the priests, cardinals, or brothers who are serving their duties. In some extreme cases, several Catholic nuns in India endured sexual harassment done by brothers or priests that they believe to be an actual representation of Christ on earth.
Di tahun 2017, seorang kardinal asal Swedia yakni Anders Arborelius menyuarakan pendapatnya agar Vatikan mulai memperhatikan peran perempuan di gereja dengan memberikan ruang bagi mereka untuk terwakili suaranya dengan pembentukan komite atau dewan tertentu. Perlu diketahui, Kardinal yang menjabat sebagai pemimpin umat Katolik di berbagai negara bisa menyuarakan pendapatnya lewat College of Cardinals. Dalam forum ini, dibahas beberapa hal yang menyangkut kemaslahatan umat Katolik seperti kanonisasi penyematan gelar orang kudus yakni Santo atau Santa atau pengangkatan kardinal baru sebagai anggota kampus tersebut. Lewat musyawarah yang disebut konklaf jugalah para kardinal ini berhak menunjuk paus yang akan melanjutkan tugas dari paus terdahulu. Dalam musyawarah ini, perempuan tidak mendapat tempat untuk ikut menyumbang pendapat mereka. Jangankan menyuarakan pendapat dalam keputusan besar, forum setingkat College of Cardinals bagi para suster atau biarawati pun tidak ada di Vatikan.
In 2017, a cardinal from Sweden named Anders Arborelius expressed his concern toward this particular issue by suggesting that the Vatican should pay attention to women roles in the church by giving them a platform or a certain committee to express their voices. For your information, a Cardinal who acts as the highest leader of the Catholic church in each country is admitted and represented at the College of Cardinals. In that forum, they discuss various issues concerning the faith including the canonization of Saint or the appointment of new cardinals. Through a papal conclave which is a conference, these cardinals also have the rights to appoint a new pope that will succeed his predecessor. In this forum, no participation or representation of women was present. Let alone representing their voices at the highest level, a similar body like the College of Cardinals dedicated to nuns or women in church doesn’t exist in the Vatican.
Hirarki di Vatikan yang didominasi oleh kaum pria telah lama menjadi sorotan media atau publik secara umum. Minimalnya keterlibatan atau keterwakilan wanita di sistem tersebut bahkan menjadikan penunjukan Barbara Jatta sebagai pemimpin Museum Vatikan sebagai suatu peristiwa besar nan progresif. Selain itu, tidak banyak ditemukan partisipasi dari figur wanita untuk memegang posisi penting di Vatikan. Ditarik lebih jauh ke level nasional dan regional, para suster yang tergabung dalam Kongregasi hanya sebatas memilih pemimpin di antara mereka sendiri yang fungsinya lebih seperti manager yang mengatur jadwal serta kegiatan kelompok tersebut, tanpa menempatkan wakil di level yang lebih tinggi. Maka, tidak heran jika kisah Suster Maryam di film “Ave Maryam” berakhir sebagaimana sang penulis naskah menciptakannya.
The strict hierarchy in the Vatican which is dominated by men has long been a concern in the eye of media or public alike. The minimal contribution or representation of women in those systems made the appointment of Barbara Jatta as the leader of Vatican Museum such a big deal and a progressive occasion for the Catholic church. Besides that, women figures who hold a high rank in the Vatican was a rare sight. If we took this gender inequality issue to national or regional scope, the nuns who are included in a Congregation can only go as far as choosing a leader among them who holds an equal position that acts more like a manager who runs the schedule of activities in that particular group, without sending a representative to a higher level. Thus, the ending in “Ave Maryam” made a lot more sense in our eyes after we break down the system and hierarchy that exist in a Catholic church.
Menonton film tersebut seakan menegaskan kembali betapa peran perempuan di bidang reliji seringkali termarjinalkan dengan sistem hirarki yang selalu condong pada laki-laki. Tidak hanya di Gereja Katolik, praktik ini sepertinya memang jamak menjangkiti berbagai institusi kepercayaan dan salah satu contohnya bisa kamu saksikan di film “Ave Maryam” yang sedang tayang di berbagai bioskop tanah air.
Watching that movie was like a strong reminder that women’s roles in a the religious body are often marginalized by the hierarchy system that often dominated and gives advantages to men. Not only in the Catholic church, but this practice has also festered in various belief systems and one of the examples was shown on “Ave Maryam” which is currently playing on theaters across the nation.
Penulis/Author: Novita Widia
Sumber/Source:
– http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM
– https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/05/catholic-hierarchy-to-be-confronted-gender-inequality-rome-conference-vatican-church
– https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/dec/22/vatican-museums-female-head-barbara-jatta
– https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-religious-prefect-gender-inequality-exists-church
– https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/catholic-church-s-idea-of-gender-equality-may-be-too-little-too-late-1.3192397
– https://www.apnews.com/93806f1783f34ea4b8e9c32ed59cdc06
