Human Rights, Culture and Education
Jefferson R. PlantillaHuman rights promotion takes place whenever rights are articulated in relation to issues. In expressing the need to be free fromsituations of poverty and injustice, the discussion of national orinternational human rights standards may come in to support such aspiration. In discussing how to address issues, relevant rights may be cited as partof the means to resolve the issues.
The demand to be free from abuse, discrimination, deprivation of basic needs and other forms of suffering has been expressed in artistic andcultural ways through the ages. This demand has been the subject of plays,
poems, songs, art works and other forms of expression. More or less, these
expressions touch on protecting human dignity as well as human rights.
Cultural expressions can have powerful influence on members of society. Those who create such cultural expressions can influence people. They
have the opportunity to do human rights promotion.
Culture as a Force in Society“Lit-Fests” are now being staged every year in different parts of India andattract thousands of people. Each festival has “interesting sessions heldaround contemporary topics, with live musical performances “ (Jaipur
Literature Festival), “not only features writers but also facilitates workshops
for prospective writers, music and dance performances and other entertaining activities” (Apeejay Kolkata Literature Festival), “includes conversations
with authors, reading, panel discussion, workshop and book launches as wellas cultural programmes” (Hyderabad Literary Festival); “lively debates on
emerging trends and issues, new forms of literature and writing, old authorsand epics” (Tata Literature Live), “showcases a perfect combination of thecultural diversity in the capital of India and is a development of the same on
the intellect and academic front on a single stage” (Delhi Literature Festival);“tries to bring about multiplicity of languages like Hindi, Urdu, Awadhi andEnglish on a common stage” (Lucknow Literature Festival); “features the
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opulence of literature, cinema, and music all over the country, in addition tohaving captivating discussions and debates” (Times Lit Fest); “talking aboutbooks, book writing and literature amidst beautiful ambience of Kasauli is amarvel on its own” (Khushwant Singh Literature Festival Kasauli).1
But these “Lit-Fests” have been criticized for failing to take up the Dalit
discrimination issue, which remains a major problem in the country. Several
groups2 involved in the movement against the discrimination of the Dalit
initiated a counter-festival, the first Dalit Literature Festival (3-4 February,
2019 at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi). The organizers justified thiscounter-festival as a means to restrain the control of literature, culture andart by certain groups in society. They explain:3
We have been observing that literature is being appropriated by various forces that are governed by caste and capitalist formations and a trend has been created of organising LiteratureCulture Fest in regional languages at the State level in different
parts of the country. These groups are deeply trenched into acaste and Capital entitlement and oppression. Their tendency for
appropriation are driven by the understanding that Literature,
culture, and Art have continued to play a significant role in making man-community-society more creative, alert, sensitive andthought-oriented. Therefore, these groups want to establish control over the domain of literature, culture and art.
The Dalit Literature Festival is designed to stress the collective responsibility of ensuring that culture would support the Dalit call for social change.
The Dalit Literature Festival’s concept note explains:4
Amidst such a situation, it is the collective responsibility of all those who believe in the idea of Social Justice and an
Egalitarian Society that we protect values of justice and equality
embodied by our literature-culture-art. Also, it is our responsibility to bring together various cultural and artistic minds whobelieve in social change and justice, to strengthen the peopleoriented and change centric positive stream of Dalit. Only thispositive and change centric vision can bring about momentum
towards the foundation of a better society and community in[the] future.

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Festival Poster.

Mahtab AlamThe Dalit Literature Festival is conceived to be the “occasion to witness the social realities through artistic expressions by various groups.” It
is meant to “initiate a parallel change-oriented literary discourse in which
Dalits, tribals, denotified tribes, women, minorities and pasmanda [Dalit
Indian Muslim] communities and the literature [festival] will establish a solid platform.” 5 It is planned as a “platform [that] would establish a dialogue
so that the pains and problems of Dalit communities can be brought to light,
furthermore the cultural traditions and vibrancy of Dalit literature and art
can be demonstrated.”6
A report on the festival highlights the issues:7
Over the two days, participants and speakers emphasised
the need for unity amongst the writers of marginalised communities and identities across religions, gender and regions.
Speaking at a joint session on the identity question in Dalit literature and minority discourse, writer and literary critic Chauth
Ram Yadav argued, “Pichhda-Pichhda aik samaan, Hindu ho ya
Musalman” (Marginalised and Dalits among different religions
are treated in the same manner). “We need to focus on the social
location of the writers, not their religious location,” he said.
xxx  xxx  xxxPoet-activist Balli Singh Cheema, while speaking on the issue of social justice and people’s movements, said language is280

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important to connect with the masses. “We have to write in thelanguage and style which is understood by a large number ofpeople. Otherwise the very purpose of our efforts will be de-Inaugural Session of the first Dalit Literature Festival.

Poet Balli Singh Cheema speaking at the Dalit Literature Festival.

Mahtab Alamfeated,” he said. He appealed to writers to use simple and local
language.
The Dalit Literature Festival also “showcased the literary and cultural
talents” of members of Dalits and marginalized groups:8“More than highlighting the atrocities and injustices faced
by Dalits, this festival is to celebrate the cultural talents and heritage we have,” said Sanjeev Kumar, one of the organisers.

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Members of Rashtriya Ambedkar Mission Exam Baspa Prachar Mandal at the Dalit
Literature Festival.

Both the ”Literature-Culture Fest” and the reaction to it (Dalit Literature
Festival) celebrate the rich cultures of India as expressed in literature andother artistic expressions. But the Dalit Literature Festival advocates a cause
to eliminate discrimination against marginalized peoples in India by celebrating their (marginalized peoples’) rich cultures. The Dalit Literature
Festival has a clear aim of using literature and art as means to address apersistent human rights issue.
Artistic expressions can mean many forms including the traditional andmodern artistic expressions. They have been used as tools in influencing
opinions and changing behavior.
The use of rap, currently used by young people worldwide, is one suchmodern artistic expression.
Dalit Rights: Rap and Hip Hop
Sumeet Samoos, “a 24-year-old rap artiste from Koraput, Odisha who has
lived and survived the caste discrimination in the country…. tries to bringforward the voices of the masses which have always been unheard of in thecaste-based society.”9282

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Sumeet has strong words to criticize the current system that has notstemmed the continuing tide of discrimination against those who belong to
the lowest caste known as Dalits. To be emancipated from “a Brahminicalsociety,” he uses rap and Hip Hop. In the song “Ladai Seekh Le,” Sumeet
explains that the song is a “critique of the caste as a system and rap is themedium for that.”10 He writes rap in Hindi and English.
The work of Sumeet is seen as a11
tool to directly connect with the younger generation as well as
understand and act against the stigma and harassment associated in the public as well as private lives of varied communities
and caste hierarchies. A new perspective is brought into action
using the popular culture of rap music in contemporary times.
xxx  xxx  xxxSamos’ works stands out not merely because it voices theunderprivileged, but also because unlike the popular rap culture of Bollywood and Punjabi rap, it is not based on sexism. In
the popular rap catered to the majority population of the urban
youth, the feminine body is presented as a mere sex object not
only visually but also in lyrics. It would not be wrong to say thatleading rap artistes of the Hindi Film Industry have degraded theform and feminine identity to sheer slander.
His song titled “Hard Truth” 12aims directly to the so-called Dalit sympathizers who exploit
stories and narratives of the unprivileged sections of society.
This attitude of the upper caste makes Samos believe in the existing power structure of the society held in the tight grips ofBrahmanism.
In his English rap “All You Know is Five Words,” Sumeet criticizes people including those in the academe, mass media, private sector and politics
for not really knowing the real issues and the proper solution to them:13
All you know is five words,
Dalit, Merit, Caste, Ambedkar, Reservation.
Bondage in the Caste nations, Land, Resources, Education,

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Looting for the thousand years,
Still blaming Reservations.14
Provisions in the Constitution,
Given by Baba Saheb
For the Oppressed Representation.
This isn’t your charity,
No Poverty alleviation. Academics, Media, Bureaucracy, Justicesystem.
Private sector, Politics, Cinema and journalism.
Bunch of few Top castes are in Overpopulation.
With rap and hip hop as his medium, Sumeet aims to raise criticalawareness of the age-old Dalit discrimination among the young people inIndia. At the same time, he is making a “counter-rap” against the mainstream rap in order to express issues that adversely affect people and society.
Engaging Traditional Culture
Cultural traditions regarding music, play, poem recitation and other formsof entertainment can be employed to raise awareness. But people who usethem have to reshape cultural traditions into forms that suit the current
context.
Traditional songs may have new lyrics that reflect new ideas and situations. Children in the Philippines use the traditional balagtasan (publicdebate on an issue using poetry) in the modern sense because they speak ofcurrent concerns. Balagtasan requires wit, quick thinking, and memorizing
as well as capacity to do fast-paced prose composition. A Filipino author(Virgilio S. Almario) describes the traditional balagtasan:15
The protagonists in the balagtasan are still required tobe skillful in memorizing long verses with rhyme and meter andreciting with flair (as they say, “con todo forma”) in public.
Balagtasan had nationalist as well as cultural heritage agenda during the time when the Philippines was under the American colonial rule.
Almario explains: 16
As a nationalist movement, balagtasismo embodies theideals of the Philippine Revolution against Spain and continu-

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ously aims to assert Philippine independence from American
Occupation. But its political outlook encourages balagtasismo to adopt a very conservative cultural platform. It has preoccupied itself with the preservation of Filipino heritage -- old values, folklore, customs and traditions -- as a means to strengthen
the moral fiber of the people against the modern but corrupting
American influences.
Thus the first decades of the 20th century under American
rule were a time for intense political campaigning for Philippine
independence and passionate efforts to revive cultural memories. This period helped legitimize the kundiman [songs] andbarong tagalog [men’s shirt] among other symbols of Filipino
nationhood. It nourished the kind of rural nostalgia evokedin Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings, in the designs of Isabelo
Tampingco, and in the so-called “tropical art deco” buildings ofJuan Nakpil. In literature, it was manifested in the cult-like worship of Francisco Balagtas. The genius of Balagtas was recalled
in a manner similar to Dante as the father of the new Italian
language or Shakespeare as the precursor of modern literature
in English. The phenomenon suggested to me the name balagtasismo. It also indicates why the poetic form invented during
the period was named the balagtasan.
At present, rap is considered a modern form of balagtasan in thePhilippines. It is a form of entertainment of young Filipinos – either in small
street gatherings in the community or in “rap battle” or fliptop held in bigger
spaces. One report states:17
While some of the older generations may not understand or
accept battle rap as a legitimate form of expression and entertainment, there is some progression being seen, with some academics describing it as modern-day ‘balagtasan’ which is a formal Filipino form of debate that some educators consider an art
form [and] part of the Philippines[’] 21st century native literature.
The 2017 Filipino movie “Respeto”18 provides an example of the use of
rap in relaying a message to society. Treb Monteras II, the film Director,
explains why rap is the focus of the movie:19“Nowadays, with people facing violence and poverty, Filipino
youth have also found an escape through rap music. Because it’s285

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free. All you need is to gather your ka‑tropa [group mates], yourvoice, and an exchange of rhymes and you’re enjoying rap.”
Yet he has a message to convey:20“But this movie is more thanjust a hip‑hop movie,” he added.
“It’s a reminder that we should haverespect for ourselves, each other,and more importantly for humanrights. It’s also about martial law. I
hope this becomes a reminder that
we shouldn’t repeat what has happened in the past.”
This explains the title of the movie“Respeto,” which means respect.
The movie features rap battle, reminiscent of balagtasan21:
The concept of rap battles isn’t
as foreign to Filipinos as one might
initially think. Filipinos have beenslinging saucy rhymes at each othersince April 6, 1924, when a group of writers decided to commemorate the birthday of renowned poet Francisco Balagtas throughdebates done in verse. Modern FlipTop has rappers; Balagtasan
has Mambabalagtas poets. FlipTop has an emcee as a moderator between opposing sides; Balagtasan has the Lakandiwa/
Lakambini. In certain fiestas Balagtasan debates have been replaced by rap battles, not only because of the popularity of hiphop in the Philippines, but also because it is something that hasroots in our culture.
The use of rap as modern balagtasan illustrates the capacity of culture
to change and adapt to new situations. Such culture change does not destroy
the basic idea of the culture; instead, the traditional form of the culture ismade relevant to the current context and given new life.

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Reviving Traditional Socio-Cultural Activities
The video documentary “Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan
Diaspora in Japan” (2003)22 tells the story of young people from Okinawa
who migrated to Osaka city in the 1970s looking for work.

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As young migrant workers, they faced discrimination, prejudice andpoor working conditions. Those who came before them, after the end of thesecond World War, also suffered discrimination.23
In 1975, these young Okinawans established the Kansai Okinawan
Young People’s Social Club in Osaka city and adopted three slogans:24
Young migrant workers stick together!
Let us protect our right to a livelihood!
Let us protect and teach people about Okinawa’s natural beautyand culture.
The club, popularly known as Gajimaru no Kai (Banyan Association),25
represents a place of healing. The [Okinawans] can always goback to Okinawa. But if they don’t, the Banyan Association is apiece of Okinawa for them in Japan, where they can breathe andre-balance themselves.
The “Banyan Association planned a range of activities to help the
Okinawans in Osaka and the surrounding area to retain their pride and selfrespect. Eisa – an Okinawan tradition of drumming and dancing – became
the Association’s main activity.”
They realized that in the presence of the mainland Japanese they were“a bit inhibited, not able to express what is on their mind.” To them, this is asituation of discrimination.
This is explained by one of the leaders of the group, Yoshinori Tamaki:“The point is if we can express ourselves openly then people
who see us don’t feel uncomfortable”
Kaoru Kinjo, a founding member, emphasized the importance of “cultural activity for minority individuals to fight discrimination”:26
The situation of not being able to behave freely, in otherwords, of feeling discrimination, means if there is someone
around with a prejudice against you, you can’t find the energy
to fight back. By getting together, people felt they could standtheir ground better. They could of course, get together without

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anything connected to Okinawa. But it’s the same. They don’t
go out to work united in a group. And, after spending time together everyone goes off to their separate lives. Then, if they face
problems individually, they each need the energy to stick up forthemselves. For that, restoring their sense of identity by expressing their Okinawan culture is a vital support, and they react byfeeling bold and confident. Gradually they stop feeling so sensitive, and people stop interfering with them. Maybe they’re easierto understand, or both sides are better able to accept themselves.
So picnic, hiking, volleyball and other sports ... sports have nothing to do with culture, so all this can’t help them generate theenergy to stand up for themselves But joining in the eisa, or doing drama, playing the sanshin, doing karate, doing Okinawanclassical dance … all done in small groups, these things are amuch greater support. Some people become truer to what’s inside themselves, and others reinvent themselves.
Earlier, the other older Okinawans living in Osaka did not want to display in public their sentiment. As Kazufumi Nakamura explains:
18 years earlier from 2000, Okinawa Kenjinkai, a club for
Okinawans, in Taisho ward, “wasn’t happy about us displaying
Okinawan culture outdoors in public where everyone couldsee”… “they didn’t agree with our showing Okinawan culture” inpublic place, umui (emotions and desires), workplace discrimination, court battles, those kinds of things.”
Kinjo explains what happened when the people began to feel comfortable displaying in public their own culture:
They’d start to show who they really were for the first time
… In that sense they became themselves once more, there was awhole generation glad to have come to the Banyan Association.
Eisa is a27
form of dance performed in Okinawa during the summer bon
festival, when the spirit of the deceased are believed to return
temporarily to the world of the living. The bon is held for threedays, July 13 through July 15, as part of the lunar calendar according to which Okinawan rituals and festivities continue to beHuman Rights, Culture and Education289

observed. The spirits are welcomed (unke, July 13), entertainedwith food, drink, music, and dance, then sent off (ukui, July 15)
until their next visit.
Gajimaru no Kai introduced eisa to the Japanese mainland throughits Osaka activities.28 The Banyan Association’s performances inspired
Okinawans living in other parts of Japan (Hyogo, Kyoto, Tokyo, Aichi andHiroshima prefectures) to also organize their own eisa groups. These eisagroups join the annual Eisa Festival in Osaka to “acknowledge the pioneering work of the Banyan Association and to celebrate the Okinawan culture.”
Eisa became the medium that helped these young Okinawan residents
come together and gain the confidence to express themselves in public. As
a result, they overcame the silence that they endured in the presence of themainland Japanese in Osaka. They were able to face the discrimination that
their silence had tolerated.
“Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan Diaspora in Japan”(2003) shows how these young migrant workers from Okinawa and secondgeneration Okinawans in going “through the process of performing eisa,
act on the derogatory images in mainstream culture, and at the same timetransform themselves into individuals more resistant to the adversity created by such images.”29
This video documentary exemplifies the practical step that groups suffering from human rights violations or abuse can take to express themselves
and allow other people the space to recognize them and their rights. Meredisplay of the cultural traditions (such as Eisa) of a minority group should
not offend people. But such cultural display invites those who do not belong
to the group to see them not as people deserving discrimination and exploitation but as people who deserve respect.
Transforming Culture
While the use of traditional culture is important in introducing and asserting identity, it is subject to change over time when used in another context.
The aspects of culture that endanger people’s welfare, security and rights inthe current context are also subject to change.
Culture change is necessary in order to address social problems.
Education is one medium that can facilitate culture (and also social) change.
But how can this be done?

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Ibu Nyai Eva, a teacher in a pesantren (traditional Islamic school),30 inIndonesia, believes that “in the strong culture that favors child marriage,
this cultural problem needs to be countered with a strategy that does not
oppose it frontally.” She provides one answer in relation to traditional childmarriage practice:31“If parents come and want to take their child away to getmarried, I will ask what the reason is. Insofar as possible, I
stretch it out and say, “Wait, not now, exams are coming, or wait,
let her finish a cycle of reading the Qur’an.” If they accept this,that means there’s a postponement [of the marriage], even if
it’s only temporary. So then after the harvest season, they comeagain, ask again, and I negotiate again. If we reach a deadlock,I let the child go, but with a promise that after the traditional
wedding, she will be brought back to the pondok (pesantren).
I also offer a scholarship for her husband, because often thehusband is also underage. Child marriage is a cultural issue, so
we have to be wise in negotiating with the parents, with people
who think child marriage is not a problem; that’s how we deal
tactfully with the culture.
We’re often tempted to make regulations. Of course thatis important, be we also need to understand how the local tradition interprets child marriage. Here, child marriage is sometimes just like playing [with] marriage, because the motivation
is to collect on a social debt, or to raise social status, or tostrengthen social solidarity. Without an understanding of theculture, rules to postpone child marriage will simply be rules
written on paper. To negotiate with the culture, we have to workwithin the framework of that culture, even while maintaining a
critical stance against it. Myself, I use the framework of justicein Islam, Islam as rahmatatan lil alamin, a blessing for all theworld, not just for males but also for females, and for those whoare kept weak by the culture itself”.
The authors of the report where this quote was taken commented that
this experience is not widespread. They wrote:32
But how many educational institutions actually care and insist on ensuring equal access for girls who are married to continue their schooling? Most of the other stories are about adolescent girls who entered the world of marriage while still children,and parents who simply gave in to custom or pressure.

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This experience points to the fact that the work towards culture change
is not easy since those involved might not be able to stand societal pressure
against change, and institutions that have capacity to push for change might
not be willing to do so even if such effort is for the benefit of the affected
people.
At the same time, it is also not a matter of simply confronting culture
with supposedly better ideas (such as modern or international ideas) but ofengaging it in ways that both respect the culture and initiate change fromwithin it. Again, such engagement would not be easy.
Additionally, this experience shows the need to be cautious about overdependence on enforcement of law to force culture change. Unless laws are
enforced in ways that consider how culture operates and is maintained, laws
will remain “rules written on paper,” rather than rules upheld by people basedon their recognition of the need for culture change. The consistent criticism
of governments around the world during the human rights sessions of theUnited Nations regarding the inability to enforce laws in effecting change(i.e., protection and realization of human rights) may be partly attributed totheir failure to consider the cultural contexts and processes of people.
How far can we dive into the depths of culture to facilitate change ofmindset and behavior is a question for everyone in the field of human rights
education.
Facilitating Change in Mindset: “Laskar Pelangi”
Belitong island is the setting of a movie that tells the story of students in asmall school. The island is described as
one of Indonesia’s richest islands. It’s an island overflowing withtin. This tempted other nations to take over…[the mining industry in the island]. And even after the country gained its independence, the people of Belitong were still unable to enjoy their own
natural wealth due to bureaucratic walls. Walls which blocked
off opportunities and hope. But those walls could never breakour spirit especially the spirit of a poor boy from the coast …
The building of the small school is not in good shape and people warn
against bringing children there:292

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c · V o l u m e 9 , 2 0 1 9The school and the students (Copyright by Miles Films, 2008).

That school’s roof is falling apart.
Where are you going? You’re going to put children in that collapsing school?
Children from poor families are expected to end up working in the mining company. Education is not seen as a need for them. On the first day ofschool, the parents bringing the children to the small school were taunted:
What’s the school for! He’ll end up being a coolie anyways.
The school named SD Muhammadiyah Gantong needed ten students tocontinue operating, as ordered by the local Board of Education. It is a schoolfor children from poor families.
The first student to enroll is the barefooted son of a poor fisher living far
away along the coast. He is the first-born and only son with three younger
girl siblings. He no longer has a mother, and his father is raising them alone.
The father sent the boy to school despite the distance from their home.
This boy says that his father could have made him also a fisher but hesent him to school instead because he “wants me to pursue my dreams.”Human Rights, Culture and Education

The Students (Copyright by Miles Films, 2008).

Muslimah, the teacher, and her students (Copyright by Miles Films, 2008).

293

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c · V o l u m e 9 , 2 0 1 9The students consist of children of workers in the mining company, aChinese-descent boy, a “special child” and the son of a poor fisher. There
was only one girl student, although a second girl student enrolled later (whois from a rich family).
The school is the oldest Islamic primary school in the island. Harfan, thehead of the school, says that it is a “school where moral lessons are taught toproduce upright citizens.”
The school head is asked: “Harfan, shouldn’t we just close theMuhammadiyah Elementary?” Harfan responds,
The school should never be closed! Because this is the only
school that does not teach material pursuit. It is about values.
Intelligence is not measured by grades but by this [pointing to
his chest] … by the heart.
Harfan tells the students:
can.

Live to give as much as you can, not take as much as you

When one teacher asked to quit teaching in the school to be able to workin another school with better pay, the distraught other teacher (Muslimah)
comments:
Nobody cares about our school, Sir. Nobody believes thatpoor children also have the right to learn.
Harfan answers:
Yes, but what’s important is that we don’t give up hope. Our
job is to encourage the children to dare to dream!
The school suffers from lack of funds causing delay in the payment ofsalary to the two teachers and being unable to purchase needed materials
such as chalk for the blackboard.
But the school has very good students who compete against students inthe other schools. They win a parade contest on mere creativity and a scho-Human Rights, Culture and Education

295

lastic contest because the poor son of a fisher is a genius. The school accepts
Harun, the child with a mental disability.
The movie ends with a quote of Article 31 (Section XIII: Education andCulture) of the 1945 Indonesian Constitution:
Each citizen has the right to an education.

Movies as Human Rights Education Materials
Laskar Pelangi is a very entertaining movie. It is based on the bestsellingnovel of the same title by Andrea Hirata.
It was made in 2013 and has become oneof the most popular commercial movies in Indonesia in recent years. It won
awards and recognition in different film
festivals within and outside Indonesia.
Laskar Pelangi, meaning “rainbow
troops” in English, refers to the elevenstudents who struggle to learn inside andoutside their dilapidated school.
The theme song of the movie also
entitled Laskar Pelangi has become a hit,
both in Indonesia and abroad. The song
speaks of the rainbow troops not beingbound by time, not stopping in coloring the billions of dreams in this world,(Copyright by Miles Films, 2008).
and of dancing and keeping on laughing
though the world is not as beautiful as heaven.
Because of the popularity of the movie, the island of Belitong has become a tourist attraction with the small school as a place that must be visited.
Such a popular movie bearing important messages has a lot of elementsthat make it an excellent material in teaching and learning human rights.
It speaks of social realities - domination by a mining company over thenatural resources of the island, the dependence of the people in the islandon employment in the company, the poverty in the island despite wealth296

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c · V o l u m e 9 , 2 0 1 9from its natural resources, diversity in society with the presence of ChineseIndonesians, the struggle to give education to children from poor familiesby two determined educators, the acceptance in the school of a child withlearning disability, and the natural capacity of students to excel in their study
despite poor educational facilities and materials.
It has messages about the purpose of education: make people give as
much as they can rather than take as much as they can, encourage the children to dare to dream, and intelligence is not measured by grades but by theheart. These messages relate to one of the purposes of education from thehuman rights perspective, the full development of the human personality.
The ending of the movie with a quote of the right to education provisionin the Indonesian Constitution expresses what the movie stands for. This
constitutional provision complements the statement of Muslimah aboutpoor children having the “right to learn.”
Laskar Pelangi is an example of a movie that can relay a human rights
message to the general public. It illustrates how such right can be supported
and helped realized. It provides an example of how people who have been
marginalized in society can fulfil their right to education. The school setting
is a natural venue in presenting in concrete this human rights message. But
the movie also shows the challenge of making the society in general become
supportive of the realization of the rights of its marginalized members.
Social Change and Education
Realizing human rights requires a supportive society. This even requires social change, which involves the change of mindset and behavior.
Social change cannot happen by working only on a single sector of society – be it the people who suffer from discrimination and other humanrights violations and abuse, or the “other” people who may constitute themajority and can cause the suffering.
Human rights education is certainly meant to empower those who are
marginalized, vulnerable and victims of human rights violations and abuse.
But it is also meant to make those who are not marginalized, vulnerable andvictims to respect, protect and realize the human rights of everyone.
How can formal education facilitate social change? How is human rights
education in the school system able to affect those who are not supposed tobe suffering from human rights violations or abuses?

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Education for Non-sufferers
The case of Dowa education is a good material on this point. Dowa
education is considered to be one of the pillars of human rights educationin Japan. It is meant to eradicate discrimination against a section of theJapanese population called Buraku people who have been treated as outcast
centuries ago and still suffer discrimination at present.
The movement fighting this discrimination (Buraku Liberation
Movement) sees Dowa education as a “set of educational strategies for
democratizing the whole society to attain true equality of opportunity for
Buraku and other oppressed populations.”33
It sees the objectives of Dowa education as follows:
1. Attaining parity in the level of educational achievement and in therate of enrollment in secondary schools and in higher education
institutions;
2. Developing critical literacy and sound learning capacities for
Buraku children; and3. Promoting community involvement in setting up school agenda.
The Buraku Liberation Movement saw the need to improve on theirpast experiences in Dowa education. By 1997, necessary changes had been
identified:34
The important lessons learned from past efforts is that it is
not enough to provide better school facilities, more teachers andmore financial support for Buraku children, that it is not enoughto provide more books and educational stimuli at home, andthat it is not enough to tell stories of sad experiences of being
discriminated against repeatedly in classes to invite sympathy
and empathy with those who are discriminated against.
Dowa education now has to design (1) effective methods toimprove Buraku children’s sense of pride and self-esteem, (2) approaches to motivate them to challenge the limit of their potential so they can participate in a wider world of opportunities, (3)stimulating ways to encourage non-Buraku children to think of
Buraku and human rights issues not just as others’ business but
as important matters to help enrich their mind, perspective andinterpersonal sensitivities, and (4) effective curricula to educate
a human rights-conscious generation of youngsters.

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c · V o l u m e 9 , 2 0 1 9The third idea of “stimulating ways to encourage non-Buraku children
to think of Buraku and human rights issues not just as others’ business but
as important matters to help enrich their mind, perspective and interpersonal sensitivities,” deserves more discussion.
The research of Nobutaka Oba points out the problem of making nonBuraku students appreciate Dowa education.
He provides what can be considered as representative of the impact ofDowa education on some of his non-Buraku students. Here are a couple ofstatements from his students:35
I know discrimination is very unjust. But among the people
around me there have never been any people who were discriminated against and I have never seen anyone discriminate. You
would be better to talk to older people who don’t know discrimination is unjust. We have been taught about the issue of discrimination, and we know that in a democratic society people who are
the same human beings as ourselves must not be discriminatedagainst. It makes us interested to know who is buraku around us.
They are the reason that discrimination continues to exist.
xxx  xxx  xxxAlthough I recognize I should stand for anti-discrimination
because discrimination is unjust, I regard it as a distinct issue
from that of my marriage. It wouldn’t be something I would endure alone; I think (such a marriage) would also be problematicfor my parents and relatives.36
Oba had been hearing these comments as a teacher year after year fromhis students. He categorized their comments into four types:37
1.
2.
3.
4.

As I know discrimination is unjust, discrimination is not mybusiness’;‘Those suffering discrimination are perhaps different’;‘Discrimination is an affair between those suffering from discrimination and those who don’t know it is unjust’; and‘If we are interested in differences, discrimination will remain’.

The comments mean that instead of convincing the students to help
eradicate discrimination through Dowa education, they find justification
for its existence. The other implication is that the less they know about the
Buraku issue, the more chance that they will not discriminate.

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Oba sees the problem of Dowa Education in the following manner:38… in practice, most dowa education, especially for non-buraku
people, simply stated the fact that the origin of discrimination
against buraku lay in the feudal caste system reiterating that‘buraku people are the same as us and therefore discrimination
against them is unjust’. While the approach to discrimination of
focusing on the object of that discrimination has played the roleof revealing the plight of the sufferers and the existence of discrimination, it has also caused various problems. This approachhas the propensity to draw awareness away from political andsocio-economic relationships and discriminatory relationships
in everyday life and how these relationships have been and are
constructed, instead encouraging people to infer why buraku
people suffer from discrimination, attributing the existence of
discrimination to the sufferers themselves.
Their education had told them ‘we are all the same humans
therefore discrimination is unjust’ and ‘even now discrimination against buraku remains’, and they equated ‘sameness’ with‘equality’ and ‘difference’ with ‘discrimination’. Following thislogic, they discovered an answer to the question ‘Why do thesepeople suffer discrimination?’ Their answer was that those suffering from discrimination must be discriminated against because they are somehow different.
He believes that the understanding of the “political and socio-economic relationships and discriminatory relationships in everyday life and how
these relationships have been and are constructed” should be the main objective in Dowa education.
This view is requiring a closer scrutiny of the dynamics that govern
relationships which might have led to discriminatory attitude or behavior
toward the Buraku people. How non-Buraku people label or categorize the
Buraku people or any other people would be crucial to know.
Additionally, this view of human rights education supports the realityof the “ordinariness” of human rights violation or abuse. And unless we consider this, human rights education becomes a medium for knowing great
issues (or great stories for Oba) that have no relevance to daily life (as Oba
has argued).
This is an area that needs further study, or search for relevant practicesof human rights education.

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Education for the Discriminated
The desired effect of human rights education should also refer to situations outside the classroom and school. In human rights education, we
speak of skills in dealing with life situations that can invariably involve human rights issues.
A study of the effect of Dowa education on the Buraku students is agood reference on this issue. When the Buraku students are outside the confines of a supportive environment (student group [Kodomo Kai], classroom,
school, family and local community), will they be able to assert their identity
and their right to be treated equal once they reveal such identity?39
Christopher Bondy studied the case of Buraku students who went to aschool that has a Dowa education program. The students are taught how to
respond to situations of discrimination based on their identity as Buraku
people. Will they be able to use what they learned in school when they areoutside their own community?
He explains the issue40
when the students move from the protective cocoon of their experiences in the community and sense of self at the end of juniorsecondary school, they face risk, the risk inherent in a new situation for which they must reflexively restructure their identity.
How the individual reacts to the risk experience will then reshape the self. The reshaped identity, as part of the biography ofthe self, is changed for future experiences.
How do people then manage a buraku identity? What techniques are used to engage or not engage, with buraku issues?
One method is to openly embrace being burakumin.
xxx  xxx  xxxHow the students react to discrimination or a lack ofawareness from other students once they leave the confines of
Takagawa is perhaps the most telling symbol of the effectivenessof the Kaiho [Dowa] education. 41
Students will have to face this “new social situation without the strengthof others with them.”42
And their response can be like this:As Tetsuya, a popular boy who was active in the Kodomo
Kai noted,

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301

In junior high, we learned how to have the strength
to challenge discrimination in high school and beyond... but
now...I don’t know... I don’t really have the strength ...
Others may have a more positive experience as in the case of Junko:43
With her background, her role in the movement and theengagement her family had with Buraku issues, Junko was oneof those, if not perhaps the most likely, to openly maintain andinteract through a Buraku identity. Yet Junko initially refrained
from interacting using this Buraku identity, at least with her new
friends. Despite having numerous friends and a boyfriend, she
did not share her background with anyone. It was not until ten
months after she began dating her boyfriend that she finally had
the courage to tell him about her background. She was filledwith anxiety about telling him. She had spoken at length withher parents, and they encouraged her to do what she felt comfortable with. This was something that Junko would have to deal
with on her own. She did not know how he would react. Would
this be the end of their relationship? Junko said she did not want
this at all, but did not want to go on with such a big part of herself hidden from the one she cared about. She explained that theanxiety was almost overwhelming in knowing that sharing a partof who she was could mean the end of their relationship. At thesame time, she did not feel that she could continue on with him
without telling him about all of herself. She made her decision.
She explained to him that she grew up in a Buraku district, that
she was Burakumin. His reaction to this confession was one of
the last things that Junko expected:“Burakumin? What’s that?” though he was from the same
prefecture, her boyfriend did not have any idea what thismeant. She found herself explaining what it meant to her to be
Burakumin. For him, this meant little in how they related to one
another. He did not fully know what being Burakumin meant,but he knew that he wanted to be with her.
xxx  xxx  xxxJunko’s family had always taken an active role in movement
activities, and Junko herself was one of the Kodomo Kai andclass leaders. As such, she was one of the students most prepared to take this challenge of opening up to another.
There is indeed a big chance that the students who learned how to respond to discriminatory situations while inside their “cocoon” would not

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take the risk of asserting their identity and rights outside of it. And thisbrings the need to enlarge that “cocoon” – education for the whole society
and for everyone – so as not to put the burden of realizing rights only tothose who assert them. The protection and realization of human rights is
a responsibility of the society as a whole. And this requires social change.
Social change means changing mindset and behavior of most people
in society. Thus educational interventions cannot be narrow in scope (notlimited to either the marginalized or to the majority) and must consider theimportance of education in affecting thinking and behavior in the family,community and society.
Messages of Change in Society
Messages of change are needed to facilitate social change. The messages inthis case include human rights.
Human rights messages can be expressed by those who suffer fromhuman rights violations or abuse such as through literature festivals of thediscriminated peoples (such as the Dalit Literature Festival), cultural activities of a minority group in a community (such as Eisa), and the use ofmainstream media from rap singing to moviemaking (Sumeet’s rap and the“Respeto” and “Laskar Pelangi” movies).
Messages of change can be relayed through the “soft approach” of using cultural means such as trendy new songs and dances. But how muchof these “pop culture” products convey messages of change that support
human rights? Or, how much of their messages are against human rights
principles?
Human rights messages can be “counter-messages” to those of themainstream pop culture and other cultural activities. But in being “countermessages,” human rights messages cannot be extreme in terms of means andcontent in the sense that the general population would fail to appreciate themessages.
Human rights messages must touch the issues that affect people in their
daily life, not only the big issues that affect the country. These daily issues
are problems faced by people, and have human rights implications, such as
being victims of discrimination, abuse (in various senses - psychological,
emotional and mental), violence, displacement from sources of livelihood,Human Rights, Culture and Education

303

and also lack of food, shelter and medicine. Some of these issues affect all –both marginalized and non-marginalized people.
In this sense, there is no other option than to use whatever means areavailable in bringing the human rights messages to everyone in society.
Endnotes
1 “Literary Festivals in India You Must Explore in 2018,” INDIWO.
com, 9 February 9 2018, www.news18.com/news/indiwo/travel-indiwo-5-literary-festivals-in-india-you-must-explore-in-2018-1655437.html;
Akash
Kumar, “10 Amazing literary festivals in India that are every Bibliophile’s
dream!,” Townscript, 16 November 2017, https://eventmagazine.townscript.
com/10-amazing-literary-festivals-in-india-that-are-every-bibliophiles-dream/.
2 The Dalit Literature Festival is being organized by the Ambedkarvadi Lekhak
Sangh, Hindi Deptt. Kirori Mal College, Rashmi Prakashan Lucknow, Ridam Patrika,
National Alliance Of People’s Movements (NAPM), Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG) ,Alag Duniya, Mantvya Patrika, Akshar Publishers & Distributors Delhi, Forum For
Democracy , Magadh Foundation, and Kahani Punjab.
3 1st DALIT LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2019, 3-4 February, 2019 | Kirori Mal
College, University of Delhi, Delhi, invitation sent by e-mail to Dalit Media Watch by
the organizers of the festival dated 1 February 2019.
4 1st DALIT LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2019, ibid.
5 Themes and sub-themes of the Dalit Literature Festival 2019:
The Term Dalit : Historical and conceptual framework,
Dalit Literature, Culture and Art : Trends and Issues, Women’s writings:
issues and concerns
Dalit Literature & Dalit Historiography, Dalit literature: Oral vs Written,
Bahujan/ backward Literature: Trends and Issues, Nomadic Literature,
Culture and Art :Trends and Issues, Resistance and Reconstruction, Social Justice, equality and dignity: society, literature and future, Pasamanda groups: Literatureand Future
Dalit Literature: Politics of Translation, Dalit, Afro-American andAboriginal Identities: Convergence and Comparative Perspectives(Concept note on the 1st Dalit Literature Festival 2019)
6 “Kirori Mal College to organise Dalit Literature Festival on February 3: Hereis all you need to know,” India Today, www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/
story/kirori-mal-college-to-organise-dalit-literature-festival-on-february-3-here-isall-you-need-to-know-1445083-2019-02-02.
7 “Dalit Literature Fest Highlights Issues Facing Marginalised
Communities,” Justice News, 6 February 2019, www.justicenews.co.in/
dalit-literature-fest-highlights-issues-facing-marginalised-communities/.
8 Justice News, ibid.

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9 Ayushi Koul, “Dalit rap artiste smashes Brahminical caste structure;
weapons his Music,” Delhi Post, 30 July 2018, https://delhipostnews.com/
dalit-rap-artiste-smashes-brahminical-caste-structure-weapons-his-music/.
10 Ladai seekh le- Teaser, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1-C10T6zA.
11 Koul, op. cit.
12 Koul, ibid.
13 “All You know is Five words” an Anti Caste Rap by Sumeet Samos, www.
youtube.com/watch?v=_2_WgAuwMQM
14 L.K. Advani, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party explained the opposition to communal reservation in his speech “Why We Are Opposed to Communal
Reservations” delivered at the Convention Against Religion-Based Reservations
Organized by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mumbai, on 14 August 2004.
15 Virgilio S. Almario, Art and Politics in the Balagtasan, Lecture delivered aspart of the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies Colloquium Series, 21 October
2003, https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt23b7f9h6/qt23b7f9h6.
pdf?t=krnzxr&nosplash=6d2639579d1ae7c137ba9442294ba00e.
16 Almario, ibid.
17 Fliptop: The World’s Most-Watched Battle League, The Lesson w/ DJ Sanchez,
9 May 2018, http://thesource.com/2018/05/09/fliptop-battle-league-rap-hip-hop/.
18 See movie trailer on YouTube: Respeto, www.youtube.com/
watch?v=DOr0uU7mckA.
19 Lucia Edna P. de Guzman, “MAG-INGAY!, Business World Spark Up”, 22
September 2017, www.bworldonline.com/money-rhymes-and-respect/.
20 De Guzman, ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 “Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan Diaspora in Japan”(2003), directed by Terada Yoshitaka and produced by the National Museum of
Ethnology (Japan).
23 For a discussion on the discrimination experienced by older Okinawan
residents in Osaka, read Yoshitaka Terada, “Rooted as Banyan Trees+ Eisa and the
Okinawan Diaspora in Japan,” in T. Rice, editor, Ethnomusicological Encounters withMusic and Musicians: Essays in Honor of Robert Garfias, 2011, Surrey: Ashgate, pages 235-236.
24 Terada, ibid., page 237. Also the video documentary “Drumming out a
Message: Eisa and the Okinawan Diaspora in Japan” (2003), ibid.
25 This and other quotations in this section about the young Okinawan workers
are from the video documentary “Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan
Diaspora in Japan” (2003), ibid., unless otherwise indicated.
26 Terada, op. cit., pages 237-238.
27 Terada, ibid., pages 233-234.
28 Terada, ibid., page 235.
29 Summary of “Drumming out a Message: Eisa and the Okinawan Diaspora
in Japan,” unpublished.
30 Definition of pesantren:
A type of school in Southeast Asia offering second-level training inIslamic subjects. The term is pesantren on Java, surau on Sumatra, pondok

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on the Malay Peninsula and Cambodia, and madrasah in the Philippines andSingapore. Pesantren derives from the sixteenth century, when learning centers were established, known as a place of learning for the Islamic faithful(santris). Surau was a place for worship in early Southeast Asia, while pondok
derives from the travelers’ inns (Ar., funduq) of the Middle East. Madrasah is
the generic name for such schools throughout the Islamic world.
Pesantren are private ventures by scholars called kyai on Java, guru on
the Malay Peninsula and Brunei, ustadz in the Philippines, Cambodia, andThailand, and ‘alim in most places—usually with the assistance of their families. Many schools do not survive the founder, but others continue [for] several
generations, with sons and sons-in-law succeeding to control and ownership.
Prestige is gained by scholars with good contacts with other scholarly families,
some in Arabia, and also through learners who establish new pesantren recognizing the original scholars as progenitors. Oxford Islamic Studies Online,
www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t236/e0632.
31 Lies Marcoes and Fadilla Dwianti Putri, Testimony of the Child Brides
Summary of Results of Research Study on Cases of Child Marriage and the Role ofInstitutions in Nine Regions in Indonesia, April 2016.
32 Marcoes and Putri, ibid.
33 What is Dowa education?, Buraku Liberation and Human Rights ResearchInstitute (BLHRRI), www.blhrri.org/old/blhrri_e/dowaeducation/de_0003.htm.
34 What is Dowa education?, ibid.
35 Nobutaka Oba, “I have no intention of discrimination, but . . . ” – Towarda Sociology of Knowledge about Discrimination,” Monash University, 2013, page 7.
36 Oba, ibid., page 10.
37 Ibid., page 7.
38 Ibid.
39 Christopher Bondy, ”Learning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku
Youth,” in Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, volume 12, 2009, page 88, www.
hurights.or.jp/archives/pdf/education12/hreas-12-09-buraku.pdf.
40 Bondy, ibid., page 88.
41 Ibid., page 91.
42 Ibid., page 94.
43 Ibid., pages 94-95.

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Appendix
Wonosobo Declaration To Strengthen Tolerance,
Inclusivity and Justice in Indonesia

We recognize that respect, protection, and the fulfillment of humanrights are the responsibility of the State, and the Government. The
term “Government” includes the central government, the provincial
government, the regional, and city governments.
We recognize that the implementation of respect, protection
and the fulfilment of human rights require the full cooperation andparticipation of all parties. This includes the government, civil society
and other parties.
We recognize that the Indonesian community faces challenges in
the form of the emergence of practices of intolerance, which havethe potential to reduce the enjoyment of human rights, and can bea source of instability which will erode and undermine the values ofnationalism that are diverse, equal and tolerant.
We recognize that local governments have a very important roleto play in the implementation of human rights responsibilities. Thisequates to, but is not limited to, maintaining and caring for social
cohesion and Indonesian unity.
Therefore, in order to advocate values of diversity, and strengthensolidarity for an inclusive and equitable Indonesia, we commit and areready to make every effort to do the following steps:
1. Improve and maintain the social values and attitudes of tolerancein every community in Indonesia through various approaches, including
education and arts and culture, creating and multiplying the spacefor dialogue for all parties, inter-religious, inter-group, interracial, andintergenerational events. The signatories of this declaration agree thatthe 2019 election process will be one of the most important milestonesin the process of consolidating democracy in Indonesia. As such,parties will make effort to ensure that events relating to the election
will run smoothly and peacefully by promoting respect, protection andthe fulfilment of human rights for all citizens.
2. Conduct multi-stakeholder cooperation in knowledge

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307

management and action collaboration to realize inclusive development
practices, for the protection and fulfilment of human rights inaccordance with the principle of rights based approach and ensure thatno one is left behind in an effort acceleration of achieving sustainable
development goals (SDGs).
3. Strengthening the District/City Human Rights movement by
establishing a Regency/City Human Rights Network, and making theIndonesian Human Rights Festival an annual agenda.
Wonosobo, November 14, 2018.
Note:
The Wonosobo Declaration was signed at the Human Rights Festival in Wonosobo,
Yogjakarta (Festival HAM 2018), organized by the National Human Rights Commission ofIndonesia and held from 13 to 15 November 2018, www.komnasham.go.id/index.php/
news/2018/11/15/683/wonosobo-declaration-on-human-rights-festival-2018.html.