Rahajeng Tunjungputri is a 25-year old medical doctor from Indonesia who received scholarships to study in France, Italy, and the Netherlands. She sees conflicts for women in science between pursuing careers and cultural expectations that women should dedicate themselves to their families. However, she believes more women in leadership roles are changing expectations to better accommodate female scientists. For her own career, she plans to focus on research and teaching to balance family and work responsibilities.

1. http://agora.forwomeninscience.com/index.php/2010/07/twitter-interview-2/#
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’

2. 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 .
Tags : Agora Indonesia Rahajeng Tunjungputri The L'Oreal
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