Feminism in Indonesia
[1] The issues women in Indonesia currently are facing include gender violence, underage marriages, and lack of representation in the political system.
[6] The earliest records of women's rights advocacy took place in the 19th century colonial Dutch East Indies with the leadership of Kartini of Jepara and Dewi Sartika, both of whom advocated for the education of girls and established schools in their community.
[7] After reaching adulthood, Javanese tradition dictated that Kartini live a life in gender segregation as a young female noble.
[3] During this time, Kartini wrote letters to her Dutch schoolmates, exposing the gender inequality emboldened by Javanese traditions which included forced marriages at a young age and the denial of education for women.
[11] In 1904, Sartika founded the first school for women in the Dutch East Indies named the Sekolah Isteri in Bandung.
[1] Beginning in the early 20th century, Indonesian women became more active in the political sphere namely in relation to independence and nationalist movements.
[1] Taking part in the Youth Congress Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda), which was declared in on October 28, 1928, women were involved in the creation of young nationalists thought and ideas of Indonesian independence.
[15] Secular organization and Islamic associations split on their stances of polygamy with some wanting to ban it and the latter refusing to condemn it.
[21] Fujinkai was dissolved after the defeat of the Japanese Empire and replaced with a nationalist women's organization called the Persatuan Wanita Indonesia.
[26] Protestors took to the streets to demand that the government put a stop to systematic violence against women and pass the sexual assault eradication bill.
[27][26] The Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) does not recognize the definition and nuances of sexual violence currently exclusively defining rape as the act of forcible penile penetration of a vagina.
[29][30] The bill also ensures victims of sexual abuse receive reparations including physical and psychological therapy or compensation.
[29] On the other hand, several conservative Islam-based political parties believe that the bill is pro-adultery and supports the existence of LGBTQ+ identifying individuals.
[32] The bill was eventually passed by the People's Representative Council on 12 April 2022 as the Law on Sexual Violence Crimes[33] and signed by Joko Widodo on 9 May 2022.
[23][35] The groups Instagram page has a clear message stating "My body is not mine; Indonesia doesn't need feminism.
"[23][35] As part of their anti-Feminist rhetoric, their photos are filled with women holding signs that say #UninstallFeminism, #IndonesiaTanpaFeminis, or "Indonesia doesn't need feminism!
[35] According to The Jakarta Post, the Indonesia Tanpa Feminis framed feminism as a Western idea that is incongruent with Islamic values.
[50] The project, which ran from 2011 to 2015 and was funded by the Norwegian Embassy and UNDP, aimed to strengthen the skills and knowledge of women in politics.
