A Retrospect of International Women’s Day in Indonesia: Reflections of All the Highs and Lows of Indonesian Women Struggle

Written by Women Beyond Indonesia x Women’s March Yogyakarta

A month of celebration, of recognition, and of remembrance — in simple words, that basically sums up what March, especially March 8th, means for women around the world. The International Women’s Day, celebrated every March 8th annually in many countries worldwide, is indeed a momentous day where women get to celebrate and recognize their achievements regardless of any kinds of denominator — be it racial, ethnic, nationality, linguistic, cultural, political or economic (UN, 2021). It is the day when we may loudly and rightfully call for the celebration of women’s hard-fought historical movements and struggles in many respects, ranging from the fight for suffrage, women’s labor rights and decent pay at work, to women’s freedom over sexuality and reproductive rights.

In such an environment where nuances of conservatism and religious fundamentalism still manifest themselves as the zeitgeist — the dominating spirit of the age — of society, the idea of feminism, or further, of women’s emancipation for the greater goal of gender justice and equality being celebrated on International Women’s Day, sounds too far-fetched. One may even claim that it’s not unique how in Indonesia, and other Asian countries, there have been attempts to differentiate women’s emancipation from feminism, or to be exact, the feminist movement from the women’s movement, as contemporary and progressive feminist ideas, scholarships, and movements are commonly identified as of Western origin and has the Western connotation that doesn’t culturally and historically fit Indonesian roots (Arivia & Subono, 2017). This assumption is generally supported by the fact that feminist and women’s emancipation movements in Indonesian history tend to progress and integrate with mixed gender, rights-based movements oriented towards Indonesian independence from European and Japanese colonialism and imperialism which resulted in fragmented, unfocused movements lacking strong political interests and women empowerment (Arivia & Subono, 2017). Inevitably, with strikingly different departure points, Indonesian women’s history didn’t follow along with the Western discourse of women’s struggle and movement for emancipation, intersectionality, justice, and equality as they advanced along the very lines of the nation’s postcolonial agendas; hence often regarded in odds with the liberal states’ women movements in the West.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply that Indonesian women alienated themselves from the gendered universal struggle for equality and justice or that they lack the morale and the socio-political agency than in such struggle being waged in the West — only that our struggle proceeded in different narratives with uniquely specific synchronic and diachronic orders. To better understand women’s movements against the backdrop of local, national, and international context, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, one of Indonesia’s prominent woman activist and co-founder of Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Asosiasi Perempuan Indonesia untuk Keadilan/APIK Legal Aid Institution (LBH APIK) — as agreed by other Indonesian feminist scholars — stated that in retrospect women’s movements in Indonesia unfolded in four different phases namely Kartini to Independence Era in 1945 or Colonial Era; Post-Independence to 1965 or Post-Colonial Feminism; New Order regime to 1998; and Reform Era from 1998 to present (Floretta, 2020).

The First Phase, Kartini to Independence Era in 1945: The Move Against Feudalism, Cultural and Structural oppression, to Colonialism

Despite being observed internationally since the early 1900s, Indonesian women were yet to have the freedom to celebrate International Women’s Day due to the atrocious practices of colonialism and subjugation that the nation was subject to. Yet, according to Nadya Karima Melati (2017), the first phase of Indonesian women’s movements in history is to be understood as the proto-feminism era, where the use of word ‘wife’ (istri) and ‘mother’ (ibu) in public — to signify the inseparable relationship between women and men built through traditional marriage — was strongly attached to the identity and predestined natural fate (kodrat) of women. This Proto-feminism era saw the rise of prominent heroines we still cherish today. Some of them are R.A. Kartini, the Javanese noblewoman who was among the firsts to propose that education for women is just as essential for men since educated mother could then educate their children better and that polygyny must be eliminated as it degraded women’s dignity (Arivia & Subono, 2017); Maria Walanda Maramis from North Sulawesi who founded organization and schools of Percintaan Ibu Kepada Anak Turunannya (PIKAT); Dewi Sartika, West Javanese noblewoman who founded Sakola Istri; and Rohana Kudus, the first known female journalist from Minangkabau, West Sumatra who established Soenting Melayu newspaper which was considered progressive and critical the colonial government for raising tabooed issues, such as polygamy and the necessity of education for women (Arivia & Subono, 2017).

The apparent general rejection towards the Western sense of feminism was expressed as a form of rejection against colonialism practiced by Western nations, such as the Netherlands and Great Britain, and defense mechanism over the identity and sense of ‘Nusantara’ among women’s local organizations — even Dutch and Chinese women’s organizations were often unwelcomed in congresses organized by women (Melati, 2017). At that time, discourses of marriage, mother and children’s rights being discussed at women congresses and conferences were relatively considered apolitical and safe, considering the strict surveillance of the Dutch East Indies government during the Ethical Politics period (Floretta, 2020). The first Women Congress, as the ultimate milestone achieved by this era’s women’s movements, was held on December 22–25, 1928 in Yogyakarta where 1000 participants and about 30 women’s organizations acknowledged the urgency of women’s involvement in national development, the eradication of poverty and illiteracy, the equality provided for women in education, women’s rights in respectful marriage, the ban on child marriage, and elimination of welfare gap to promote adequate nutrition for mother and babies (Arivia & Subono, 2017; Floretta, 2020). Aripurnami (2013) stated that the underlying spirit of the congress was, after all, to align the multitude of diverse ideologies and interests of women’s movements and to manage them for the common purpose of the independence struggle against Dutch colonialism (Arivia & Subono, 2017).

The Second Phase, Post-Independence to 1965: The Rise and Fall of Post-Colonial Feminism

Following the nation’s independence in 1945, women’s movements continued to progress forward with brand new movements that were more progressive, political, and agenda-articulate — one of them being Gerwani. Mimicking the Socialist and Marxist women’s movements of the West who were the actual pioneers of International Women’s Day, the organization, which started as Gerakan Wanita Indonesia Sedar (Gerwis) in 1950 and was established by prominent names, such as S.K. Trimurti and Umi Sardjono, entered the political arena by embodying and advocating for Socialist views with a strong emphasis on issues, such as women's labor rights, women trafficking, equal work opportunity for women, and the eradication of illiteracy in women. Under the Kongres Wanita Indonesia (Kowani) — previously known as Perikatan Perkoempoelan Isteri Indonesia (PPII) — Gerwani declared political stances on the liberation of West Papua, established cooperatives (koperasi) for women’s causes, even participated in the Asian-African Conference of Women in Sri Lanka in 1958 (Melati, 2017). Gerwani managed to stand strong on the national stage of mainstream politics by establishing a robust social base as the onderbouw of Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) and strongly promoted socialism while simultaneously campaigning for anti-sexual assault and forced marriages against women (Floretta, 2020). However, on debate about the practice of polygamy, 19 women organizations — including Persatuan Wanita Republik Indonesia (Perwari), excluding Gerwani — once held the first-ever recorded women-organized protest on December 17, 1953, in rejecting what Saskia Wieringa called the “waste of money to fund polygamy” when the government drafted the Marriage Law (UU Perkawinan) with clauses still proven to be in favor of the practice. The state would, according to the former law, provide guarantees on pension funds for government officials with more than one wife (Ardanareswari, 2019). Gerwani’s silence — owing much to the practical politics played out between the organization and President Soekarno — was regretted by many as the organization was prominently known as one of the champions movement on issues of women’s rights and gender equality.

Although the general narratives in Indonesia tend to disacknowledge it, Gerwani became one of the biggest mass organizations with membership reaching 800.000 women, mainly from the grassroots level in 1954 (Arivia & Subono, 2017). In the final years before its destruction and elimination by the armed forces under General Soeharto, Gerwani claimed to have nearly 2 million women members (Arivia & Subono, 2017). Following the 30 September Movement (G30S/PKI), Gerwani was abruptly erased from the national political constellation — with many of its key figures being arrested, detained, kidnapped, murdered, raped, and tortured by the military — for being closely associated with PKI as the main “Soekarno-oriented” political power. Soon after, what came close as Gerwani’s replacement in size, existence, and role on a national basis was the Family’s Welfare Guidance (Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga/PKK) — the centralized organization, notably managed by mothers and housewives, as the byproduct of the New Order Regime with the missions to support National Development and ensure the success of the family planning program called Keluarga Berencana (KB) (Suryakusuma, 2011 in Arivia & Subono, 2017).

The Third Phase, New Order regime to 1998: The ‘Dark Age’, The Dictated State Ibuism

Hard to dispute that state control during this third phase was extremely rampant in almost every aspect of life, including in women’s issues. Still according to Nursjahbani Katjasungkana, the New Order regime’s policies, better known under the nuance of state ibuism, highlighted the customary roles of women as mothers and wives in order to support and perpetuate the grand narratives of the state’s supremacy/superiority over women’s sexuality and to frame the nature of women as their husbands’ loyal domestic companion (Floretta, 2020). The emergence of thematic women’s organizations, such as Dharma Wanita, founded in 1974 as the principal organization of government officials’ wives under which authority PKK is run, Dharma Pertiwi, as the principal organization for military members’ wives, which comprised of Persit Kartika Candra Kirana, Jalasenastri, PIA Ardhya Garini, and Bhayangkari (Amalia, 2010). State Ibuism became so manifest and national development-oriented that even Panca Dharma Wanita and PKK were included as some of the agendas in Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun (Repelita) II (Floretta, 2020).

However, entering the 1980s, several NGOs and women’s organizations tried to break through the authoritarian bubble of the New Order regime in the forms of Yayasan Annisa Swasti (Yasanti) in Yogyakarta which focused on the mission of strengthening women’s labor rights, including those who worked in batik industries; Yayasan Kalyanamitra in Jakarta which began from concerns with labor issues and worked to provide information on labors’ rights (Aripurnami, 2013 in Arivia & Subono, 2017); LSM Solidaritas Perempuan, LSM Rifka Annisa; LBH Apik; to Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia (KPI) (Amalia, 2010). The multitude of intersectional, cross-issue feminist and/or rights-based women’s organizations during the New Order regime had to deal, especially with the authoritarian and totalitarian nature of the 32-years-old regime which persistently gave rise to critical human rights violation issues — certain issues disproportionately impacted women even worse than men, as evident in the case of Marsinah, the woman labor who demonstrated and advocated for labor rights in 1993.

Yet the strength and resistance of Indonesian women were not to be doubted, even amidst the state terror of such. The mobilization of women’s movements in “The Milk Politics” in a massive series of protests popularly called The Voice of The Concerned Mother (Suara Ibu Peduli/SIP) held in late February 1998 proved the point. The nonviolent act organized to overthrow the regime devised a wordplay of “milk” (susu) and Soeharto to deliver a message that the coalitions of women’s organization — one of them was Jurnal Perempuan (JP) — were very concerned about mothers who couldn’t buy milk for their children owing to the economic crisis (Arivia & Subono, 2017). They held rallies and protests at Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta and distributed boxes of milk as a political camouflage to express the discontent against the regime’s failure — several women activists ended up being arrested by the police but the rest of them didn’t stop the protests (Arivia & Subono, 2017).

The Fourth Phase, Reform Era: The Birth of Indonesia’s Contemporary Feminism

At the edge of the New Order regime, from the mid-1990s until 1998, contemporary feminism studies started to gain attention and have grown visible through the publications of journals, books, and literature promoting feminist ideas by various women’s organizations (Arivia & Subono, 2017). The disseminated feminist knowledge in campuses and civil society arena acted as the intellectual basis for the ever-growing progressive women movements during the Reform era where the feminist lens is being increasingly used to comprehend issues, such as gender-based violence, trafficking, sexuality, polygamy, national development, democracy, freedom of expression, and human rights (Arivia & Subono, 2017). The battle against the growingly exclusive religious conservatism, sexism, political and economic oligarchy, gender discrimination, and gender-based violence in society has become the new agenda for contemporary feminism in Indonesia.

The struggle for women’s freedom of expression was largely demonstrated during the protests against 2006’s pornography bill which threatened to restrict minority’s freedom of expression, equal rights, and plurality, at the roundabout Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta, attended by 6000 participants and joined by the first lady Sinta Nuriah Abdurrahman Wahid and Inul (Arivia & Subono, 2017). Nowadays, the ongoing fight for the legalization of Rancangan Undang-Undang Penghapusan Kekerasan Seksual or Sexual Violence Eradication Bill (RUU PKS) becomes one of the many efforts by Indonesian women movements to win such battles — in this case, especially to win the battle against religious fundamentalism which tend to object issues regarding women’s sexuality and sexism which fail to protect women from sexual violence (Floretta, 2020). The same thing goes with the general objection against the legalization of RUU Ketahanan Keluarga or Family Resilience Bill which can potentially exacerbate the push for women’s domestication and regression on women’s role in public domain — as was the case during the New Era regime (Floretta, 2020).

For the past several years, the spirit of International Women’s Day has been more vibrantly expressed through what we now know as Women’s March. Advocating for many women’s interests in such contemporary era of the feminist movement, Women’s March was initiated by 33 different organizations and was first held in 2017 in the capital city, Jakarta, Indonesia, precisely at March 4, with the main event taking place in front of the State Palace. Thousands of women activists in pink, white, and purple attires organized themselves in a long march from Sarinah to the State Palace while chanting the eight demands of women under the tagline of ‘Perempuan Gerak Bersatu’ — the return to plurality and tolerance, gender justice in law infrastructure, the elimination of violence against women and the provision of women’s health rights, the protection of women workers, the legalization of pro-women, including disabled women, and pro-marginalized groups’ public policies, the enhancement of women’s involvement and representation in politics, the eradication of discrimination and violence against LGBTQ communities, the call for public and governments’ greater attention to global issues impacting women and the call for the advancement of women’s solidarity worldwide (Wira, 2017). The event was made even more festive with performances from Melanie Subono, Sisters in Dangers, and Mutiara Malika, Bengkel Tari Ayubulan, and poetry performances from Helga Worotitjan, Ayu Meutia, Putri Minangsari, and Tiar S. (Wira, 2017).

With the same activities in the following year, Women’s March returned on March 3, 2018, with the call for actions to fight violence against women under the tagline #lawanbersama and #metoo. By 2019, there had already been around 25 cities joining the annual March, some of them were Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Lampung, Malang, Kupang, Bandung, Serang, Bali, Salatiga, Pontianak, Sumba, Ternate, Tondano, and Pasuruan (Putri, 2019). While in 2019 Women’s March in Jakarta was held on April 27 under the tagline #beranibersuara, in 2020, Women’s March Jakarta marched alongside Gerakan Anti-Kekerasan Terhadap Perempuan (GERAK Perempuan) on March 8, 2020, with the proposed demands of the establishment of a system in favor of protecting women, the support for pro-women laws, the revocation of discriminatory regulations, to the objection of bills that threaten women’s rights and gender diversity (The Jakarta Post, 2020). According to GERAK Perempuan’s coordinator, Lini Zurlia, last year’s International Women’s Day commemoration also highlighted some critical demands for the government to nullify investors-oriented development agendas; to revoke the Job Creation Bill of Omnibus Law; to push for the legalization of Sexual Violence Eradication Bill; the Domestic Workers Protection Bill or RUU Perlindungan Pekerja Rumah Tangga, the Indigenous Peoples Bill; and to ratify the 1990’s ILO Convention on the elimination of violence and harassment at work (Abdi, 2020).

In 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Women’s March in different cities was still held — or will be held, as is the case of Women’s March Jakarta which will hold the event at the end of April — both in online and offline mode. As part of the collective of International Women’s Day, Women’s March Yogyakarta joined the rally held on March 8, 2021 attended by tens of pro-gender equality and gender justice local organizations and communities with several demands being made by the collective, such as the urgency to legalise the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill (RUU PKS) and the objections against Family Resilience Bill (RUU KK). For Women’s March Yogyakarta both of the demands gradually become more and more urgent due to the drastic increase of sexual violence cases, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the orchestration of public policies by the government which put women at the most disadvantages and instead strengthen men’s positions in the power relations between the two in both public and private spheres. The state’s apparent attempt to penetrate into a system where women’s personal freedom and privacy should be respected was another concern being brought up in the 2021’s Yogyakarta march. Still has a long way to go, the Women’s March Yogyakarta is still strongly determined to become the medium amplifying women’s rights and equality for many more years to come.

At last, for Women’s March Yogyakarta, the momentum of celebration and commemoration of International Women’s Day shall always be one of our ways to remember, reflect, and continue to fight for the historical women’s movements in gender equality and humanity in Indonesia. In a world where society is drowned in systemic patriarchy and is still distant from the true sense of equality, the strive for gender equality should always be celebrated along the way. As for the reflection from Women Beyond, the IWD in 2021 reminded us once again of further progress of movements among Indonesian gender activists and communities. Although the commemoration activities could be regarded as pretty limited due to the health protocols, the spirit of IWD exists enormously whether in the forms of offline or online celebration and campaigns. The main thing to highlight is how the United Nations chose the theme of “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world on the way to the Generation Equality Forum”, which truly resonates with what has been advocated in Women Beyond–for breaking the boundaries and stigma that limit women from leading and accessing leadership. The world has seen that even in the most tumultuous times, the voices, actions, and solidarity of women have created tremendous efforts and changes from women leaders. This quality of women in leadership is now being acknowledged more closely. However, there are still many steps to be taken for us in order to arrive at the point of an equal society. Therefore, as cited from IWD 2021 commemoration by UN Women (2021), Women Beyond agrees to UN Women’s words, “Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all”. That future will always be the goal; the global and national commemorations of IWD is among those steps taken to push for the realization of this ideal future.

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