On May 2, I attended a 16th birthday party that was, in a way, a combination of both. Intimate because some of the people present had known each other for decades, but large enough that it required catered food. No balloons or streamers though: instead, a seminar and a book launch. 

A seminar and a book launch at a birthday party? Yes, because it was the 16th anniversary of KAPAL Perempuan Institute, a women’s NGO. The word “kapal” literally means “ship” but in this case it’s an abbreviation standing for Lingkaran Pendidikan Alternatif untuk Perempuan ( Alternative Education Circle for Women ). 

The activists who set it up on March 8, 2000, were concerned about the rise of ethnic and religious conflict and violence in various parts of Indonesia, as well as human rights abuses against women and discrimination against marginalized and minority groups.

Kapal decided to celebrate its anniversary in May to commemorate other events and incidents that occur this month: May 1 is International Labor Day; May 2 is National Education Day; May 3 is World Press Freedom Day; May 8 is the day Marsinah ( 1969-1993 ), a laborer activist was raped, tortured and murdered for negotiating a food and transport pay supplement for 500 workers of PT Catur Putra Surya, a watch manufacturing company in Sidoarjo. Marsinah has since symbolized resistance against the repressive practices of the Soeharto era against workers.

And May also was the month in 1998 when a succession of events eventually ended in Soeharto stepping down on May 21. On May 12, four Trisakti University students were killed by snipers firing into a student demonstration. 

The killings triggered mass riots, looting and burning in several cities, which caused massive damage and an estimated 1,200 lives lost. And who can forget the May mass rapes, mainly of Chinese ethnic women, that occurred also around that time ( May 12-15 )? That and many other human rights violations which occurred then remain unresolved — and unacknowledged — up to now.

So obviously, the Kapal event was more than just a birthday bash. The title of the seminar said it all: “Reflections to strengthen the women’s movement platform using a feminist and pluralistic perspective”, which also addresses the achievements and setbacks of 18 years of the so-called Reform Era. 

According to Lies Marcoes, one of the panelists, in the Reform Era, the women’s movement shifted from apolitical to political, as did Indonesian society. It’s a double-edged sword: The politicization of religion is getting stronger and stronger, to the detriment of women, the LGBT community and democratization efforts itself.

Damaria Pakpahan, another speaker, pointed out that in the New Order, the source of repression was the government. During the Reform Era, activists, both men and women, have joined the government and the legislature. The jargon of the women’s movement of equality has been adopted by the government – often remaining as jargon. In terms of the source of repression, now it has spread everywhere, often taking on an adat ( local tradition ) and Muslim flavors, and with more challenges at the local level. 

That is why, according to Misiyah, executive director of KAPAL, it’s important to raise our critical awareness because on many major issues, women remain stuck in the same rut as in the New Order: poverty; violence against women; workplace discrimination, the exploitation of female migrant workers, and child marriage, among others. 

Kasmiati, from West Nusa Tenggara ( NTB ), presented a paper on the situation in her region. She commented on the fact that the women’s movement is fractured, and in urgent need of consolidation; also that the government doesn’t pay serious attention to women’s issues.

A recent case in point was the shocking rape and murder of 14-year-old Yuyun in April, in Bengkulu, Sumatra, which drew parallels to the horrific gang rape of Jyoti Singh on a bus in New Delhi in 2012. 

In May, two similar gang rapes occurred in Manado and Gorontalo, both in North Sulawesi. The Bengkulu case was met with nationwide condemnation and outrage due to the brutality of the crime, but also because of the slow response of the police. The May rapes of the Chinese women in 1998 gave rise to the founding of the National Commission on Violence against Women ( Komnas Perempuan ). Similarly, the rape of Yuyun has given rise to demands to pass the sexual violence bill, not just from activists, but also from the government. Hmm, that would be a first.

The book launch at the event was that of Yanti Muchtar’s, one of the founders and directors of KAPAL, until her illness from cancer made it impossible for her to work anymore. She passed away last Nov. 17 at the young age of 53. In her book, The Genesis of the Women’s Movement under the New Order State, Yanti maps out, describes and analyses the Indonesian women’s movement from 1982 to 1998. 

Very few scholars acknowledge that the women’s movement is part of the opposition that existed in the New Order, and the literature tends to take a masculine perspective, rendering the women’s movement invisible. Yanti’s book is therefore a necessary correction to this tendency.

The KAPAL birthday bash couldn’t be said to be fun, but it certainly was exciting, stimulating and important: making connections between women from different regions and organizational affiliations, and three generations of women activists.

KAPAL Perempuan is made up of women coming from different ships, but ending up in the same boat. This is also true of the people of Indonesia. We sail on different ships, but we all end up in one boat: Indonesia. Let’s keep it afloat, okay?

***

The writer is the author of State Ibuism.

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