Debbi Risfa: (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)" width="510" height="338">Debbi Risfa: (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)

As the nation celebrates the birth of national heroine Raden Ajeng Kartini, many women out there are working hard in the making of modern Indonesia.

Wearing her protective gear, 20-year-old Debbi Risfa skillfully takes a sample of material to be used in the gold extraction process at the Martable gold mine in Batang Toru in North Sumatra.

Debbi, who has been a trainee at the company since 2012, is not afraid to do her job even though she has to work closely with hazardous substances, thanks to the protective clothing she wears.

On Jayapura’s streets and government offices, 31-year-old Maria Madai can be seen offering noken, Papua’s unique traditional woven bag, to passersby.

An ordinary noken is priced between Rp 100,000 (US$10.3) and Rp 200,000 while those made from orchid stems may reach more than Rp 1 million each.

By selling at least two bags a day, Maria can help support her family. When she returns home, she will keep busy weaving new bags.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Marhumi is busy throwing the shuttle back and forth between the bars of her wooden loom, while occasionally hooking yarns between the numerous threads connected to the iron combs on the device.

Dian Trenowikanti: (JP/Tarko Sudiarno)The 55-year-old is one of dozens of weavers who preserve Samarinda’s sarong, the woven fabrics which have lately become an icon of the city.

In Yogyakarta, 35-year-old veterinarian Dian Trenowikanti has been working for over 10 years at the wildlife rescue center, where she tends sick animals, including a one-year-old honey bear, which lost its mother and was put under her care.

In Batam, Riau Islands, dentist Indri Trianita is assisted by her nurse in tending many workers, who mostly come from the nearby electronic factories in the city’s industrial complex, at the Citra Medistra clinic.

In East Java’s capital, Surabaya, veterinarian Jassi Arie Lissia takes care of wild animals, from tigers to crocodiles, in her work at Surabaya Zoo.

The 32-year-old, who worked at Setail Animal Hospital in Surabaya before moving to the zoo in 1999, tends to all the animals with loving care.

“My arm was once scratched by a tiger and swelled up but I love them all,” she said while feeding a Sumatran tigers.

She also tends to sick animals, like Melani, one of the 10 Sumatran tigers in the zoo suffering from digestion problem that seen them lose a lot of weight.

“I’m the mother of these animals,” Jassi says.

Maria Madai: (JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)

Marhumi: (JP/Nurni Sulaiman)

Indri Trianita (left): (JP/Fadli)

Debbi Risfa: (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)

As the nation celebrates the birth of national heroine Raden Ajeng Kartini, many women out there are working hard in the making of modern Indonesia.

Wearing her protective gear, 20-year-old Debbi Risfa skillfully takes a sample of material to be used in the gold extraction process at the Martable gold mine in Batang Toru in North Sumatra.

Debbi, who has been a trainee at the company since 2012, is not afraid to do her job even though she has to work closely with hazardous substances, thanks to the protective clothing she wears.

On Jayapura'€™s streets and government offices, 31-year-old Maria Madai can be seen offering noken, Papua'€™s unique traditional woven bag, to passersby.

An ordinary noken is priced between Rp 100,000 (US$10.3) and Rp 200,000 while those made from orchid stems may reach more than Rp 1 million each.

By selling at least two bags a day, Maria can help support her family. When she returns home, she will keep busy weaving new bags.

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Marhumi is busy throwing the shuttle back and forth between the bars of her wooden loom, while occasionally hooking yarns between the numerous threads connected to the iron combs on the device.

Dian Trenowikanti: (JP/Tarko Sudiarno)The 55-year-old is one of dozens of weavers who preserve Samarinda'€™s sarong, the woven fabrics which have lately become an icon of the city.

In Yogyakarta, 35-year-old veterinarian Dian Trenowikanti has been working for over 10 years at the wildlife rescue center, where she tends sick animals, including a one-year-old honey bear, which lost its mother and was put under her care.

In Batam, Riau Islands, dentist Indri Trianita is assisted by her nurse in tending many workers, who mostly come from the nearby electronic factories in the city'€™s industrial complex, at the Citra Medistra clinic.

In East Java'€™s capital, Surabaya, veterinarian Jassi Arie Lissia takes care of wild animals, from tigers to crocodiles, in her work at Surabaya Zoo.

The 32-year-old, who worked at Setail Animal Hospital in Surabaya before moving to the zoo in 1999, tends to all the animals with loving care.

'€œMy arm was once scratched by a tiger and swelled up but I love them all,'€ she said while feeding a Sumatran tigers.

She also tends to sick animals, like Melani, one of the 10 Sumatran tigers in the zoo suffering from digestion problem that seen them lose a lot of weight.

'€œI'€™m the mother of these animals,'€ Jassi says.

Maria Madai: (JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)

Marhumi: (JP/Nurni Sulaiman)

Indri Trianita (left): (JP/Fadli)

Jassi Arie Lissia: (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

'€” Text by Stevie Emilia