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member of a women'€™s group, Kristina, 33, sat at the side of the room during a recent seminar at a hotel in Pontianak, breast-feeding her baby.

Along with her colleagues, Kristina has attended a number of meetings held in villages by NGO Pena Group in recent years, with topics of discussion ranging from legal and environmental management issues to learning about social changes.

'€œInitially, we were hesitant because women are often sidelined, but now we voice our thoughts boldly,'€ said Kristina, a resident of Nanga Mau village in remote Sintang regency, West Kalimantan. To reach Pontianak, the provincial capital, she has to travel all night.

Kristina was among 30 women from remote villages in five regencies in West Kalimantan who gathered at Hotel Kapuas Dharma to discuss legal and environmental issues arising from the spread of palm oil plantations in the province.

The women, mostly housewives, have since 2013 been advised by the Pena Group, principally on how to adapt to the spread of plantations.

During the meeting, Pena Group also launched a book on its field research entitled Women within the Palm Oil Circle.

Pena Group executive director Rinto said few in-depth studies had been conducted regarding the role of women in society.

'€œWomen'€™s roles are often disregarded, especially with regard to oil palm corporations, whose presence affects society, the economy and the environment. Women are inclined to be more involved in the domestic than the public sector. We are trying to encourage them to be more involved,'€ Rinto said.

 '€œClearly we refuse to see the whole area turned into oil palm plantations, because the community would no longer have the freedom to manage its resources in accordance with local wisdom. Empowering the community to be able to withstand the situation is vital,'€ said Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) director Anton P. Wijaya.

To boost their capacities, Pena Group provides legal training to women, with some serving two-week apprenticeships at the Pontianak District Court to get the feeling of court proceedings and legal matters.

West Kalimantan Women'€™s Empowerment, Child Protection and Family Planning Agency head Anna Veridiana Iman Kalis expressed hope that women would be encouraged to fight for an equal role with men.

'€œAs an illustration, at the West Kalimantan provincial administration, of the 52 echelon II officials, only four are women, including me. I hope housewives will be able to achieve what men achieve, though we mustn'€™t forget our nature,'€ said Veridiana.

Researcher DO Srikujam said the survey also compared the condition of women before and after the arrival of oil palm corporations in villages.

Before plantations are set up, women are able freely to benefit from the forest bounty. However, after they arrive, land changes hands to investors, and villagers no longer have access to the forest.

'€œWomen also tend to consume more after corporations arrive as they are more used to having cash. Some of them also become minor employees at the companies,'€ said Srikujam.

The province, Anton added, was currently home to 1.1 million hectares of oil palm plantations, while a further 5.3 million is licensed to become plantations.