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FemFest traces Indonesia’s feminism movement amid online criticism

Amid online criticism, the second Feminist Festival (FemFest 2019) has taken place peacefully, highlighting the history of the country’s feminism movement

Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, November 25, 2019

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FemFest traces Indonesia’s feminism movement amid online criticism

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span>Amid online criticism, the second Feminist Festival (FemFest 2019) has taken place peacefully, highlighting the history of the country’s feminism movement. 

FemFest 2019 was held at Wisma PKBI in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Nov. 23 to 24. 

This year’s FemFest adopted the theme “Made in Indonesia Feminism” in a bid to localize feminism, which many in the country consider a western principle and thus not in line with Indonesian values.

Earlier this year, for instance, online campaigns launched by antifeminist group Indonesia without Feminists sparked debate on social media. The group framed the movement as, among others, a blasphemous western idea that was antithetical to Islamic values.

Such a notion was misleading considering the country’s feminist movement dated back to the Dutch colonization era in the 1800s, during which women from the elite class had participated in the anticolonization movement, according to women’s rights activist Tunggal Pawestri at the festival’s opening panel discussion on Saturday.

Other panelists included Malaysian author and activist Maryam Lee and Singaporean Muslim lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activist Zuby Eusofe.

“The regional [feminist] movement has connections with the global movement but it also has connections with the political situation in the country,” Tunggal argued.

She said the country’s first women congress in 1928, although involving elite women and focusing on domestic concerns, also brought up the issue of child marriage, a concern still raised today. 

The movement continued after independence, during which women tried to get involved in the development of the country, she said, adding that the second wave of the feminism movement in the country started in the 1950s. 

“However, they tended not to use the word ‘feminism’ then because it was associated with the West, especially after we only recently earned our independence,” Tunggal said.

This movement, however, was “wiped out” in late 1960s under Soeharto’s early-years rule, during which women were forced back into the domestic sphere, Tunggal said, adding that industrialization in the 1980s eventually prompted the movement to rise again. Then, different types of activism emerged and the term feminism began to be used in writings.

“The essence of feminism has always been here. […] Now we are dealing with growing conservatism, shrinking space for the feminist movement here, which is also faced by almost all other Southeast Asian countries,” she said.

Malaysia’s Maryam concurred with Tunggal, noting that Indonesia had shared a similar history with Malaysia in terms of the feminist movement. The other similarity, however, was the growing conservatism that had taken control of women in society, even down to their bodies, she said.

Earlier this year, Maryam’s book, Unveiling Choice, which discusses her decision to stop wearing a headscarf, had sparked debate in Malaysia and resulted in Islamic officials in the country launching an investigation into her book launch.

“My body is my right, but what we should really be asking is why does society not see your body as your right?” she said.

As women are becoming more economically empowered and politically aware, she said, the conservatives, who had more resources politically and economically, had responded to the fact by imposing restrictions on what women could do, say and wear.

“We have to be tactical and strategic in our advocacy [...] That’s why we have to understand the history of our movement to know our political positions and affect bigger changes,” Maryam told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the event.

This year’s FemFest presented 13 discussions and workshops on various themes, such as feminism in politics, workforce and education institutions, and featured 36 speakers from various backgrounds.

FemFest 2019 committee head Skolastika Lupitawina said the festival aimed to further introduce the younger generation to the movement to prompt action. Around 200 visitors, mainly comprising young women, were estimated to attend each day of the festival.

The festival, however, was not without its share of online criticism. A few comments on the festival’s Instagram account appeared to undermine the event, while the festival sparked debate on Twitter over intersection and inclusiveness of the movement in Indonesia as netizens questioned the fees and speakers’ credibility. Tickets ranged from Rp 80,000 (US$5.68) to Rp 500,000.

Tika said the committee had acknowledged that there had been a middle-income bias.

“It’s good that we can have a discussion like this. Hopefully it can be free in the next two or four years and we can invite speakers from different communities for better representation,” she told the Post.

One of the attendees, Fanny Indria, 19, a student at the Cirebon State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN),  said she attended the festival to better prepare herself for her future job as a teacher.

“It was difficult for me to learn about feminism at home in Kediri [East Java]. My parents were against it but I feel the need to,” she said.

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