Within a feminist theoretical framework, this commemoration should be understood as a reminder of the nation's mandate of social reproduction, a crucial concept that explains how society perpetuates its existence culturally, economically and demographically.

Social reproduction encompasses all the work of maintenance, care and education, which has historically been unvalued yet is fundamental for a healthy social order. Children, therefore, are the central axis of this process, the quality of a nation’s future is determined by how well we nurture, protect and empower them today.

We need to read the reality of child protection in Indonesia through a more critical and integrated lens. By combining insights from feminist and development theories, we will deconstruct how the crisis of child protection cannot be viewed as a sporadic problem, but rather as a manifestation of systemic structural failure.

The inspiring letter from Mama Aleta, an education activist from Mollo, East Nusa Tenggara, and the 2016 recipient of Yap Thiam Hien human rights award, provides a fitting entry point to understanding this crisis of social reproduction. When she highlights the phenomenon of children forced to migrate as laborers, separated from their families and cultural roots, we are witnessing a failure at the state and market levels.

An economic system that is neither inclusive nor pro-indigenous creates conditions where the family, as the smallest unit of social reproduction, is unable to perform its functions optimally. Children are then forced to become economic commodities, exploited by a cruel market and alienated from their identities.

From an ecofeminist perspective, the neglect of children, especially those who are marginalized, has a strong correlation with the exploitation of natural resources and the marginalization of local knowledge.