The Movement for Equal Rights for Women in Indonesia
Author(s)
Jayawardena, K.
Abstract
The early women’s movement of Indonesia developed within the framework of a nationalist movement whose ideology was conditioned, at first, primarily by ideals of liberal democracy and by the values of a resurgent Islam. Socialism later became a strand in the nationalist movement, growing more important as time went on. Thus, the early efforts of the women’s movement were restricted to advocating suffrage and to fighting practices like polygamy. It did not develop to the point of evaluating or criticizing the patriarchal structure of traditional society, even though some of Kartini’s writings indicate an understanding of the importance of man-woman relationships. In spite of provisions in the Constitution which guarantee equality to men and women, the juridical position of women remains insecure.
