Feminism is a Good Woman: Reflections on the Use of Ideas in the Women's Movement in Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines the actions, ideas and strategies of one women's group in Jakarta, Indonesia, during the turbulent period in the late 1990s before, during and after the overthrow of President Suharto. I argue that Suara Ibu Peduli or SIP (literally, the Voice of Concerned Mothers) was successful in re-claiming various aspects of the good woman in Indonesian culture for a form of feminist activism and a radical re-conceptualizing of women's position in society. While many of the ideas used by SIP can be viewed through the lens of maternal feminism, SIPs strategic and ideological sense has transformed those ideas into a powerful and empowering part of the women's movement.