OVERVIEW

Despite some progress, true equality for women remains a pressing issue.  Some of the earliest struggles for gender equality in Indonesia go back more than a century, even before Raden Ajeng Kartini opened the first school for girls in Jepara, Java. Although at the time many considered Kartini’s efforts for gender equality of little significance, her work has become an inspiration for others in the struggle for gender equality.

Despite Indonesia generally being a nation dominated by strong patriarchal systems, women have still found ways to become leaders in their struggle for freedom going back to the Dutch-colonial period. National heroes such as Cut Nyak Dien, Cut Mutiah, Marta Christina Tiyahahu and Nyi Ageng Serang are role models not only for women but also men. A recent manifestation of women in power was the election of the 5^th President of Indonesia as a female - giving a perception to people around the world that woman in Indonesia can become more than a wife and mother as was otherwise considered more the norm under President Soeharto’s administration through organizations such as PKK (Family Welfare Movement), Dharma Wanita and Dharma Pertiwi.[1]