The Potential of Indonesian Women as Agents and Actors of Change Movements Is Still Underutilized
Author: Jacob Ereste
Freelance Journalist
Indonesian women, as a moral force for change, are truly enormous and have immense potential. However, the Indonesian women’s movement seems to have found no clear direction for building a movement for change that is not under the shadow of men.
Amidst the wave of injustice that is suffocating the people’s living space, the voices of Indonesian mothers emerge as a moral force that unites hope. Led by Mothers Wati Salam and Mother Jatinungsih, the Indonesian Mothers’ Aspirations movement appears not merely as a symbol, but as a driving force for cultural resistance against a system of power that is increasingly alienating the people.
When the “people’s house” has been fenced off and the people’s voices silenced by bureaucracy, the mothers emerge to break the silence. With natural tenacity and flexibility, they rekindle a spirit of unity and caring. They are not complements, but drivers—uniting the steps of mothers and fathers for more just and dignified change.
Indonesian women now stand at the forefront of the struggle towards a Golden Indonesia 2045. With a spirit of independence, they vow to eradicate all forms of colonialism—both from outside and within their own nation.
It is time for women’s power to become the center of the nation’s direction.
Indonesian women, such as those involved in the Indonesian Mothers’ Aspirations, led by Wati Salam, along with Bunda Jatiningsih and several other mothers, can play a role and take the initiative as the driving force and center of all Indonesian women’s activities and movements. This will maximize their contribution to building awareness and concern for all Indonesian women, who lack a central figure to unite the movement’s power, which could be truly powerful and have a positive impact on the progress of the nation and state.
Furthermore, the awareness movement within Indonesian women’s activities has not been established with policymakers in this country to further advance the role and quality of women in various aspects and sectors of life that can no longer be monopolized by men, due to limited human resources and the availability of specific skills in certain fields of work that women can perform with higher quality and higher-quality results.**
Banten, July 26, 2025
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