Keywords
women’s bodies
Local Women’s NGOs
decolonial feminism
transitional justice
How to Cite
Abstract
Using a feminist methodological approach and focused group discussions (FGDs) with five local women’s NGOs from Yasanti, Flower Aceh, PIKUL, ALDP, and Fokupers, this study explores seven characteristics of local women’s NGOs in resisting authoritarian and militaristic state repression. The characteristics are: camouflage strategies, clandestine work, grassroots bases, solidarity and networks, alternative knowledge production, participatory approaches, and multi-layered issue struggles. Empathy-based activism serves as a political force for local women’s NGOs to underpin the fight for gender justice. The theoretical framework of postcolonial and decolonial feminism is employed to analyze how the state constructs women’s bodies as objects of power. The research confirms that women’s NGOs’ work is not only resistive but also productive, creating alternative spaces and building a counter-memory to the country’s history of violence and impunity. The findings enrich the discourse on justice in Indonesia that sustaining democracy depends on recognizing the experiences and efforts of women’s NGOs, which are often overlooked or erased from history
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