Hak Perempuan Adat dalam Kehidupan dan Pengetahuan Pesisir: Perspektif Gender pada Perempuan Kei

Abstract

The recognition of Indigenous peoples as legal subjects within Indonesia’s legal and policy frameworks is often presented as a progressive step toward social justice, yet such recognition frequently overlooks gendered power relations operating within Indigenous communities. This article examines Indigenous women’s rights from a gender perspective, focusing on Kei women in Southeast Maluku, to demonstrate that recognizing Indigenous communities as collective entities does not automatically ensure the substantive fulfilment of women’s rights. Using a socio-legal approach, the article conceptualizes rights as social practices negotiated at the intersection of customary law (Larvul Ngabal), state policies, and coastal governance. The analysis centred on three interrelated dimensions: rights to coastal resources, rights to meaningful participation in decision-making, and rights to the recognition of Indigenous women’s knowledge. The findings show that Kei women’s everyday knowledge and practices are central to community sustainability, yet are systematically marginalized by epistemic hierarchies and technocratic, gender-blind coastal policies. The article argues that realizing Indigenous women’s rights requires a substantive justice approach that transforms the power relations constraining women’s agency, not merely formal recognition. This study affirms that Indigenous women’s rights must be understood as an integral part of the broader agenda for gender justice and social-ecological sustainability in Indonesia’s coastal regions.