Since the enactment of Law No. 6 of 2014 on Villages, village governance has undergone significant changes marked by three key elements: provisions emphasizing the importance of citizen participation in village governance; the establishment of village deliberation forums as spaces for public involvement; and the allocation of village funds from the central government. This law has opened up broad opportunities for rural communities to take part in local development planning processes. However, these expanded opportunities for participation also come with challenges, particularly those related to the social dynamics within villages and the limited access to information and knowledge about governance among community members.
The law creates space for participation, but without adequate knowledge and access to information, not all citizens are truly able to take part.
PUSKAPOL at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia sees the promotion of women’s leadership in political participation at the village level as essential. Several points underline this position.
First, the distinctive character of villages. A village is the smallest unit of governance, where formal political processes are closely intertwined with personal relations. This is shaped by relatively small populations, intensive interaction among residents, and the strong influence of village leaders on both the opportunities and forms of political participation, from the local level upward. With the enactment of the Village Law, which regulates village head elections and allocates substantial government funding to villages, empowering residents to monitor and engage in village political dynamics has become increasingly important. Women in villages represent a significant potential that should not be reduced to their biological role in childbirth and childrearing. They also need to be encouraged to fulfill their social and political roles by accessing leadership positions at the local level, grounded in principles of justice and equality.
Second, structural barriers continue to limit women’s political participation. Research by PUSKAPOL UI in 2013 found that the low level of women’s participation as election administrators across different levels is shaped by several factors. These include regulatory constraints, where existing rules do not clearly facilitate women’s involvement; geographical challenges that affect women differently than men, particularly in terms of mobility and safety; and cultural barriers, often the most difficult to overcome, which position women as primary bearers of domestic responsibilities. This makes it harder for them to engage in activities outside the home without family approval. These structural constraints may vary across villages and take different forms depending on the type of participation involved.
Third, village welfare fundamentally rests on the well-being of women and children. Measuring village welfare is not merely about local revenue, but more importantly about quality of life, including health and education. Indicators such as maternal and child mortality rates, access to affordable and quality education, access to healthcare services, and access to clean water are closely tied to women’s lives. Promoting women’s leadership is therefore an integral part of improving overall community welfare, as many of the key issues that define well-being are directly connected to women’s everyday experiences.
Village welfare cannot be separated from women’s welfare, and it can only be achieved when women are present in leadership roles.
PUSKAPOL at FISIP UI, with support from Hivos, carried out a program titled “Women’s Leadership in Advancing Citizens’ Political Participation at the Local Level” from December 2014 to December 2015. The program targeted three villages: Sidomulyo in Batu, East Java; Belabori in Gowa, South Sulawesi; and Noelbaki in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
The activities began with preliminary research, including interviews and focus group discussions. This was followed by the development of training modules, training for facilitators, and training sessions for participants in each village. For this program, PUSKAPOL recruited two facilitators in each village, bringing the total to six facilitators. The participants consisted of twelve women in each village who had prior experience in organizational activities.
After the training, women’s groups in each village carried out a series of follow-up activities, including community needs assessments, hamlet meetings, village forums, and the dissemination of findings from these discussions. In implementing the program, PUSKAPOL FISIP UI worked in partnership with several local organizations: Bengkel Appek in Kupang, Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia in Gowa, and Malang Corruption Watch in Malang.
