Feminist Education Module (Gender Justice Education for Marginalized Groups)

Gender Justice Education: Stop the Feminization of Poverty

This Gender Equity Education Module was introduced in 2006 in response to concerns regarding women’s poverty. Development based on modernization, which has been ongoing for almost 40 years, still has not improved women’s welfare and has led to an increasing level of women’s poverty. The indicators include high maternal mortality rates, illiteracy, school dropouts, child marriage, low incomes for women, and high trafficking rates of women and girls.

This phenomenon is referred to as the feminization of poverty, wherein women’s impoverishment occurs not only because of structures and policies but also due to gender relations that subordinate women. Child marriage, which robs women of access to education, exemplifies the feminization of poverty. KAPAL Perempuan recognizes that women’s poverty is also a concern for feminists, and they strive to analyze the feminization of poverty from various perspectives.

Although the results of this analysis vary, a common thread holds that the failure of development to improve women’s welfare stems from the inability of development supporters to recognize women’s subordination in a patriarchal society as the main factor. Unlike men, who are integrated into development as heads of households and productive agents, women are seen primarily as wives, mothers, and reproductive agents. Consequently, women are marginalized in the development process because the main target is the male population.

Efforts to incorporate feminist analyses into development discussions have been made since the 1970s. For example, Ester Boserup, in her book Women’s Role in Development (1970), challenged the assumption that women are merely secondary contributors to the family and are heavily dependent on their husbands. Through her work, Boserup presents facts about the crucial role of women in the Third World in agricultural production, especially in Africa, where she conducted her research. The evidence itself refutes the notion that women are solely reproductive agents.

Following Boserup, efforts to develop analyses and actions to eradicate women’s poverty have continued to this day. One strategy that has been introduced and widely applied is the development of alternative education to combat women’s impoverishment. Women’s education is developed into an empowering learning process to foster women’s initiatives to improve the welfare of themselves, their families, and their communities.

In an effort to strengthen the women’s education movement, KAPAL Perempuan developed an education model for marginalized women in urban and rural areas called Gender-Just Education (PAG) for Marginalized Women. PAG aims to integrate the processes of improving critical thinking, life skills, and organizing women within the community. It is hoped that through this integration, marginalized women’s bodily autonomy and political autonomy can be enhanced, which in turn will build women’s bargaining power in their relationships with their husbands, families, and communities.

In other words, women are not only actively involved in decision-making processes in the domestic and public spheres, but they also have control over their own bodies, as well as their families and communities.

This PAG has been implemented in three impoverished communities: two in Jakarta, Kampung Jati and Ciliwung, since 2003, and one village community on Nain Island in North Sulawesi in 2005. To expand it so that it can be replicated by anyone who wants to develop the PAG, KAPAL Perempuan dared to publish this PAG module, which was compiled based on the implementations in the three communities. Currently, this module is utilized for women’s education in 25 villages/sub-districts in NTT, NTB, South Sulawesi, Jakarta, West Sumatra, East Java, and DKI Jakarta, including impoverished urban areas, remote island areas, and villages in dry highlands, disaster-prone regions, and areas with strong customs and religions.

The expansion of PAG to various regions, in addition to strengthening women’s leadership to increase their participation in planning, implementing, and monitoring development, is also an effort by KAPAL Perempuan to help achieve the Education for All (EFA or PUS) targets established in Jomtien in 1990 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted in 2000, which were endorsed by the Indonesian government. These two declarations indicate that countries that have signed them must ensure the elimination of gender gaps at all levels of education and aim for a 50% increase by 2015.

However, Indonesia appears to be far from these goals, as evidenced by the still-high rate of female illiteracy and the low participation of women in education, particularly at the Junior High School (SMP) level and above. Therefore, it remains crucial for KAPAL Perempuan to continue expanding the reach of PAG for poor, marginalized women.

These objectives would not have been possible without the various parties who helped prepare and publish this module. Therefore, we would like first to thank ACCESS – AusAid for their cooperation thus far, which has enabled the implementation of the PAG trial in Jakarta and Sulawesi, as well as the publication of this module. Next, we would like to thank PILAR Perempuan in North Sulawesi, who has been willing to collaborate with us on trialing the PAG module for marginalized women on Nain Island.

We also express our appreciation to the Kampung Jati Women’s School, the Ciliwung Women’s School in Jakarta, and the women’s groups on Nain Island, which have provided invaluable support in completing the preparation. This module would lack “spirit” without them. Additionally, it cannot be denied that this module was developed thanks to the Women’s Alternative Education Network, which initiated the development of PAG for poor urban women, domestic workers, rural women, and fisherwomen in 2002. Therefore, it is very fitting for us to thank our friends in this network.

Our gratitude also extends to the Director General of Non-Formal Education and Youth, as well as the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment, who continue to assist KAPAL Perempuan’s efforts in developing women’s education at the grassroots level. Last but not least, we would like to thank all the parties that we cannot mention individually here who have assisted in the publication of this module.

Last but not least, we must extend our appreciation and gratitude to Yanti Muchtar, the leader, and the module compilation team: Lily Pulu, Fitri Sunarto, and Salbiyah, who have worked diligently and with full dedication to compile this module.