At the remarkable age of 63, Samsiah Nasiru still toils relentlessly as a traditional salt maker, a demanding occupation that sustains her life and makes her the unwavering backbone of her family. Her arduous journey began after her husband tragically perished in the 1992 earthquake. Since then, Samsiah, who resides in Nangahale Village, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), has shouldered the immense responsibility of being the sole provider and guardian for her only child.
“When his father died, my son was still very young, just a baby. Sometimes I’d take him to the garden, sometimes I’d leave him with relatives,” Samsiah recounted on Friday (06/02).
Even though her son now seeks his livelihood as a fisherman, Samsiah continues to strain every fiber of her being to support their economic well-being. Under a humble shed with a palm frond roof and bamboo walls, Samsiah perseveres daily, cooking salt in a laborious process that can span up to six hours.
Through these long hours, she can produce one sack of fine salt, weighing approximately 50 kilograms, which she then sells at the market for Rp500,000. However, her net income is significantly less. From the sales, she must reinvest Rp200,000 for firewood and another Rp200,000 for a sack of raw salt, leaving her with a meager net profit of around Rp100,000 per cooking session. On more productive days, she might yield two sacks, bringing home a maximum of Rp200,000 per session.
Despite her dire circumstances, Samsiah, even at her advanced age, lacks BPJS (the national health insurance program) to guarantee her health. This crucial oversight stems from her lack of understanding regarding the complex procedures required to obtain it. “For my KTP (ID card) and KK (family card), I handled those myself. But for anything else, there’s nothing,” Samsiah lamented.
A similar plight is faced by Rosmida (42), also a resident of Nangahale Village, Sikka, NTT. Rosmida was seven months pregnant when her husband passed away, forcing her to provide for herself and her unborn child. Today, thanks to her tireless efforts as a traditional salt maker, her child is able to pursue higher education at Nusa Cendana University in Kupang, NTT.
These individual narratives reflect a broader, more tragic reality across the region. Not long ago, the story of Maria Goretti Te’a (46), a single mother in Ngada, NTT, who struggled to support her five children with an erratic income from working on neighbors’ farms, garnered significant public attention. Maria’s husband had left for Kalimantan about 10 years prior, and her son, YBR (10), tragically took his own life. Suspicions pointed to economic hardship as a contributing factor. Retti faced immense difficulty accessing aid due to administrative hurdles related to population documents. It was only after YBR’s death that the local government finally facilitated the resolution of these administrative issues and disbursed much-needed assistance.
Samsiah, Rosmida, and Retti are emblematic of women living on the brink of poverty, often struggling with limited access to fundamental rights and social protections. Yusnaningsi Kasim and Indri Sri Sembadra from Institut KAPAL Perempuan uncovered another poignant case in Jakarta.
Sukaesih, a victim of child marriage in Bidaracina, Jatinegara District, East Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, epitomizes these challenges. From birth, she possessed no official identification documents. Even when she married underage and later traveled to Saudi Arabia for work, her official and known population documents were non-existent. Upon her return to Indonesia and subsequent experience with domestic violence, she found herself unable to access crucial protection and social welfare assistance due to the complete absence of these essential documents.
“In 2020, she was finally assisted by Sekolah Perempuan (Women’s School) to process her KTP (ID card), KK (family card), and JKN-PBI (National Health Insurance – Contribution Assistance Recipients) card,” stated Yusnaningsi and Indri in their article titled Women’s Leadership Participation from the Periphery to the Center: A Case Study of Sekolah Perempuan in Enhancing Women’s Role in Formulating Equitable Public Policy in Jurnal Perempuan.
Sekolah Perempuan, as referenced by Yusnaningsi and Indri, refers to training programs for women operating under the umbrella of Institut KAPAL Perempuan, an organization active since 2000 with a widespread presence across various regions. They elaborate that the impact of women’s poverty is inextricably linked to a myriad of other issues, particularly concerning the fulfillment of basic rights. These include low educational attainment for women, poor reproductive health, forced child marriages, limited decision-making power for women, and other systemic challenges.
How Have Policies for Women Fared in the First Year of the Prabowo-Gibran Administration?
On International Women’s Day, observed on March 8th, the issue of structural poverty disproportionately affecting women was once again amplified by the Indonesian Women’s Alliance (API). This powerful alliance comprises 93 women’s organizations, labor unions, human rights organizations, and pro-democracy grassroots women’s groups.
Under the theme ‘Women Unite Against the Destruction of the Body’ for 2026, they vociferously articulated women’s experiences of oppression resulting from exploitative government policies that perpetuate violence against women’s bodies. API also raised concerns about government policies that erode the vital connection between women and the environment.
These poignant critiques are grounded in the realities witnessed during the first year of the Prabowo-Gibran administration. At an event held at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, on Sunday (08/02), Mutiara Ika from Perempuan Mahardhika underscored that every individual inherently deserves freedom from poverty and access to an inclusive, non-discriminatory social protection system.
Andri Yeni from Solidaritas Perempuan further elaborated that in various political decisions, which are inseparable from social justice, meaningful participation of women in the policymaking process remains woefully inadequate. Consequently, the resulting policies often become elitist projects, failing to consider the needs of the grassroots. “To this day, the state neither champions its people nor specifically women,” Andri asserted.
Moreover, women bearing a dual burden are also confronted with meager wages, the erosion of their livelihoods, and an escalating load of reproductive labor that remains largely unrecognized and unprotected by the state. “Women bear the ecological burden, experiencing the loss of economic resources and dignity. The rejection of mining, for instance, is met with intimidation. This represents a state-sponsored effort to suppress women’s voices,” Andri emphasized.
Separately, the National Commission on Anti-Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) meticulously documented various challenges concerning women’s policies throughout the first year of the Prabowo-Gibran administration. Komnas Perempuan noted, among other issues, that women continue to face significant hurdles in accessing reproductive health services. This is starkly underscored by the handling of maternal mortality rates, with at least 4,151 recorded cases.
The commission also highlighted that the low levels of education and employment among women remain unresolved. They referenced data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) 2024, indicating that the poverty rate for women in Indonesia reached 9.1%, demonstrably higher than that for men.
Komnas Perempuan further observed that between October 20, 2024, and October 20, 2025, the Prabowo-Gibran administration issued approximately 100 policies, including laws, government regulations, and presidential regulations. However, only four of these policies specifically addressed women’s issues. These four policies are:
- PP No. 29/2025 concerning the Victim Aid Fund.
- PP No. 30/2025 concerning the Prevention of Sexual Violence (TPKS) and the Handling, Protection, and Recovery of TPKS Victims.
- Perpres No. 87/2025 concerning the roadmap for child protection in the online realm.
- Perpres No. 186/2024 concerning the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, specifically regarding referral services for women victims of violence.
Furthermore, a striking lack of political commitment is evident in the budgetary allocation for women’s issues. The ministerial budget for gender mainstreaming and services aimed at eliminating sexual violence, originally allocated Rp214.1 billion for the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, underwent efficiency cuts in 2025, reducing it to Rp153 billion.
Beyond fiscal matters, Komnas Perempuan assessed that the first year of the Prabowo-Gibran leadership has yet to provide guaranteed protection for the right to safety, as well as the rights to freedom of opinion and expression. The Komnas Perempuan year-end report for 2024 documented 95 cases of gender-based violence against women. Of these, 10 involved criminalization, and 7 concerned irregular procedures in designation/arrest/detention. Additionally, violence by law enforcement officials accounted for 53 cases, government officials for 14 cases, and public officials for 11 cases.
Even flagship government programs, such as Free Nutritious Meals, free health examinations, increased agricultural land productivity through village food barns, building excellent schools, cash assistance, social welfare card programs, and civil servant salary increases, do not adequately address the specific needs of women. This stands in stark contrast to the initial period of the Prabowo-Gibran administration, where addressing women’s human rights issues was touted as a paramount priority. This commitment encompassed the elimination of discrimination and gender-based violence, alongside the reduction of gender inequality.
These priorities were intended to be realized through targeted affirmative actions for women in welfare programs, poverty reduction, health services, and the management of conflicts, disasters, and climate crises that have long-lasting impacts on women’s lives.
How Did the Government Respond?
Kurnia Ramadhana, a Principal Expert at the Government Communication Agency, affirmed that the government values the feedback regarding women’s issues as an essential component of the democratic process. He stated that the government views dialogue with civil society organizations as a crucial platform to fortify policies, making them more attuned to women’s needs and ensuring that the protection of women and children is continuously strengthened.
“The momentum of International Women’s Day serves as a collective reminder that genuine sustainable development can only be forged when women are afforded equal opportunities, robust protection, and an equitable space to contribute to national development,” Kurnia remarked.
He further noted that the government is undertaking various adjustments in budget management to optimize public expenditure for greater efficacy and targeted impact. These adjustments are primarily aimed at reducing spending that does not directly benefit the community, such as excessive ceremonial activities, non-urgent official travel, and superfluous office supply purchases. Through this approach, the government endeavors to ensure that budgetary allocations can be more effectively focused on programs that deliver tangible benefits to society, including the strengthening of women’s protection and the expansion of economic and health access for women.
This report was also contributed by Arnold Welianto from Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara.
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Summary
Several individual stories, like Samsiah, a 63-year-old traditional salt maker, highlight women’s struggles with poverty, lack of social protection, and administrative hurdles in accessing aid after the loss of a spouse. Maria Goretti Te’a and Sukaesih further exemplify these challenges, where a lack of proper documentation prevents access to essential services and protection, including for victims of child marriage and domestic violence. These narratives underscore a systemic issue where vulnerable women face significant barriers to basic rights and welfare, often exacerbated by a lack of awareness and complex procedures.
On International Women’s Day, women’s organizations criticized the Prabowo-Gibran administration for a perceived lack of political commitment to women’s issues, citing inadequate participation in policymaking and policies that neglect grassroots needs. Komnas Perempuan highlighted persistent challenges such as high maternal mortality rates, low female education and employment, and significant budget cuts for gender-related programs. Despite initial promises, only four out of approximately 100 new policies specifically addressed women’s issues, and government programs reportedly fail to adequately meet women’s specific needs, alongside concerns about guaranteed safety and freedom of expression.