Hera Diani, Jakarta – The landmark year 1998, with the bloody May riots, the mass rape of Chinese-Indonesian women and the fall of the Soeharto regime after 32 years of authoritarian rule, was a tumultuous turning point for social movements in the country.

Included among them were women's rights groups, with outrage at the rapes triggering a renewed sense of activism. Issues of violence against women and women's political rights came to the fore.

In hindsight, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) Kamala Chandrakirana says many non-governmental organizations were thrust into a confusing state of unprecedented change after many years of repression.

"NGOs had been around for over two decades by then, but they were not used to organizing big scale activities. And then suddenly everyone could voice their rights independently. NGOs then had to redefine their identity," she said Wednesday.

The organizations also faced internal issues, she added, suddenly having to learn to be democratic within themselves.

Eight years on, Kamala said the women's movement was still dealing with confusion and "disorientation", like the rest of the country in the haphazard transition to democracy.

"Democratization is an ongoing affair. But I see a lot of improvement within women's activism, such as the accountability system has started to be established, and the issue of conflict of interest and ethics also have been addressed," she said.

"But it has to be appreciated that the movement has been vibrant and growing. There are multiple faces of the women's movement emerging, not just antiviolence and political rights. There is the whole new, young generation coming up. We have reason to be confident it is happening." Milestone have been achieved, she said, such as several laws, including one on domestic violence, supportive of women's rights.

However, Adriana Venny of Jurnal Perempuan (Women's Journal) said that despite the strong network of the women activists in the country, there was still much that needed to be done for women's equality.

"It's good that we have affirmative action as well as the law on domestic violence. But there are many things we don't have, such as laws on sexual harassment, witness protection and many others."

Activist and legislator Nursyahbani Katjasungkana of the Nation Awakening Party is concerned the women's movement is divided instead of integrated, and seems to be working from project to project instead of along a long-term, goal-oriented plan.

She also feared the struggle for women's political representation appeared to have fallen by the wayside after the 2004 general election.

"Yet the activists need to fight more for political rights, so that there many women in the legislative body who, of course, 'understand' women's rights. It's time for the women's movement to unite and find the 'common enemy'."

Many activists agree the clearest example of the latter is growing religious radicalization, which, as Kamala believes, wants to impose a monolithic idea of Indonesian women in society.

In recent months, there has been a concerted push for the passage of the pornography bill by religious hardliners, as well as the enactment of a number of bylaws that single out women for punishment, including on how they dress in public, interaction with the opposition sex, even to imposing limits on what time they can be in public places.

"The pornography bill is not about pornography at all, it attacks women's identity. This is such a big challenge. It is not only a problem for women, but through their (radical groups) efforts to control identity of women, they also redefine the nation. Yet we are a diverse nation," Kamala said.

In meeting the challenge, Venny said women's groups were divided on "sensitive" issues like pornography, abortion and lesbianism. "Whereas we have to be critical when we see the issue of morality," she said.

Kamala said women activists must make the country's diversity a focus of their stance in facing the challenge of the groups, and uphold the Constitution providing rights for all. "The battle is now in the regions where the bylaws emerged," she said.

Muslim scholar and women's movement observer Nazaruddin Umar said the activists must use the same language in taking on the hardline groups extolling persuasive moral arguments.

"They have to use religious language to show that every religion is in fact fair to women. Work together with the ulemas on this issue. The family planning program was a failure until it involved ulema in the campaign," said the professor of Islamic studies at the Islamic State University.

The State Ministry for Women's Empowerment also has to do more for women's rights, she added. "It is good that we have such a ministry, but so far, it doesn't function well. It has to improve its performance."