Vissia Ita Yulianto, Freiburg, Germa – The question is at least raised by Gadis Arivia, founder of the Indonesian Women Journal, and Dr.

Nurfika Osman & Ismira Lutfia – If Indonesia were to be graded on its efforts to empower women and uphold their rights, it would score poorly, according to activists and academics.

Nurfika Osman – Eastern Indonesia marked Kartini Day on Wednesday with the appointment of its first female military sub-district commander.

Jakarta – "We are sure that a civilization of a nation will not grow as long as the women are not involved in the development.

Mahbub Djunaidy, Jember – The number of cases of violence against women in Indonesia keeps on increasing this year.

Jakarta – An upcoming amendment of the 2008 Political Party Law must require political parties to fill a 30 percent female quota for their top legislator positions so that women can eff

Jakarta – The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) launched its website, iknowpolitics.org, in Indonesia on Thursday to provide a forum for women to lea

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The law on blasphemy tramples on the rights of women, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) testified Friday in the judi

Jakarta – Activists seized the International Women's Day on Monday to voice Indonesian women's vulnerability to violence, which they say extends further than domestic abuse.

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – At 24, Horas Simandjuntak never expected she would have to raise her two daughters alone.

Jakarta – The number of recorded victims of violence against women has skyrocketed from around 54,000 in to 2008 to over 154,000 last year, data from the National Commission on Violence

Sara Everingham, Dili – Celebrations for International Women's Day have begun early in East Timor.

Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Jakarta – The percentage of female legislators at the parliament has reached its highest level in history, but many parties, particularly women's rights activis

The upcoming bylaws that discriminate against women and limit their freedom are mostly copies of existing bylaws of similar nature, Masruchah, from the National Commission on Violence a

Sukmawati, Makassar – The South Sulawesi Moslem Women for Islamic Shariah Enactment Corps has asked that women be involved in formulating Islamic Shariah local ordinances (Perda).

Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Jakarta – A group of NGOs have lambasted the government for failing to give women more of a voice in politics despite the ratification of the UN's anti-discrimi

Nurfika Osman – A new law on gender equality currently being drafted is expected to serve as a legal reference to ensure that all government policies are gender sensitive, State Ministe

Despite prevailing laws on women rights, law experts see discrimination against women as rampant.

The current legal system may cause women's attempts to sue those who commit violence against them to backfire, turning victims into criminals, activists said Wednesday.

Anita Rachman – Family courts must be set up in Indonesia to strengthen legal protection measures for women suffering domestic abuse or simply embroiled in domestic problems, according

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Rape has topped the highest number of cases of violence against women in Central Java, director of the Semarang Legal Resources Center for Gender Justice and Huma

Ismira Lutfia – Shame, poverty and distance hamper a mother's relationship with her children when she is in prison, a study has found.

Jakarta – Lita (not her real name), 26, never imagined she would be forced to remove her clothes in a locked hotel room to serve a high-paying customer shortly after her arrival in Kuch

Nurfika Osman – Despite the introduction of new legislation eight years ago, working mothers still face barriers in attempting to juggle the pressures of work and the challenges of rais

Umi Kulsum and Ignatius Kristanto – Two months have passed, but like an engine, they have also yet to "warm up".

Karishma Vaswani, Jakarta – It is a scene of peaceful serenity. Rows of men kneel in deep prayer inside a large hall on the outskirts of Jakarta.

The year 2009 marks the 11th anniversary of the creation of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, which was established by former president B.J.

Nurfika Osman – Women and their families in Papua are continuing to be forced out of their homes when their land is cleared for mining purposes and the government does nothing to stop t

Nurfika Osman – In an effort to boost the country's campaign against abuse of women, a women's rights watchdog is set to release a compilation of reports on violence against women over

Nurfika Osman – Anew book by the National Commission on Violence Against Women should be used as a tool by judges, prosecutors and police in dealing with women's issues, a Supreme Court

Eras Poke – Cases of women being abused in East Nusa Tenggara continued to rise, the head of the province's women's empowerment bureau said on Monday.

Nurfika Osman – Linda Amalia Sari, state minister for women's empowerment and child protection, acknowledged on Monday that the Law on Marriage and nuptials under Islamic law discrimina

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Pro-polygamy groups are now not only facing protest from angry housewives and women's rights activists; a new group of men calling themselves the Men's

Anita Rachman – A number of men have formed a group to counter the controversial launch of a local branch of a Malaysia-based "polygamy club" in Bandung.

Nurfika Osman – The government's lack of political will was part of the reason why women did not have the same access as men to quality education, health services and economic and polit

Women trail men in economic and political power, but the Nordic countries come closest to closing the gender gap, according to a World Economic Forum survey.

Nurfika Osman – The State Ministry for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection has successfully pushed seven ministries to implement a gender-responsive budget system, a tool to achiev

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Wives and women's rights activists have raised concerns over the recent formation of the Global Ikhwan polygamy club in Bandung, West Java, condemning it for

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to pick more women to sit in his next Cabinet to promote gender equality, say women activists.

Bandung – About 150 guests from throughout the nation attended the launch of the Indonesian branch of a controversial international polygamy club during an upscale get together here on

Nurfika Osman – Women activists on Friday criticized Democratic Party's deputy chairman Achmad Mubarok for suggesting that women were not ready to take up strategic ministries in the ne

Jakarta – While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised a more prominent role for women in his next Cabinet, one of his aides says it is still too early for women to hold more s

Jakarta – With the next House of Representatives set to see even more female legislators, hopes are being raised that they can perform much better than their male counterparts and impro

Pandaya, Dili – Anyone looking for a model for the promotion of gender equality should look to Timor Leste.

Sam King – The National Network for Women's Liberation (Jaringan Nasional Perempuan Mahardika – JNPM) is an Indonesian women's liberation organisation consisting of local women's commi

Ismira Lutfia – Women's rights activists have complained they are frequently subject to intimidation and harassment for counseling the victims of physical and sexual abuse.

Niken Prathivi, Nusa Dua – It takes women to make other women talk, to share and discuss their toughest experiences in the hope of eventually solving their common problems.

Max Lane – The first major political incident after the July 8 Indonesian presidential election were two co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks on Jakarta's Marriot and Ritz Carlton luxury h

Nurfika Osman – The number of women in the country who reported experiencing physical and sexual abuse in 2008 was double that of the year before as more and more women became aware of