Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – At 24, Horas Simandjuntak never expected she would have to raise her two daughters alone. She, however, had no choice when her husband died of post-flood disease leptospirosis in 1985.
"I was sad and confused at the time, especially as my daughters were only four and two years old," the Kebayoran Lama resident told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Pushing away fear and anxiety, Horas decided to open a small kiosk in Depok bus terminal. She started her business by selling children's clothes before switching to fresh fruits a few years later.
Through perseverence, Horas, who has chosen to remain unmarried, has been able to put her two daughters through university. Last year, after her first daughter secured a job at a cosmetic company, Horas closed her kiosk and focused on selling bottled drinks to the terminal users.
"I can relax a bit more since I can choose what time I should come and leave the bus terminal" said Horas, who makes at least Rp 30,000 (US$3.24) in profits daily.
Weni, 47, an owner of a cigarette and beverage temporary kiosk in Palmerah, West Jakarta, had similar story. Since her husband's salary as a primary school's security guard was insufficient to support the family, the mother of five had to run a business to help pay the bills.
"Thirty years ago, just a week after my wedding day, I opened a canteen at the primary school where my husband worked," she said. "I have also sold other merchandise, like toys and fresh drinks during Ramadan or school's stationery prior to the beginning of a new school semester."
For the past few years, she had been able to earn almost double her husband's salary, she added. The situation has triggered a feud between the couple, as their children apparently respect their mother more than their father.
"Previously, my husband only shared Rp 200,000 of his monthly salary," Weni said. "But now he forces me to lend him my money to buy cigarettes or good food and would be angry if I didn't give it to him."
The 2007 National Economics Census (Susenas) shows there were around 6 million households, or 13.6 percent of the total number of households in the country, in which a woman was the main breadwinner.
The Empowerment of Female Heads of Households Program (Pekka) NGO estimated the number had increased by an average of 0.1 percent each year since 2001.
Although it is common to see more women working to support their family, it is still difficult for them to gain respect from the community for their role as the widely accepted social values strongly address men as a leader in the family.
The phenomenon, according to head of the University of Indonesia's Women's Studies Program Kristi Purwandari, has inevitably become a burden for women because at they were still forced to handle all the domestic work in order to be a "good wife".
Kristi urged wives to ignore such social boundaries and ask their husband to share economic roles with them.
"A working woman should not only see herself as having more bargaining power in the family," she said. "She should also see herself as being able to deal with unexpected situations, like divorce or the death of their husband."