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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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 – 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

Jakarta – Domestic violence cases of the rich and famous have made the front page recently, with cases like that of Manohara, the model-turned-Malaysian-princess who was allegedly assau

Jakarta – West Jakarta Police say the number of domestic violence cases in the municipality during this year's first semester shows an increase compared to the same period last year.

Nurfika Osman – The increase in the number of women in the House of Representatives for the 2009-14 term to 17.68 percent of all lawmakers does not guarantee that the rights of women wi

Nurfika Osman – Activists for women's rights intend to hit each presidential candidate with a list of demands related to gender discrimination with the expectation that these demands wi

Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – A legal aid institution advocating the protection of women and children called Thursday for public institutions to pay closer attention to domestic abuse vio

Anita Rachman& Farouk Arnaz – Victims of domestic violence do not just come from less educated families, a prominent legal aid agency said on Thursday, pointing out that wives of go

Jakarta – The House of Representatives welcomes a record number of 102 female legislators for the 2009-2014 period, or around 18 percent of the total seats.

Jakarta – Having secured seats in the House, winning women candidates from Jakarta's electoral districts say female legislators should also focus on issues other than gender.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – More than 50 female journalists forged the Semarang Female Journalists Coalition on Wednesday, to focus on gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Women should be more actively involved in politics and should utilize their right to vote in July's presidential election, the state minister for women's empo

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Suherdjoko, Bandung, Semarang – Unsupportive regulations and culture have not prevented the increasing representation of women in local legislative councils, electi

Jakarta – State Minister of Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta called on women to actively encourage their neighbors to register with the polling body Friday in an initiative to improve p

Jakarta – Women's Empowerment Minister Meutia Hatta says Kartini was a heroine and rejects criticism that she did little to fight for her own rights.

Jakarta – Women legislative candidates added life to the Kartini Day celebrations in West Kalimantan on Tuesday with a possible unprecedented clean sweep of Regional Representative Coun

Suherdjoko and Slamet Susanto, Semarang, Yogya – More than 30 female journalists in Semarang, with the support of Central Java Deputy Governor Rustriningsih, declared Tuesday their oppo

Nurfika Osman – The National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas Perempuan, commemorated Kartini Day on Tuesday by presenting awards to three women who have struggled to ove

Titania Veda – Despite the institute of marriage being the norm in Indonesian society, an increasing number of households are headed by women, both in urban and rural settings.

Roswita Nimpuno Khaiyath – Today is Hari Kartini, or Kartini Day, a national holiday proclaimed by the late President Sukarno in 1964 in recognition of Raden Ajeng Kartini for establish

Jakarta – Although they might not be about "grand narratives" or "bombastic issues", women do have stories to tell.

Luh De Suryani and Niken Prathivi, Denpasar – The Bali Women's Political Movement coalition will file a report on alleged election fraud targeting female candidates to the Bali Election

Adianto P.

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Nationalist-oriented parties tend to turn a blind eye to polygamy as a women's group found in a recent study showing they endorsed legislative candidates who publ

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Certain circles in Aceh have remained pessimistic that female politicians contending in the legislative election have the capacity to improve the life of