ver the past few decades, women have made remarkable progress in breaking free from the constraints of a patriarchal culture that has dominated the world for centuries. While gender inequality became a critical issue in many countries, including Indonesia, it remained largely overlooked in the country’s political discourse.
This changed dramatically in 1999 when the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) won 34 percent of the legislative vote, securing the most seats in the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR). Its leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was poised to become the next president. Suddenly, “gender” became a hot topic, sparking discussions across all levels of society.
The rise of Megawati is a remarkable story. Despite facing public scorn, defamation and victimization, she persisted silently until she ultimately overcame the fierce opposition to a woman leading the nation. Defying expectations, she became Indonesia’s first female president.
The journey of Indonesian women artists mirrors Megawati’s path. Despite facing discrimination from curators and art historians, they remained silent, as was expected of women in a traditional context.
Consider the Kesenian Indonesia di Amerika Serikat (Indonesian Art in the US) event in 1990-1992, which included only four women out of 60 artists. The 1993 Exhibition of Modern Indonesian Art in Amsterdam featured 22 participants but excluded women entirely. The Indonesian Fine Arts Foundation’s Art Bourse in May 1997, however, made a modest effort by selecting 10 women out of 82 participants.
Yet, the Bonhams Glerum auction in Singapore (December 1997) featured only four women out of 117 participants. Even the 1997 Modernities and Memories traveling exhibition, despite having two female curators focusing on Islamic world art, did not include a single woman from Indonesia, unlike Turkey and Pakistan.
Read also: Old sound, new nationThis raises the question: were the Indonesian female curators powerless, or did they simply yield to their male colleagues?
