Ecofeminist Resistance in the Margins: Women’s Environmental Struggles in Contemporary Indonesia

The issue of environmental degradation in Indonesia is increasing along with the expansion of extractive industries that destroy the living space of local communities. The impact of this damage is most strongly felt by women in marginalized areas who depend directly on land, forests and the sea for their survival. This article aims to analyze the forms of ecological resistance carried out by women in five marginalized areas of Indonesia, namely Kendeng, Kodingareng, Mollo, Lake Toba, and Sengah Temila, in the face of extractive industry expansion and environmental crisis. This article will compare women’s resistance strategies in these five locations rooted in local knowledge, spirituality, and community solidarity, and assess their contribution to social-ecological transformation. This article employs an ecofeminist framework alongside a qualitative desk-based research methodology to investigate the intricate relationship among women’s corporeal experiences, their habitats, and the natural environment, both in a symbolic and practical context, in the ongoing fight against ecological inequity. The findings indicate that various forms of resistance, including weaving practices, engaging in forest stewardship, delineating customary territories, and establishing community organizations, represent tangible manifestations of ecofeminism that serve to enhance women’s political agency. These findings substantiate the assertion that the women’s movement in marginalized regions not only contests the patriarchal and capitalist structures that pervade the developmental paradigm in Indonesia but also proposes an alternative developmental model that is both ecologically equitable and gender-inclusive.