Indonesian Women: The journey continues

by Oey-Gardiner, Mayling & Bianpoen, Carla (2000), xi+336pp, ISBN 0 64639 230 1.
AUD$20.00 (Including GST: AUD$22) (softcover)

Indonesian Women: The Journey Continues is a book about Indonesian women written (with one exception) by Indonesian women. Through a series of provocative and unflinching essays it provides a perspective on the concerns and aspirations of Indonesian women in a wide variety of social, cultural, religious, economic and organizational contexts. It carries their struggle through the repressive years of the Suharto regime and into the recent period of crisis and rapid political adjustment.

Above all, it is a book about continuity and change in the roles women play in society, and how women have and continue to fare in what remains essentially a man's world. It deals with both success and failure. While seeking to accurately reflect continuing issues and concerns through the voice of women, it also seeks to express their aspirations and hopes for the future. It is an Indonesian story, but it evokes themes of much more universal relevance and importance. It is for this reason that it is being brought out now, through this English translation, to a wider audience.

Indonesian Women: The Journey Continues is an English version of a work, titled Perempuan Indonesia: Dulu dan Kini edited by Mayling Oey-Gardiner, Mildred Wageman, Evelyn Suleeman and Sulastri. It was originally published in Indonesian in 1996 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama/Jakarta to mark the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.