The Sonorous Voices of Kartini Kendeng

I have been caught up with Kendeng agriculture dispute lately. I have watched, read, researched about  the situation and the struggles of Kendeng farmers . The conflict between Kendeng Farmers and the construction process of cement industry in Kendeng, create a huge mass mobilization to overthrow the industry and preserve the land for agriculture. Kendeng farmers and the people values the prosperity of their land, which has been used for agricultural purposes since their ancestors lived.

I see this movement as an engaging experience, that reminds me of the people who suffers the most from one sided decisions.Throughout their long journey since 2014, I would like to highlight one thing that captivated me the most. It is the existence of Kartini Kendeng that brings a triumphant joy for the movement and national attention to  Kendeng dispute. Who is Kartini Kendeng? They are nine brave women from Rembang, Pati and Grobogan who use their voices to push the government to take actions in Kendeng dispute. They became the symbol of resistance to the cement Industry in Kendeng and it is really amazing to see what they have done to gain government and people attention for this issue. They took unconventional ways to tell other people about their struggles, one of the bravest action is  cementing their feet as a symbol of how cement industry will restrain and them as a farmers. The action was bold, they waited hours under the heating rays of sun, in front of The Presidential Palace with hope to meet the president and address this issues directly. These nine women are very brave, they use Kartini Kendeng as their identity because they value the strong willed and hard work of Raden Ajeng Kartini fights to get Indonesian women’s right on education in 1903. Inspired from Raden Ajeng Kartini’s, Kartini Kendeng try to implement the values into their movements, which I think it became their soul and hope for Kendeng’s future.

Kartini Kendeng really shows me the value of perseverance, they show me that as a women it is important to believe in myself. Kartini Kendeng reveals the struggle of standing up for what is right and be brave about it. Thus, this movement is not only about them trying to oppose the government decision of letting the cement industry construction proceed, but it is about women involvement in democracy, women making changes, and women as a leader. Kartini Kendeng is a revolutionary movement for women, where they use their voices to express the urgency of Kendeng situation. It is a  sonorous voice that fill up the sky with women’s determination and passion. They fight for what they love and what they believe in. The essence of a woman that I want to be, I could see it from Kartini Kendeng. Indonesian women should all learn from Kartini Kendeng where they represent themselves as a highly intellectual women with persistence as strong as men. They tore down social construction about how women should acted in society, they bring down the walls of gender stereotype of how women should not raise their voices. They are living proof that women do matter and women can change the world.

This add up one more badass Indonesian women to my list. I will always remember Kartini Kendeng  as the sonorous voice of Indonesian women movements!

Stay Awesome, Be riot!        

Love,                      

This post was written in April 2017, and since then Kartini Kendeng movement is still going strong. Sadly, up to this day,  the people in Kendeng are still being intimidated, both verbally and physically, by the miners and factories. In the midst of Kartini's Day celebration, we cannot forget the struggle and battle that the people in Kendeng have to face daily to safe their land.

This writing is a reminder of their struggle and an alarm to all of you, that our fight is not over. Kartini Kendeng are still fighting, and so are we.