This project is part of Canada’s Women’s Voice and Leadership Program, which supports local and regional women’s organizations and networks that are working to promote women’s rights, and advance women’s empowerment and gender equality in developing countries. This is done by supporting activities, building institutional capacity, and promoting network and alliance-building as women’s rights and feminist organizations are critical agents of change. The Program also responds to the globally recognized, significant gap in funding and support to women’s rights organizations and movements around the world. This project is being implemented by the Dutch international non-governmental organization, Hivos. Hivos’ Southeast Asia office (Hivos SEA) is working in partnership with Just Associates Southeast Asia (JASS SEA) to directly fund five national Indonesian women’s rights organizations (WROs) focused on inclusive religious discourse to ensure space for women’s social, political and legal rights. In turn, these five WROs are working through and across their memberships to support at least 69 local WROs in 58 districts of at least seven provinces across Java, and in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved management and sustainability of local women’s rights organizations in Indonesia representing vulnerable or marginalized women and girls; (2) enhanced performance of women’s rights organizations’ programming and advocacy to advance gender equality and empower women and girls in Indonesia; and (3) increased effectiveness of national and sub-national women’s rights platforms, networks and alliances in advocating for gender equality and addressing discriminatory beliefs and harmful practices to affect policy, legal and social change in Indonesia.