Widyati, Member of the Creative Mothers' Women Homeworker Union, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta

Abstract

Widyati's story is part of a peer-reviewed edited volume of women's life stories that draws on detailed ethnographic research of village women's lived experiences and how they, individually and collectively, have taken action to influence village development in Indonesia's multi-level governance structure under the new Village Law in Indonesia. The analysis identifies the processes of women's empowerment, their involvement in grassroots women's collective action, engagement with civil society organisations, and how women influence village institutions, policies, development spending and priorities, and new projects as well as social norms in communities.

Widyati is a homeworker and handicraft business owner in Bantul, Yogyakarta. Widyati is an active and recognised contributor to her local community. She manages the early childhood education centre, is a Posyandu cadre for the elderly, and a member of a working group for the village PKK. Widyati joined the Creative Mothers' Women Homeworker Union in 2016, and through its courses, supported by Yasanti, has developed her leadership capacities, self-belief, and business management skills. Widyati was chosen as a women's representative for the formulation of the village's Medium Term Development Plan and the 2020 Development Work Plan. The inclusion of the perspectives and needs of the union and women homeworkers in village meetings and development plans is one way in which Widyati has put her leadership into action.