Fearless Speech in Indonesian Women’s Writing: Working-Class Feminism from the Global South by Jafar Suryomenggolo (review)

Reviewed by: Fearless Speech in Indonesian Women's Writing: Working-Class Feminism from the Global South by Jafar Suryomenggolo Grace V. S. Chin (bio) Jafar Suryomenggolo. Fearless Speech in Indonesian Women's Writing: Working-Class Feminism from the Global South. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021. 251 pp. The writings, narratives, and voices of subaltern women, especially those belonging to the working class, have long been ignored by mainstream literary culture. More often than not, it is women with an educated upper- or middle-class background who have easier access to the literary world and are thus better positioned to produce and publish writings that form a vital part of the mainstream culture. History has many examples. Kartini, whose letters championed women's rights in colonial Java, was from the priyayi (native ruling administrative) class, while famous contemporary writers like Ayu Utami, Dewi Lestari, and Leila Chudori, among others, are young, urbanized, and middle-class women. Where then are the voices and writings of working-class women? Jafar Suryomenggolo's Fearless Speech in Indonesian Women's Writing: Working-Class Feminism from the Global South (henceforth Fearless Speech) redresses this troubling gap by examining the little-known writings of underprivileged working-class women from the late 1980s till the 2010s, a time when the Indonesian economy and society were transformed by the forces of modernization, industrialization, democratization, late-capitalism, and neoliberal globalization. As this period also saw the rapid feminization of Indonesia's workforce, it is particularly relevant for the analysis of women's participation in the Indonesian economy. A timely and crucial contribution that builds on the intersections of literary and gender studies in Indonesia, Fearless Speech is a worthy addition to the field advanced by notable scholars like Kathryn Robinson, Susan Blackburn, Elizabeth Martyn, and Saskia Wieringa, among others, who have provided key insights into women's involvement in labor and feminist movements and organizations as well as the fight for rights, equality, and improved working conditions in the post-independence era. A vital documentation of women laborers' changing identities and roles within the context of Indonesia's socioeconomic and political developments, these writings—which heretofore have been under-researched—are not only an invaluable part of the tradition of female expression in Indonesia, but they also constitute a significant form of literary intervention and activism. Using a feminist lens and approach, the book analyzes a range of local and transnational writings, both nonfiction and fiction: the former consists of legal documents, personal testimonials, essays, and journals by female activists and laborers, while the latter comprises short stories by domestic helpers based in Hong Kong. Divided into six chapters that are organized under three thematic sections respectively titled "Defying Authoritarian Rule," "Negotiating Neoliberalism," and "Liberating Self," the book broadly sketches out in chronological order—from the 1980s to 2010s—the challenges and issues faced by women in their struggle for better working conditions, equitable treatment, and social justice. [End Page 89] The first section examines the writings of two forgotten women who fought for social justice from the 1980s–90s, when Indonesia was in the authoritarian grip of the New Order government: Chapter one spotlights Ida Irianti, a local union leader, who wrote her defense speech (pembelaan) after being arrested for union activism in the late 1980s; and chapter two focuses on Meppy Doryati Emping, who wrote her personal and traumatizing account of being kidnapped and detained by the military for her role in union activism in 1992. The second section moves to gender-related trials and tribulations brought about by industrialization and neoliberal capitalism from the late 1990s to the 2000s: chapter three analyzes the short essays published in union newsletters by women unionists who fought against sexual harassment in the workplace; and chapter four delves into the private letter of a single mother and widow who wrote to her son about her difficult experiences as a temporary factory worker trying to obtain the right to maternity protection. The final section elucidates on the experiences of domestic helpers in Hong Kong in the millennium by considering both fiction and nonfiction works: chapter five explores the journal writings (catatan) of two women, namely Rini Widyawati's Catatan Harian Seorang Pramuwisma...