USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S VOICE FOR LEUSER By: Cut Meurah Intan & Maria Serenade “My name is Lia Kamaliah. I’m 28 years old, and I live in Lawe Melang. I work as a housewife. But I also have side jobs such as helping out my hus- band with his business. Afterwards, I take care of my children. My husband goes to the mountain looking for gold. But he has not made any money. So, I help out. When we don’t have enough money, we think, ‘What are we going to do? There are only two co- conut shells of rice left.”1 While saying those words, her face expressed anguish while trying to force a smile. The interview was recorded by one the partic- ipants of a writing workshop for Women Who Care About Leuser (Pelatihan Perempuan Peduli Leuser), conducted by USAID LESTARI from Oc- “I realize that I have been mostly tober 2017 until March 2018. The participants silent. But I actually really want had just returned from Lawe Melang Village, Kluet Sub-district, South Aceh Regency. They par- to learn about Leuser. I hope took in a live-in program in the village as a part of the training. The activity was meant to allow I can be more active next time,” the participants to witness local environmental challenges before their eyes and build a better un- said Siska Aidarahmi, a partici- derstanding. pant from Southeast Aceh Lia’s story is not fiction. The interview revealed Regency. how Lia had to put forth tremendous efforts to 1This excerpt is taken from a video scene recorded by the participant of Women Who Care About Leuser (Pelatihan Perempuan Peduli Leuser) during a live-in activities in Lawe Melang Village, Central Kluet Dsitrict, South Aceh Regency. The live-in team consisted of 5 participant: Ayu, Riffa, Dian, Evi and Lia. USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD 1 make a living for her family after her husband good writer and journalist, make simple aware- became injured in a mining accident. Aside from ness-raising videos, and carry out a social media selling miso, she has now opened a small tailoring campaign. These lessons are expected to help wo- shop. As it turns out, Lia is not alone; many other men, including Lia, make their voices heard by the women share her struggles. Unfortunately, their wider public, especially local policymakers. stories tend not to be covered by the mainstream media, drowning in the vast ocean of news about In policymaking, women’s opinions are just as im- politics and crime. portant as men’s. The mandate to be gender- inclusive has been regulated in UUD 1945 Pasal The series of trainings for Women Who Care 28D ayat 1 as well as the The Convention on the About Leuser were held to address this problem. Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against The trainings were held in two different sessions. Women (CEDAW), which has been signed by The first one was held in Gayo Lues in Octo- Indonesia. Both documents emphasize that deve- ber 2017. The second one was held in Tapaktuan, lopment and public and political domains are also South Aceh in November 2017. In total, there owned by women. were 21 female participants. The trainings taught participants how to recognize and critically assess There is still a lot of work to do to empower wo- environmental challenges facing the Leuser Land- men to actively and meaningfully engage in envi- scape, put forward gender-sensitive analysis, be a ronmental issues in the Leuser Landscape. Vari- ous cultural and structural obstacles still limit wo- men’s access to knowledge and resources, disa- bling them from taking advantage of their full po- tential. Unsurprisingly, many women internalize these disempowering messages and feel unconfi- dent about themselves. For example, during the training, many women admitted feeling unconfi- dent about making a point. “I realize that I have been mostly silent. But I actually really want to learn about Leuser. I hope I can be more active next time,” said Siska Aidarahmi, a participant from Southeast Aceh Regency. Siska is not the only one struggling to be articu- late. The training is expected to be a transforma- tive experience for those women by cultivating a sense of similarity and solidarity amongst them. Connected by Leuser 1 Even though not everyone spoke up, they were all connected in two important ways. First, as in- habitants of Aceh, they share a connection to the Leuser Landscape. Second, they recognize the im- portance of the landscape’s forests and natural re- sources, and have a motivation to help conserve it for future generations. Dian Guci, a participant from Southwest Aceh Regency, was formally educated as a graphic desig- ner. But, her father used to take her to the woods when she was young. Her mother used to read her stories about the beauty of the surroun- ding environment. She discovered her interest in Leuser when she was reading a book entitled 2 Harimau! Harimau! (Tiger! Tiger!), written by Mochtar Lubis with the Sumatran jungle as its set- Photo: ting. Now, she works as a writer and translator. Participant participated in a series of training such as During a training session, she explained that she basic training in video production (photo1) and social was interested in conveying conservation messages media training (photo 2) through literary works. She then referred to Silent 2 USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD 1 Photo: 1. Participant interviewing Bapak Keuchik Kayee Aceh 2 of Kayee Aceh Village. 2. Creating a blog as one of the tools to voice environmental issues in Aceh. Spring, a book by Rachel Carson, which gave birth to the environmental movement in the U.S. “I feel confident in using my writing as a means to spread awareness of environmental issues in Leuser,” she said. Some others prefer blogging as a medium to pro- mote environmental issues. Irma Hafni, from Ban- da Aceh, was one of them. Ihan – as she was called – is a blogger and journalist in Banda Aceh. She is interested in the environment because she spent her childhood in South Aceh, one of the she said. Even though she was not very confident regencies within the Leuser Landscape. Forest in her writing abilities, Lia was committed to learn and river trekking are her hobbies since she was and be open to inputs during the training. young. She hoped that the training would shar- pen her analysis and improve her writing skills. Some other participants, like Marini Siregar, are She also encouraged fellow participants to write the staff of Gunung Leuser National Park. She essays and send them to her to be published and her friends participated in forest patrols in Le- by her media contacts. “If you have any essays on user National Park many times. By participating environmental conservation that you want to share, in the training, she hoped that she could under- please don’t be afraid to send them to me,” she stand forestry issues and its related policies bet- announced in front of the class. ter, and write about them more clearly to attract public attention. However, not everyone was already experienced in professional writing. Lia Fenida, a participant Indeed, the participants come from various back- from Gayo Lues, works as a private sector em- grounds. Some are members of community or- ployee. She started to gain interest in environ- ganizations, some are bloggers, some work in mental issues based on a personal experience. public offices, and some others are college stu- She once had to buy a three-week supply of bot- dents. The variety was necessary to trigger colla- tled water because the water piped to her house boration between various stakeholders, inclu- became muddy following heavy rains and up- ding NGOs, the press, youth organizations, cadres, stream deforestation. “This is ironic. Gayo Lues is well- and villages. The Women Who Care About Leu- known as a water source, but we had to buy water,” ser network aims to provide a platform for wo- men from various backgrounds to speak up about USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD 3 conservation issues in the Leuser Landscape. During the training, the participants of Women Who Care About Leuser expressed clear eager- ness in conserving the natural assets of Leuser Landscape. With improved capacities, the right access, and strong networking, we hope that wo- men will eventually be able to carry out effec- tive campaigns to enable broad-based awareness raising. 4 USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD.