Fighting Patriarchy with Solidarity: The Story of our Second FPAR training

By – Ananya K, Country Coordinator for India at Women’s Regional Network and FPAR Young Researcher

The Opposite of Patriarchy is Solidarity. It is only through solidarity that we can fight against all inequalities and injustices in this world.

Seven partners from six different countries in Asia-Pacific working towards strengthening migrant women’s collectives met up once again, this time in Indonesia to learn more about the Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) process.

The first FPAR training took place in October 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. For three months, young researchers, accompanied by their mentors, had been working to do their first round of community consultations and building their FPAR plans.

We came together in February 2023 to learn about the next steps of the FPAR and reflect on our collective journey.

Solidaritas Perempuan Sebay Lampung presenting during the training session

Art, skits, music and stories are the different tools we used to present our FPAR journey. We learnt about the various tools of FPAR data collection, analysis as we reconstructed our existing research ideas to mold them into participatory and inclusive models. Through intense assignments, presentations and learning sessions interrupted by adrenaline fuelled energizers, we mapped our possible next steps and action plans. We tried to understand each other’s work, country context and attempted to use those knowledge and strategies to improve our FPAR ideas.

APWLD team and FPAR partners walk towards Kabar Bumi in Cilacap.

Kabar Bumi members talk about their FPAR journey.

Kabar Bumi members perform a traditional Indonesian dance

And before we knew it, it was time for us to move out of the four walls of the conference room, to learn about FPAR from women who had lived through it. A six-hour bus ride led us to Cilacap. And in Cilacap we visited Kabar Bumi. The hot and humid February afternoon was spent listening to the experiences, challenges and ultimately the success story of the migrant women of Kabar Bumi who had struggled against document confiscation by recruitment agencies.

Although we all came from different countries and communities, this discussion revealed to us how the struggles of migrant women everywhere remained the same and how states, recruitment agencies employed similar methods and tactics to oppress and render vulnerable the migrant women community. We realized then, the value of international solidarity in fighting for the human rights of migrant workers.

Kabar Bumi members offered us guidance, courage and renewed energy, to take back to our own countries and communities. Friendships were built over snacks, music, poster-making, advocacy and a shared love for Shah Rukh Khan! After a short visit to the beach, we were back on our way to the hotel.

Members from Indonesia lead a dance performance as others join in

On the second to the last day, we presented our final FPAR research designs, incorporating the feedback and learnings we had received both at the training as well as during the community visit. The nerve-wracking presentation session of the morning paved the way for a jubilant celebration in the evening at Solidarity Dinner. We celebrated with music, dance, videos and messages of love and solidarity. APWLD members, partners from generations both old and new, came together in a joint feast over shared smiles and laughter.

APWLD Team and FPAR partners outside Yogyakarta Prison, after visiting Mary Jane

Perhaps the most heartwarming moment of the second training was our visit to Mary Jane Veloso which took place on the very last day of our training. Mary Jane is a Filipino woman migrant worker who was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 for unknowingly serving as a drug mule in Indonesia. While her execution order was halted, she has been in prison since 2010. Currently she is in Wonosari II B Women’s Prison in Yogyakarta, where we met her.

For people who ask, what is the most valuable thing in this world, I found my answer that day. It was the connection, love and warmth shared between people.

We thought we were going to offer Mary Jane support, love and courage, but we found ourselves awestruck by the courage, strength and hope she exuded. We shared tears, hugs and laughter. With tightly held hands, we exchanged assurances and renewed our vows to continue working for the rights of migrant women. Our social and judicial systems are designed in ways to disadvantage the weak and marginalized, but it is our job to change that system. We tried to make sure that the memories of that day stayed with us. In the absence of photographs, we took batik items, made by Mary Jane, as a tangible memory relic of that warm and sultry afternoon spent in the Jogja prison. And we returned with a promise in our hearts of working together to ensure she gets justice and reunites with her family.

We were strangers when we met for the first time in Chiang Mai. We came together as friends in Yogyakarta and we went back feeling like a family. What I have taken back with me, beyond the FPAR learnings, are the kindness, love, compassion I received from each and everyone I met during this training. Our work isn’t easy. Our path is dotted with roadblocks. But it is these friendships we build, the warmth we share beyond the man-made boundaries of international borders, cultural and linguistic differences, that help us continue on this path with courage. And I hope I will be able to take this courage forward throughout my FPAR journey. I look forward to meeting everyone again in the third training session!