The stigmatisation of widows and divorcees (janda) in Indonesia, and the possibilities for agency

Negotiating cultural constraints: strategic decision-making by widows and divorcees (janda) in contemporary Bali

“…This concern may necessitate maintaining strained personal relationships with a former partner or his extended family over many years. Stigmatisation and perceptions of sexual availability and promiscuity may mean that Balinese janda also face similar burdens to those reported in the case studies from across the archipelago documented elsewhere in this special issue (Mahy et al 2016;Parker et al 2016). Women who are widowed or divorced may also have to negotiate complex caste boundaries that may be transgressed when new relationships are formed and experience difficulties in meeting their religious and social obligations.…”

“…Her savings have allowed her to retire from active work and now provide her with the time for leisure and rest. Like the Muslim janda from West Java who participate in pengajian religious gatherings discussed in Parker et al (2016), Musti has employed the strategy of performing piety as a way of gaining respectability and distancing herself from her janda past. Not only has she been reintegrated into her first husband's kin group but she has also become a respected member of her community who has immersed herself in the study of moral and religious values.…”

“…Our analysis, follows the frames of reference utilised by Parker et al (2016) and draws on Bourdieu's concept of different forms of capital (1977; 1986) to demonstrate how Balinese janda are able to exercise agency by mobilising support from their families and communities in ways that allow them to accumulate, expend and negotiate the various forms of capital -economic, social, cultural and symbolic. We extend the concept of 'symbolic capital' still further in the Balinese context to indicate not simply 'respectability of janda' but to denote the reintegration of janda into the Balinese adat community, a core social and religious relationship that the end of a marriage may have fractured.…”

Masculine Domination: Gender Construction in Indonesian Folk Literature

“…Until now, the forms of male superiors in various spheres of life in Indonesia are still widely seen [27], [28]. These forms of superiority are always perceived as natural.…”

Perpetuating Stigma Representation of Widows and Divorcees (Janda) in Indonesian Popular Media

“…Furthermore Parker, et al (2016) describe that janda is a person who is disadvantaged, frequently poor and a single parent, and discriminated against. They are also subject to suspicion and accusations of moral turpitude (Parker, et al, 2016). Men tend to presume janda are weak and lonely women who can be seduced or simply utilised to satisfy their libido (Zulminarni, 2004).…”