Pembungkaman Sistemik - Aktivisme, Ingatan, dan Kekerasan Seksual di Indonesia

by Katharine E. McGregor, Ninus D. Andarnuswari (Translator)

Sejarawan Kate McGregor melacak perjalanan aktivisme kasus-kasus kekerasan seksual di Indonesia dengan berfokus pada para perempuan yang dipaksa menjadi “wanita penghibur” pada zaman Jepang 1940-an. Ketika aktivisme transnasional mengenai kasus ini membuahkan gerakan-gerakan dan tuntutan besar di Korea Selatan, Filipina, dan Jepang sendiri, hal yang sama belum dialami para penyintas di Indonesia. Dengan riset komprehensif dan ketekunan meneliti arsip, McGregor menguak bahwa lamanya kebungkaman seputar pengalaman para perempuan ini dapat dibaca sebagai gejala dari penyikapan yang lebih luas terhadap pelanggaran hak asasi manusia di Indonesia itu sendiri.

Genres: History

397 pages, Paperback

Published July 22, 2026

Reviews

[Anitha Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The book, which is organized chronologically, presents several aspects of silencing. These include the historical facts of captivity and force that subjugated individuals within the ianjo system; the moral systems that produced both stigma of, and shame in, those coerced into it; the social expectations of victimhood and economies of recognition; the political repression during the New Order regime; linguistic barriers; and the choice of survivors to remain silent."

"Alongside archival reports and eyewitness accounts, Kate McGregor includes novels, interviews, email correspondence, and numerous articles from Indonesian magazines and newspapers. While many of these sources have not yet been considered relevant in most political or economic histories of Indonesia, feminist historians are more used to venturing beyond the ‘traditional’ archive. She decided not to directly interview women about their wartime experiences. She limits her interviews to those women who had chosen to become survivor activists and had already shared their stories publicly, focusing on their activist work rather than their trauma."

"She has expanded the study of empire and gender in Indonesia beyond Dutch colonialism."

"By interconnecting the history of gendered activism in Indonesia with Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines, the particularities of the Indonesian case are highlighted. While histories of Indonesia generally use a national framework, here we see very clearly how connected Indonesian gender histories are to those of the wider Asian region."

"Systemic silencing covers many aspects of silencing, including in archival sources, historiography, media framing, and activist circles, as well as by the many women who chose to remain silent due to the stigma surrounding their experience and the fear of consequences, not only for themselves but also for their families."

(Debate on Systemic silencing, Activism, memory and sexual violence in Indonesia, by Katharine E. McGregor, with Riley Linebaugh, Kirsten Kamphuis, Griselda Molemans, and Katharine E. McGregor)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-1820...

[Vannessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traces the transnational campaign for the rights of women who were subjected to Japanese military sexual slavery in the Second World War in Asia.