When we talk about women, we talk about their existence and struggles. When the representation of women's voices is minimum or even non-existent, it tends to be considered normal, and nothing matters. If women continue to be silent then nothing will change, therefore women must speak up and put off all fears to tell their stories and experiences.
As revealed by some participants in the women’s group Kawara Panamung woven cloth in the village of Tanatuku, various problems happen in their household, covering domestic violence, the denial of existence as a wife or family member, or excluded to involve in decision making. So what have they been doing all this time? Silence is their choice for the sake of retaining the problem and avoiding violence.
Such phenomenas must be fought for, women need to speak up and express what they feel to get equal rights. The existence of this women's group may become a place for them to share. For this reason, even in the middle of the weaving process, the multiplicator of the Stube-HEMAT through women empowerment program invited the women group to take time to share their stories, continue discussing the contents of the book by Rachmi Larasati and Ratna Noviani entitled Crossing the Differences of Women's Voices, Agencies, and Politics of Solidarity (16/10/2021). This book focuses on the ideas of women thinkers where women can freely share their experiences and thoughts, and the spectrum of women's thoughts on social, cultural, economic, and political problems that tend to be less heard, less well known, and also poorly understood for their positionality in the cartography of academic thought.
The first topics discussed consumerism, true prosperity, and sustainable lifestyles by Juliet B. Schor, a critical female thinker from the United States who is concerned with the impact of consumer behavior, social inequality, and gender inequality. The thing as a most debated topic by participants was to differentiate between what was a need and what was a want. Like most people, buying something is not just buying its function but also consuming a sign as a social differentiator that leads to a symbol of success. Some say that they buy something just because their neighbors have it so they buy it too. Some say that they are tempted to buy even though it is not what is needed. Juliet B. Schor reveals that the over-consumption act is the source of waste, debt, alienation of commodities, and so on.
The multiplicator shared several practical steps from Juliet B. Schor to the participants to open their mindset, insight, and understanding, namely the right to a decent standard of living, understanding the difference between needs and wants, prioritizing quality of life than the number of goods. From that explanation, all participants learned to change their consumptive behaviors. At the next meeting, they will get new enlightenment on other topics and will learn more about how to fight for their rights as women.***