In the coastal Indonesian city of Makassar, the government has embarked on a harmful project to create five artificial islands in the sea. For this project, the government plans to extract around 22 million cubic metres of sand and gravel from nearby areas, causing devastating damage to local fishing communities. Towering walls, built to hold back the sea and support the new land, have not only polluted the waters these communities rely on but also disrupted their livelihoods, eroding long-held traditions of community cooperation. This is one of the latest examples of how communities grapple with the relentless encroachment of extractive industries in Indonesia. And while the environmental degradation is stark, what’s more insidious are the powerful forces behind these projects—political and financial interests that prioritise profit over people.
For years, local communities, especially women, have found their voices suppressed and their concerns marginalised. Activists speaking out against extractive injustices have faced persecution in the form of media vilification, casting them as uneducated and anti-development people. Yet, despite these daunting challenges, resistance has not only persisted but evolved.
Among those fighting injustice is Nurfianalisa, a committed activist from Solidaritas Perempuan-Anging Mammiri and a member of Forum Aktivis Perempuan Muda (FAMM Indonesia). Her journey began with a focus on the visible impacts of extractivism on women, but she soon realised that understanding the deeper, hidden power dynamics was crucial to effective resistance.
In 2023, FAMM Indonesia deepened their analysis of extractive industries using the CMI!’s toolkit Behind the Scenes of Extractives: Money, Power & Community Resistance. The toolkit enabled FAMM members to move beyond the usual boundary of discussing extractivism’s ‘impact on womxn’ into understanding the intricate workings of extractive industries, including their financing and the hidden power dynamics that make extractivism possible despite powerful community resistance.
“Usually, the focus of discussions on extractivism is on the impact analysis on womxn. We do not typically focus on analysing the actors behind the impact. At the moment, things that we observe are still at the surface level only. We must focus on going deeper into what and who is actually hidden, which is how the power analysis can help. This is what really helped me and my community members because we did not have this understanding earlier. Developing this understanding has been transformative for us, ” said Nurfianalisa.
In 2023, she and 19 other activists finally met face-to-face after numerous virtual interactions. Facilitated by JASS Southeast Asia and FAMM, these workshops provided a space for young women from several provinces to share their personal experiences of challenging extractivism. They mapped investment chains and identified the actors within extractivist projects, revealing patterns of hidden power across the country. This process was critical in recognising the common issues of their struggles and exchanging strategies to demand their rights.
Equipped with new knowledge and strategies, Nurfianalisa and her fellow activists have intensified their efforts. They have engaged with the National Commission on Violence Against Women, seeking intervention in conflict resolution and protection of women’s rights. The toolkit has not only bolstered their understanding but has also enhanced their capacity to counter the tactics employed by the government and contractors to weaken their resistance.
This is one of the seven stories we have published as CMI! Stories of Change 2023 under the #FundWhatWorks campaign. The stories portray how activists and organisations worldwide are working to advance human rights and gender justice.
