Email this article Transforming Women’s Power in Rural Communities: An Empowerment Study Using Jo Rowlands’ Framework
Abstract
ENGLISH: This study examines how rural women in Pendoworejo Village build, negotiate, and transform power through empowerment initiatives facilitated by Gugah Nurani Indonesia (GNI). The study method uses feminist case study methodology, with data collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation involving mothers, their family members, and GNI facilitators. The findings show significant personal transformation, in which women develop greater self-confidence, self-esteem, and a stronger sense of capability. This study highlights the importance of viewing empowerment as a continuous, relational, and context-embedded process that cannot be externally imposed but must be facilitated through participatory and culturally rooted approaches. These findings contribute to empowerment studies by demonstrating how Rowlands' framework can be applied in the Indonesian rural context to understand the layered transformations that shape women's agency, relationships, and collective action.
INDONESIAN: Penelitian ini mengkaji bagaimana perempuan pedesaan di Desa Pendoworejo membangun, menegosiasikan, dan mentransformasi kekuasaan melalui inisiatif pemberdayaan yang difasilitasi oleh Gugah Nurani Indonesia (GNI). Metode studi menggunakan metodologi studi kasus feminis, data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi partisipatif, dan dokumentasi yang melibatkan ibu-ibu, anggota keluarga mereka, dan fasilitator GNI. Temuan menunjukkan transformasi pribadi yang signifikan, di mana perempuan mengembangkan kepercayaan diri yang lebih besar, harga diri, dan rasa kemampuan yang lebih kuat. Studi ini menyoroti pentingnya memandang pemberdayaan sebagai proses yang berkelanjutan, relasional, dan tertanam dalam konteks, yang tidak dapat diberikan secara eksternal tetapi harus difasilitasi melalui pendekatan partisipatif dan berakar pada budaya. Temuan ini berkontribusi pada kajian pemberdayaan dengan menunjukkan bagaimana kerangka kerja Rowlands dapat diterapkan dalam konteks pedesaan Indonesia untuk memahami transformasi berlapis yang membentuk agen, hubungan, dan aksi kolektif perempuan.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29300/hawapsga.v7i2.10177
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