Yogyakarta, September 13th 2022—The ASEAN Studies Center (ASC) Fisipol UGM held a discussion to release a monograph titled Advancing Southeast Asia through Gender Mainstreaming on Tuesday (13/9). Inside this 2021 Monograph edition, there are ten selected articles under four subtopics: (1) mapping progress on gender mainstreaming in ASEAN; (2) addressing gender inequality in the workforce; (3) gender identity, participation, and politics of inclusion; (4) unraveling gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (5) strengthening gender advocacy through grassroots movements. The discussion was moderated by Tunggul Wicaksono, Research Manager of ASC UGM. Tunggul as well as H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum and Joel Mark Baysa-Barredo were also the editors for this edition of the monograph.
“This is such an important contribution to the discussion of ASEAN regionalism, especially one that mainstreams the topic of gender,” Yuyun said. Analysis in this monograph includes a critical perspective when seeing the issue of gender. The ten articles that were selected to be a part of this monograph cover a wide scope of issues such as transnational advocacy, gender-based violence, gender identity, the politics of inclusion, as well as an article about single moms community in Indonesia. Joel Barredo added that this monograph allows contributors to voice their opinion about the various gender issues in ASEAN.
Mya Hyun, one of the contributor of this monograph, highlights the implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women which was ratified by ASEAN countries. Mya Hyun recommended the existence of a legally binding convention when it comes to violence against women in ASEAN. A legally binding convention is important in ASEAN noting that ASEAN is the only region that does not have a such convention.
Meanwhile, Durrotul Mas’udah, the writer of the article titled “Unite to Empower: Exploring the Empowerment Movement of Single Moms Indonesia Community” said that the phenomenon of a single mom in Indonesia is a complex gender issue filled with challenges. The biggest challenge that this community encounters is the lack of legal support from the government. Replying to Durrotul’s comments, Yuyun appreciates that he raised this issue, seeing that it is not commonly talked about amongst academicians.
To access the monograph, you can click this link ugm.id/ascmonograph2021.