In Indonesia’s agricultural sector, rural women earn less than men and patriarch is perpetuated. While women are actively involved in agricultural production such as wedding and harvesting, they lack the physical strength to clear land and plough. Women undertake more unpaid household work including food preparation and daily chores and they take care of livestock. Indonesia’s desa wisata, or tourism village programme, is emerging as an alternative where rural women can choose to generate an income.

Tourist villages provide opportunities for women to earn money for their family and the local community without leaving their home. Women sending money back to their family have been hailed as heroes for boosting Indonesia’s foreign exchange. But reports of abuse by overseas employers persist. The execution of two Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia led to a total ban on sending women as domestic workers to 21 countries (mostly in the Middle East) in 2015. But as recently as July 2022 a temporary ban was instituted against sending Indonesian housemaids to Malaysia.

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