Benteng Chinese women in Tangerang find strength in numbers
In a community near Jakarta, a women’s cooperative is helping Benteng Chinese women build financial independence, seek support against domestic violence and bring their concerns into public decision-making.
In the Tangerang district of Banten province, a women’s cooperative is empowering Benteng Chinese women by promoting financial independence, offering support against domestic violence, and encouraging them to participate in public decision-making. One of the members, Oey Cin Wah, 63, earns a living through knitting and baking cookies, selling her handmade products for between Rp 15,000 (84 US cents) and hundreds of thousands of rupiah.
This income enables her to support herself and her 90-year-old father, following her late husband’s death in 2010. “I used to ask my husband for money for everything. Now, for example, if I want to buy body lotion, I can pay for it myself with the money I earn from knitting,” Cin Wah explained. The Lampion Merah Abadi Women’s Resource Development Cooperative (KWPS) in Belimbing village, Kosambi district, provides financial support and capital for the cooperative’s members, including Cin Wah, who utilized the cooperative’s backing to establish her knitting business.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
