Indonesia: Behind Walls

Made up of islands too numerous to count and each with its own culture, Indonesia’s population of 250 million makes it the biggest Muslim country in the world.

The capital, Jakarta, is a gigantic densely populated city with its skyscrapers, traffic jams and pollution. The chasm between rich and poor is as vast as the city itself. There is no sense of a patriarchal culture here, it is common for women to occupy all kinds of positions.

However, the island of West Sumatra, where the Indonesians first encountered Islam, is very different from Jakarta. The people here practice the Minankabau culture. According to this ancient culture, women reign supreme. Name and heredity follow the female line, they inherit everything, propose marriage, pay alimony, and the groom goes to the house of the bride. Despite all this power, the women do not oppose polygamy on the part of the Island’s men.

Producer: Ayse Bohurler
Co-Producer: Aslihan Eker