I wrote this letter to friends in JASS to response her writing about Ageism. I want to share it in my blog. Enjoy reading!

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Dear ………….

Thank you for writing a beautiful and important issue in “Age Matters”
and thanks Annie for sharing it with JASS SEA alumni. As 30 yo Asian
and urban woman, I considered myself as a newcomer in women movement.
JASS SEA was my turning point to my personal milestone. I was one of
young woman who look for validation from the older feminist generation
because I put high respect and value based on age and experience. In
Asia, old age usually signify wisdom.

On Indonesia workshop in 2008, we invite many senior feminists that
dominate the space for dialogue. At that time, some of young
participants were directors and program manager but they didn’t speak
much. The younger participants learn a lot from that experience; they
re-check their confidence to speak up in front of senior feminists and
to have a facilitator from their own age or one that able to
facilitate fairly.

As a newcomer, I was reluctant to claim myself as feminist because I
thought I have to gone through so much pain and struggle and actions
to have the “feminist activist” emblem. Until I realised that my life
is one that rich in gender and power battle and to have gone through
that was strong statement to my community. Senior feminists in JASS
SEA help me to understand this.

There is benefit of working with senior feminist. They like to
stimulate critical thinking and motivate to do more. The challenge is
the same as Chika had mention, as NGOisation of women movement begin,
new initiative will need to gone through “validation process” and our
authority will be strictly based on job description. So the issue of
age intertwine with other issue in women movement.

I talked to Lely Zaelani, who is one of senior feminist in Bogor
workshop, that young feminists should not be too busy to claim the
space but make their own space. There are some cases where the
“established space” is filled with conflict and sentiment where the
younger feminist will be hard to fit in and even harder to make any
changes. But the new space should involve senior feminist to walk
together to avoid reinventing the wheel or to make separate movement.
The wheel is here and we need all the force to make it move.

One more important thing that I learn from Alda and the senior
feminists in last week multigenerational dialogue in Bogor is that a
lively sense of humor really work to melt all generation into
discussion. Even Siti Aminah, 20 yo from Aceh, dare to asked all of
us, “Are you ready to rock?”

Cheers
NL