For the first time since 5 years, I was in Indonesia again. In Bali, where I spent 6 months in 2017 for my fieldwork, I met my colleagues, friends, and people who I interviewed for my research on child marriage. Meeting again with the amazing lawyers who work at LBH Apik (local legal aid association) and activists who work for children’s and women’s rights issues re-motivated me to link my academic work to these activists’ social missions. And meeting now-grown-up women and men who I interviewed 5 years ago a ‘child bride/groom’, convinced me further in my believe that we should think of their agency in a new way – the way differs from the currently widespread paternalistic and protectionist one.
After Bali I went to Aceh, for the first time, to meet my PhD student who is doing her fieldwork in a remote village/island. What beautiful untouched islands, a fascinating location for ethnographic research on customary law and access to justice! Grateful & happy to be working with Nanda Amalia as her PhD supervisor!
Until next time, beautiful Indonesia!
Hoko Horii 