Agency of the weak: the disability inclusive village policy as experienced by women with disabilities in rural Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Women with disabilities in the Global South, particularly in rural areas, encounter complex and often invisible challenges shaped by intersecting physical, social, cultural, and political constraints that limit their agency and access to opportunities. Despite their significance, systematic studies on their lived experiences remain scarce, and the existing scholarship is largely dominated by Global North perspectives, creating a substantial gap in disability studies and the social sciences more broadly. This study addresses that gap by examining the experiences of women with disabilities in Lendah Subdistrict, Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, one of Indonesia’s pilot sites for the Inclusive Village Initiative (Rintisan Desa Inklusi, or RINDI), launched in 2016 to localize the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Despite structural and cultural constraints, women with disabilities in Lendah have developed creative strategies for survival that demonstrate both resilience and agency within their socio-cultural context. Drawing on James Scott’s notions of ‘moral economy’ and ‘economic subsistence,’ as well as Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and capital, this study identifies practices such as cultivating alternative food crops around their homes, reducing household expenses through careful consumption, and mobilizing social networks as forms of economic and social adaptation. Beyond material strategies, they also employ cultural practices to preserve dignity and mitigate stigma, including negotiating the symbolic violence embedded in everyday interactions. Saba Mahmood’s framework of agency further illustrates how their agency does not always manifest only in overt resistance but also in the cultivation and internalization of traditional values. Javanese Islamic notions such as dadi wong wadon (‘being a Javanese woman’) are embraced as protective values and strategies of endurance, while simultaneously enabling women to participate in communal life. Yet acts of resistance remain present, consistent with James C. Scott’s concept of ‘everyday forms of resistance.’ Women with disabilities express subtle but meaningful defiance through actions such as blocking the village head’s parking space, spreading strategic rumors, or voicing criticism of local officials during neighborhood conversations. These seemingly small gestures operate as symbolic acts of resistance and affirmations of existence. Overall, the study argues that inclusion policies must be responsive to socio-cultural realities and intersectional identities in order to foster an inclusive and just society, particularly in rural areas of the Global South.

Date of Thesis submission	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Sponsors	Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
Supervisor	Denis Byrne (Supervisor), Gerard Goggin (Supervisor) & Karen Soldatic (Supervisor)