Empowering Kinship to Counter Control on Family Discourse in Indonesia

Indonesian government constructs a discourse on family duringmodernizing Indonesia. A conceptual “father” used to legitimate control of the regime, as well as “state ibuism” (“state mothering”) to control especially women. A controlled family discourse is used around political sphere on national election, public administration, family planning, school, etc. State bureaucrats placed at national, provincial, regency, and village levels to control a nuclear family (Westernized type of family pushed for local people). Countering the dominant discourse, local family still integrates kinship based on women power. The actual and discourse of local kinship used for constructing local economy and local politics.