{"id":1708,"date":"2026-04-20T14:49:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/underthebananatree.org\/?p=1708"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:03:51","slug":"ruas-as-a-womens-and-resistance-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/underthebananatree.org\/?p=1708","title":{"rendered":"RUAS as a Women’s and Resistance Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Anna Mariana (Ruang Arsip & Sejarah Wanita \/ RUAS)<\/strong>. Translated by Zikri Rahman <\/strong>and edited by Hyojin Pak.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

History is often written from a dominant, patriarchal and masculine perspective. Ruang Arsip & Sejarah Perempuan (RUAS)<\/a> exists as an Indonesia-based alternative space that brings archives to life as part of the women’s movement. More than a repository for documents, RUAS is a knowledge laboratory, a space for reflection, and a site of struggle. Here, archives serve as a tool for rereading the past, understanding the present, and designing a more just and egalitarian future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archives as Movement: Refusing to Forget, Reconstructing Narratives<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

RUAS perceives archives as part of a social movement. They are not inanimate objects, but rather living traces that preserve the experiences, strategies, and voices of marginalized women. In this context, archiving practice extends documentation techniques to become a political and ethical act. Archiving entails refusing to forget, rejecting to erase, and resisting the dominance of a singular narrative. We find this monolithic state narrative in masculine and patriarchal history textbooks, various dioramas in state museums, and even the state’s obsession with rewriting national history. This rewriting of national history deliberately omits state\u2019s human rights violations, such as the mass killings of 1965-1966, the mysterious shootings<\/a>, and the mass rape of ethnic Chinese in May 1998. Against such erasure , RUAS seeks to collect archives, compile and voice alternative narratives to the state’s version that seeks to silence the nation’s traumatic history.
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Figure 1. RUAS\u2019s Archival Management Cycle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RUAS understands that such work requires extensive effort, necessitating reliable methodological tools to support the process. RUAS\u2019s archive management cycle reflects this flow. Our work consists of collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination, conducting each stage with a participatory and reflective approach. We collect  archives from formal institutions as well as women’s everyday experiences: family photographs, personal letters, audio recordings, community magazines, and digital newspapers \u2013 all of which serve as legitimate and important historical sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 2. Part of the RUAS\u2019s archival collection <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 3. Example of a digitised magazine from the archive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, RUAS explores various types of archives that document the journey of women from diverse backgrounds. Some of the archives we focus on include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Photo archives, which capture significant moments in women’s lives, both in the domestic and public spheres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Audio archives, in the form of oral histories, interviews, and testimonies that capture women’s experiences directly and intimately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Personal and organizational documents, such as letters, diaries, internal community archives, and activity reports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Women’s organization magazines, which reflect the development of women’s thought and movements over time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Digital newspapers, as contextual sources that demonstrate how women are reported on or marginalised in mainstream media.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

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    Aside from collecting archives, RUAS also critiques how they are produced and used. Who has the right to archive? Who determines the value of archives? These questions inform an ongoing reflection about RUAS\u2019s methodological praxis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Figure 4. Examples of Api Kartini magazine archives that were omitted from the historical narrative. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Research and Knowledge Production: From Archives to Action<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    RUAS developed a women’s library as part of its efforts to build alternative epistemologies. This library contains not only books but also ideas, experiences, and reflections born from women’s bodies and lives. Some of the main themes in the RUAS library include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n