[ENG] Understanding Their Rights as Citizens: How Legal Awareness is Empowering and Transforming Jangkar Village in Indonesia

Deep in the heart of Madura Island, Indonesia, lies a small village called “Jangkar Village”, where life moves in harmony with the land and its people. Lush trees cast shade over rows of modest traditional houses. However, beneath this harmony, there are several structural issues faced by the villagers.

Like many other communities, Jangkar is not free from legal challenges and barriers to access to justice. Many communities lacked basic civil documentation. Rates of child marriage were troublingly high. Sexual violence and domestic abuse were quietly pervasive. To make things worse, access to free legal aid was virtually nonexistent.

This issue was recognised and became a concern for a female paralegal named Mu’arrofah. She is an inspiring figure from Jangkar Village—a woman we can rightly call an ‘Agent of Change’ and the driving force behind the Pekka Union in Jangkar Village.

Though once burdened by family struggles, her spirit never dimmed. After going through a divorce, she rose with resilience—completing her high school equivalency program, earning a bachelor’s degree, and ultimately becoming a trusted figure in her community.

For Mu’arrofah, being a paralegal is not just a space for self-development; it is also a way to find deeper meaning in life. In Jangkar Village, she actively advocates for and assists with a wide range of issues: from civil registration and marriage identity to cases of violence requiring guidance and support. 

Her role has a positive impact on the surrounding community Soleha, one of the women helped by Mu’arrofah, shared her experience. 

“Mu’arrofah has been very helpful in assisting me with accessing mass certificates and participating in discussions on child marriage issues. Thanks to her continuous communication with the Village Head, our voices as community members are also starting to be heard,” Soleha said.

She knows well that if these problems are left unresolved, they will trigger a chain of ongoing consequences. Communities risk losing access to basic services, social assistance, health coverage, and more.

In implementing this legal empowerment initiative, Mu’arrofah served as a crucial connector between IJRS and the Jangkar Village communities. She was directly involved in assessing the community’s legal needs, reaching out to potential participants within the village, and establishing communication with village authorities.

With her warm and empathetic way of reaching out, Mu’arrofah won their trust. That trust turned into collaboration, making the legal empowerment program not only welcomed but also embraced as a shared effort. It was this approach that opened the doors of the Village Head’s home, where the legal empowerment activities could truly come to life.

The journey wasn’t easy. At first, it was tough to get Jangkar Village communities truly interested in legal empowerment—they were hesitant to leave their daily work in the fields, gardens, or markets. But Mu’arrofah’s patience and persistence slowly made a difference.

Curiosity began to bloom; people wanted to learn about their rights, about the law, and about equality, turning the program into a fresh space for shared learning. Her approach was simple but powerful—being present, earning trust, and making sure everyone felt part of the process. In doing so, Mu’arrofah didn’t just run a program—she lit a spark of legal awareness that now lives in the heart of the village.

Through this legal empowerment program, Mu’arrofah and the Jangkar Village communities began with nothing more than curiosity. Yet who would have thought that from there, they would gain a “new lens” on their rights as citizens and the essential role of equality within the household. Mu’arrofah came to realize that the relationship between husband and wife is not about who holds more power, but about mutual respect.

Her story spread to others in the village. People started to recognize the risks of child marriage and to understand that violence is not only physical but can also be economic—something they had never considered before. Women grew braver in voicing their opinions and rights, even negotiating their roles to be more equal with their husbands. From this one simple legal empowerment activity, a new awareness was born: that women have the right to be equal, safe, and empowered. One of them is Ifadah, a housewife who feels her understanding has been greatly helped by this legal empowerment. 

“Through this legal empowerment, I have realized that child marriage is harmful because it forces us to grow up too quickly. In the future, I want to educate my children to become useful individuals, unlike my experience of marrying at a young age. This legal empowerment has helped me understand that I carry a double burden in my household, which often makes me feel pressured to meet the family’s needs while also fulfilling my roles as a mother and wife,” Ifadah said.

Therefore, empowerment plays an important role in society, as expressed by Mu’arrofah in the local Madurese language:

“Pemberdayaan berarti nguattagin masyarakat otabah oreng se lemmah akhadhi nolongin oreng se tak andhik kajeh se tak ereken bik oreng disah ekebellunagin se tak eketelak kebedenah ban tak ekedingaghin suaranah, e tolong sopajeh padeh bik oreng-oeng se laen  ban tak ketinggalan jeman.”

(Empowerment means strengthening communities or individuals who are vulnerable—helping those without income, those neglected by the village or society, those sidelined, unseen, and unheard. It is about supporting them so they can live with dignity, just like everyone else, and not be left behind.)

The empowerment has transformed the way people in Jangkar Village understand the meaning of “law.” No longer seen solely as “Islamic law,” reflecting the majority religion in the area, it is now understood more broadly—as something embedded in the daily lives of individuals and the community. Through the reinforcement of material by local speakers, the community now also understands that Islamic law protects women and children.

This empowerment not only brought about change in the community, but also provided valuable lessons for IJRS as a facilitator. The legal empowerment process in Jangkar Village marked a turning point for IJRS—not merely a refinement of methods, but a shift in perspective. For years, IJRS operated from a distance, relying on academic analysis and policy discussions often detached from everyday realities. But in Jangkar, IJRS learned that expanding access to justice requires more than understanding—it demands presence, empathy, and genuine engagement with communities long excluded from the law. 

Legal empowerment isn’t just about giving and receiving lessons—it’s about building a bridge to change. From something that restricts, to a means of fulfilling rights. In other words, the law should not be seen merely as a set of rules that tie people down, but as an instrument to ensure the fair and equal fulfillment of society’s rights. 

This legal empowerment documentation video can be viewed through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD9D18HTqWg.

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About Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS)

The Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS) is a nongovernmental organization established in 2018 with a strong commitment to advancing legal and social reform in Indonesia through evidence-based research, advocacy, and public education. As an independent civil society organization, IJRS positions itself as both a connector and a solution-seeker, working collaboratively with government institutions, civil society coalitions, and communities to promote people-centered approaches to justice.