ABSTRACT
In Indonesia, women’s empowerment as a term has been utilised widely by NGOs at national and subnational levels, by development agencies and by other social organisations. Some studies of NGOs in different contexts conclude that while they may play a role in catalysing empowerment, they may also contribute to women’s disempowerment (Kabeer, 2011; Kilby, 2011; Yang, 2012). As the concept of empowerment is linked to power and power relations, how and in what contexts NGOs play these roles needs to be reviewed (Kabeer, 2011; Kilby, 2011), as context may influence outcomes in terms of empowering women.
