The PKK and Housewife Volunteers in Indonesia: Women's Role in Development Policy and Women's Daily Practices

In this paper I will examine how, through the Pembinaan Kesehjeteraan Keluarga（PKK）, the family welfare movement, the imaginations of nationalism by Indonesian housewives were incorporated to construct“ national femininity.” The positioning of“ housewives” in the state development policy is always contradictory. They are gendered and domesticized, at the same time, demanded to take an active role. I focus on the Kader, the women volunteers to clear the process of the making of Indonesian housewives as agents in the state's development policy. They are predominantly housewives, working at the community level in the PKK organization structure. According to my fieldwork in Jakarta, most of the Kader mentioned their involvementwork in the PKK as social activities（Kerja Sosial）, which means that they get knowledge（ilmu）, experience（pengalaman）, and friends（teman）. It is clear that through the PKK activities the role of housewives was reinforced. Consequently, it is better to avoid overestimating that the Kader can get new social capitals from the PKK. However, at least, they are able to extend their roles as housewives to negotiate within their families or communities. From the perspective of agency, I argue that they subvert the role of housewives through their daily practices