Contributor:
Kai Mata
HERO Awards Recipient: Young Achiever 2025
Reflecting on this year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Give to Gain,” Kai shares how giving voice, courage, and creativity can open space for dialogue and help advance gender equality, even in challenging political and social environments.
What is the situation like in your country for young people?
Young people in Indonesia are upset, as noted by a feverish desire to leave. There is a lack of trust in the government, especially without real job opportunities for people who have pursued higher education. Human rights are being trampled on, and the democratic backsliding through censorship laws concerns many.
What will you give to gain gender equality?
I actively give my voice, transparency, and brazenness to participate in uncomfortable conversations. Men have been socialized to where taking up space is their default. On the other hand, we have learned to act with initial deference. The goal is to create collaborative environments where gender does not inherently equate to authority.
Share with us a bit about your work and what you do to advance a gender equal world?
I am a musician and storyteller who has used art to propel themes of LGBTQ+ and women’s liberation. Recognizing the rhetoric used to justify the killings of Indonesia’s leading women’s movement in the 1960s, Gerwani, is the same narrative weaponized against LGBTQ+ individuals today, my work reappropriates the death threats and turns them into pride anthems. In the face of the most absurd claims, where feminism and LGBTQ+ identity are viewed as contagious mental illnesses, my music responds with celebration and lightheartedness to showcase that we are much more than the suffering society attempts to impose onto us.
Within the current political and funding climate, what can still be done to ensure gender equality?
People propel movements. Money helps immensely. But money itself doesn’t mobilize. It is our creativity that allows us to circumnavigate censorship laws in order to make sure our message survives. It is also our creative endeavors that can reach millions of people organically.
