As its full administrative name suggests, the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno (Oecusse) is a somewhat particular part of Timor-Leste. Facing the sea to its north, on all other sides it’s surrounded by Indonesian western Timor without any land connection to the rest of the country it belongs to. The enclave is a proudly traditional place with a strong local culture. Unfortunately, this also means that educating girls is not often a priority, and that domestic violence is often considered acceptable.

The MC opens the event by leading the crowd in song: ‘Come strengthen Timorese women, through action and progress!’, ending the collective rendition of the Timor-Leste Women’s March by chants of ‘Viva Feto Timor!’: Long live Timorese women! After the official opening speeches, the women enter into a systematic but passionate discussion of the many dark sides that can come with being a woman in this society. They discuss abuse of girls with mental disability, as well as the subservient position of women in traditional customary law. Other topics include the problems faced by women entrepreneurs in developing their businesses, and how to increase women’s access to positions of political leadership. LGBTIQ+ rights come up too - a sensitive topic for many in this staunchly Catholic country. Over two days, the Women’s Conference discuss issues like these and many others, coming up with concrete proposals for how to push back against prejudice and violence.

Rede Feto compiles the findings of this consultation, together with those from twelve other Timorese municipalities where similar conferences have taken place, into its Platform of Action. This is their main advocacy tool vis-à-vis the government and other actors, to monitor progress, advocate for legal reforms, and push for better implementation of existing policies. With EU funding, civil society advocates like Rede Feto and its members are taking up the fight for Timorese women’s rights. Municipality by municipality and issue by issue they are working to ensure, as their Women’s March also says, that ‘everybody has a life of dignity and equality.’

The European Union Delegation to Timor-Leste funds Rede Feto’s Municipal Women’s Conferences from the country envelope of the global Thematic Programme for Civil Society Organisations. The programme aims to support local civil society organisations in working, through policy dialogue and advocacy, as independent actors of good governance and development, with a focus on women’s groups.

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