03 March 2025
Supporting Women in Marine Conservation: Hani Nusantari’s Impactful Journey
Conservationist Hani Nusantari knows that women play a special role in protecting Indonesia’s... Read more
03 March 2025
Peacebuilder Nerlian Gogali Grows a Wave of Strong Women Advocates in Poso
What began on Nerlian Gogali’s veranda as a space for women to heal and learn after conflict in Poso has grown into a movement educating a new wave of leaders and the next generation of changemakers.
Lian established the grassroots peace-making community known as the Mosintuwu Institute in 2009. Mosintuwu means 'working together' in the Pamona language, one of the languages spoken in Poso.
Following the violent conflict of 1998 to 2001, Lian returned to Central Sulawesi in 2003 to study the impact on women and children for her master’s degree. She interviewed hundreds of women and children, but the words of a woman in a refugee camp in Lage district stayed with her for years.
"One day, a woman in Silanca village asked me what I would do after finishing my research. I said I would write it up,” Lian recalled. “The woman said, once written, then what? How has life changed for us here?’ I felt like I had been slapped."
With those words, Lian would eventually return to Poso and dedicate herself to improving the lives of women and girls.
"Rebuilding peace needs to be done in mutual cooperation. I learned this from the women in Poso,” Lian said.
While researching for her Masters in Cultural Studies from Sanata Dharma University, Lian uncovered multiple layers of violence experienced by women and children.
She also collected many stories detailing women's contributions to preserving peace.
"How Muslim women helped Christian women, Christian women helped Muslim women,” she said.
“They help each other in their daily lives – something that is almost never told by the mass media. I see that women's strength should be a great asset in building an equal and long-lasting peace in Poso.
"This also shows that the conflict was based on economic politics, not religion. Because since long ago, Poso residents from different backgrounds have always lived side by side."
Starting With a School for Women
The first program at Mosintuwu Institute was Sekolah Perempuan (Women’s School).
Lian went from village to village, extending invitations. Around 20 women were the first to join the school, which began on the veranda of Lian’s home in Poso's Tentena village. They were there to learn and grow as a community.
With steady progress, Sekolah Perempuan's membership grew to 200 women in 24 villages. They talked about their experiences, shared ideas, and discussed the position of women in society and peacebuilding.
Sekolah Perempuan taught nine lessons: women and peace; gender; women and culture; women and politics; speaking and reasoning skills; community service rights; economic, socio-cultural and political rights; sexual health and reproductive rights; and solidarity economy.
For the last lesson, Sekolah Perempuan helped women achieve economic sovereignty through ecotourism and permaculture gardens.
In building this community, Lian encountered numerous challenges. She was not accustomed to organising people at first, coming from a background in writing and study.
Another challenge was the backlash from the women’s spouses. Disagreeing with the information that was being shared, the men visited Lian and sent her messages. She used this as an opportunity to have a dialogue with men about the ideas. The toughest challenge came from local officials, who were offended by some of the material.
Amidst all the challenges, her commitment to promoting peace, fighting for the interfaith movement, and women's empowerment within her neighbourhood and beyond earned her the International Coexist Prize in 2011. In 2013, she became an Ashoka Fellow, an award given to the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
The Community Matures and Grows
In 2019, Lian participated in the Australia Awards Short Course on Leadership for Senior Multi-faith Women Leaders. It opened a new network for her and the Mosintuwu Institute.
"If we talk about conflict management and post-conflict, it depends on the conditions of each region and its people, so it may not be the same everywhere, although something can always be learned,” Lian explained.
“However, the most important thing about this program was making new networks.
"Building a community and continuing to keep it growing requires many parties. This new network, formed by Short Course fellows in Indonesia and Australia, can have a positive impact.”
At this time, the work of the Mosintuwu Institute was maturing. In 2018, Sekolah Perempuan transformed into Sekolah Pembaharu Desa (Village Reform School).
Participating were women who had completed their time at Sekolah Perempuan and were preparing to work with different sectors of society to advocate in the villages of Poso.
They comprised a media team, a village business team, an advocacy team for community services and rights, a team for child safety, and a team for violence advocacy. Lian also started to include men and boys, with women as the primary coordinators.
To encourage transparency and amplify the movement, women who graduated from Sekolah Perempuan made reports and broadcasted them on community radio, Radio Mosintuwu. The influx of young people also helped promote the Mosintuwu Institute through social media. They also started Project Sophia, a program with Komunitas Dongeng Poso, to provide children with an activity space.
Lian’s persistence in peacebuilding, which began as a space to encourage interfaith dialogue between women and strengthen grassroots women's networks, was again acknowledged internationally. In 2022, she won the Freedom of Worship Award from the Roosevelt Foundation. The foundation’s Four Freedom Awards recognise outstanding individuals and organisations committed to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear.
Growing Influential Women Advocates
Recently, Lian has been working with young people in a new program called Jelajah Budaya (Cultural Exploration). It encourages them to foster peace by recognising and using local expertise. The group made a music album and a film, and Lian realises that young people will create change in their own ways.
From its humble beginnings as a place where women in Poso could recover from the trauma of conflict and gain confidence, over a decade of hard work has produced influential women making strides in advocacy. Among the causes they are working on are the protection of the Poso Lake geopark, opposition to environmentally damaging dam construction, and the Morowali mining dispute.
Lian points out that the history of Poso, in particular, reveals that women have always played a significant role in society. Before the arrival of Christian missionaries, women held spiritual leadership roles and served as knowledgeable leaders.
"Women's leadership in Poso has existed for a long time but was removed during colonialism,” Lian said. “In fact, women continue to play an important role."
Share this article on:
Related Articles
Back to Top