Timor-Leste’s Forgotten Female Rebels

DILI — Timor-Leste headed to the polls on May 12 in its second general election in as many years, with the opposition coalition of parties led by the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) claiming victory.

Over six months of political stalemate had forced President Francisco Guterres to absolve the parliament in January 2018, calling an early election for the first time in the nation’s short history.

The resulting campaign centered largely on economic issues, leaving gender issues underdebated. In particular, there is no clear policy on offer to recognize the key role women played during the country’s resistance against Indonesia from 1975-1999.

Like most Timorese elections since independence, the May 12 poll was a contest between two former military leaders — Mari Alkatiri and Xanana Gusmao — demonstrating how high-profile male veterans of the resistance continue to leverage their heroics for political gain.

The dominance of the male protagonists of the resistance in Timorese politics reflects the societal and economic advantages of male resistance fighters, who benefit from policies and social attitudes that rightfully valorize their wartime bravery.

But for the women who also played a central role in Timor-Leste’s independence war, recognition for their contribution is muted, constrained by policy settings that marginalize the essential role women played in liberating the nation.

It’s hard to understate the all-encompassing nature of Timor-Leste’s generation-long resistance against Suharto’s Indonesia. It was a conflict that resulted in the loss of a quarter of Timor-Leste’s pre-war population, and necessitated all to contribute — including thousands of Timorese women.

Occasionally, women did fight alongside men on the frontline. But more often, they were actively involved in the clandestinos, a sophisticated network of undercover informants responsible for smuggling supplies, medicine, weaponry and information to the front. Sixty percent of the clandestinos were female.