"What we are fighting for now is for the sake of our children. So that there will be a better life in the future," said Albertina Nurbay Satoinong. She is better known as Ibu Nurbay, a female fighter from the Mentawai Indigenous Community. At the age of 58, Ibu Nurbay continues to fight hard for the welfare and future of her children and grandchildren.
In a simple wooden house with a thatched roof in Puro Hamlet, Muntei Village, South Siberut District, Ibu Nurbay lives her life. Since her husband died three years ago, she has had to struggle alone to meet her living needs. With five children who are married and live with their respective families, Ibu Nurbay takes care of all her living needs alone.
“I usually wake up at five in the morning, wash my clothes, and prepare breakfast. Then I look for firewood and bamboo to cook sago in preparation for lunch. In the afternoon, I look for lokan, and in my free time, I make bead crafts,” said Mrs. Nurbay about her daily activities. Despite living in limitations, Mrs. Nurbay is very independent and does not want to trouble others.
In certain situations, if he needs help, he prefers to give compensation to the person who helped him. "The hardest job I did was replacing the roof of my house that was starting to leak. I was forced to buy a roof and pay wages to the person who installed it," he added.
To get money to buy necessities that she could not produce herself, such as soap and kitchen equipment, Mrs. Nurbay looked for lokan in the river to resell to local residents. From the proceeds from selling lokan, she was able to pay for her two children's education up to college level. However, her ability to find lokan is no longer the same as before. "I used to be able to dive into the river to a depth of 5-6 meters. Because usually at that depth there are rarely people who can dive so there are a lot of lokan there," Mrs. Nurbay recalled.
However, since her ears bled and she vomited blood due to diving too deep with a heavy load of lokan, Ibu Nurbay decided to stop diving in deep rivers. Now, she only looks for lokan around shallow rivers, so the results are not as much as before. "That's why I can only support my third to fifth children until high school," she explained.
In addition to looking for lokan, Ibu Nurbay also has a banana plantation that is on someone else's land. Indigenous women in Mentawai do not have ownership rights to customary land. If they are still married, the land they manage belongs to their husbands. However, if they no longer have a husband due to death or divorce, the land will be taken over by the husband's family.
To meet the increasingly expensive living expenses, Mrs. Nurbay started a bead-making craft business. In the tradition of the Mentawai indigenous people, beads are a mandatory accessory in traditional party activities. Initially, the beads made by Mrs. Nurbay were only for herself and her children. However, seeing the interesting results of her work, people began to exchange or buy her beads. From these sales, Mrs. Nurbay can save money to prepare to buy medicine if she is sick. Especially because of the rheumatism that she often suffers from.
The arrival of tourists to Siberut Island is a benefit for Mrs. Nurbay. Tourists often buy beads as souvenirs, especially since Muntei Village was designated as a cultural tourism destination. Seeing the benefits obtained by Mrs. Nurbay, some residents began to imitate the business of making beads to sell.
Yayasan Citra Mandiri Mentawai (YCMM) is an institution that focuses on the struggle for the rights of indigenous peoples. Since 2022, YCMM has been working in Malancan Village, Nem-nem Leleu Village, and Muntei Village with a focus on gender equality, disability, and social inclusion. Especially on the issue of violence against women and children, as well as the fulfillment of the rights to basic services of the Mentawai indigenous people.
YCMM facilitates indigenous women and other marginalized groups to become an important part of decision-making, planning, and implementation of development. Ibu Nurbay and her business group have submitted proposals to the government in the village Musrenbang forum, but often these proposals are not accommodated. "We once proposed a sewing machine for the women's group. The sewing machine has arrived but has not been handed over because we do not have a clear place of business," she said.
Ibu Nurbay is one of the representatives of the women's community in her hamlet who always attends YCMM activities, from regular discussions to discussions on equal rights between women and men. Even though she is no longer young and has to bear the burden of life alone, Ibu Nurbay's enthusiasm to fight for gender equality in her community has never waned.
For Evi Julianna Sakulok (39 years old), Mrs. Nurbay is a figure who is always open to discussion and sharing experiences. Evi feels that Mrs. Nurbay has the capacity to become a leader for women's groups in her community. "She is someone who is always active in voicing women's rights in every forum she attends. For me, she is like a biological mother. If she is by my side, I feel more confident," said Evi with a smile.
Mrs. Nurbay said that the presence of YCMM in Muntei Village was very beneficial. "Personally, I gained new knowledge, and for the indigenous women's community this is very positive, because YCMM is the only institution that cares about the rights of indigenous women in Mentawai," she explained. The presence of YCMM has made indigenous women begin to get space to participate in official forums at the village level.
When asked about her hopes for the future, Ibu Nurbay hopes that future generations will no longer experience discrimination like what Mentawai indigenous women have experienced so far. She also hopes that women will no longer be victims of violence. "What we are fighting for now is for the sake of our children, so that there will be a better life in the future," she said.
One of her concerns is the high rate of underage marriage in indigenous communities. She hopes that there will be a government policy that regulates the age limit for marriage for indigenous women in the Muntei Village area and the Mentawai Islands Regency as a whole.
Albertina Nurbay Satoinong, a female warrior from the Mentawai Indigenous Community, remains steadfast in her struggle for the welfare of her community and the future of her children and grandchildren. Despite living in limitations, her spirit and perseverance are an inspiration to many people around her.
