Deconstructing the Figures of Vashti and Esther within the Framework of Dayak Ma’anyan Women's Leadership in Padju Epat, East Barito, as a Model for Women's Leadership Education

Esther Puput Kalpikasari; Urbanus Urbanus; Sarmauli Sarmauli

doi:10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.6295

Esther Puput Kalpikasari Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Palangka Raya, Indonesia
Urbanus Urbanus Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Palangka Raya, Indonesia
Sarmauli Sarmauli Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Palangka Raya, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.6295

Keywords: Vashti, Esther, Dayak Ma’anyan, Women’s Leadership, Indigenous Leadership, Leadership Education.

Abstract

This study aims to deconstruct the figures of Vashti and Esther within the framework of Dayak Ma’anyan women’s leadership in Padju Epat, East Barito, and to examine their relevance as a model for women’s leadership education. The study employs a qualitative and contextual approach by integrating feminist biblical interpretation, Indigenous women’s leadership theory, local wisdom, and culturally responsive leadership education. The analysis focuses on women’s agency, resistance, strategic negotiation, cultural identity, customary authority, community participation, and transformative leadership. The findings indicate that Vashti and Esther represent complementary forms of women’s agency: Vashti embodies principled resistance, dignity, courage, and the ability to challenge unjust authority, while Esther represents strategic negotiation, communication, resilience, and collective advocacy. When these dimensions are placed in dialogue with Dayak Ma’anyan women’s leadership, leadership emerges as a culturally embedded practice involving customary knowledge, community responsibility, cultural preservation, participation, and social transformation. The study further demonstrates that women’s leadership education can be strengthened by integrating biblical narratives with Indigenous cultural knowledge rather than applying universalized leadership models detached from local contexts. The proposed model emphasizes ethical courage, strategic leadership, cultural identity, participatory decision-making, critical consciousness, communication, and community-oriented transformation. This study contributes to the development of a culturally responsive framework for women’s leadership education that empowers women to negotiate patriarchal structures, preserve cultural identity, exercise ethical agency, and contribute to the sustainable transformation of their communities. The study recommends further empirical and participatory research to validate and develop the proposed model within Dayak Ma’anyan communities and other Indigenous contexts

References

Baskin, C. (2020). Contemporary Indigenous women’s roles: Traditional teachings or internalized colonialism? Violence Against Women, 26(15–16), 2083–2101.
Chaudhary, N., & Dutt, A. (2022). Women as agents of change: Exploring women leaders’ resistance and shaping of gender ideologies in Pakistan. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 800334. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.800334
Claassens, L. J. M. (2023). Writing and witnessing violence against women: A feminist theological approach. SCM Press.
Cordeiro, P. A., Brion, C., & Cimene, F. T. A. (2020). Constructions of leadership identities via narratives of African women school leaders. Frontiers in Education, 5, 86.
Dahlvig, J. E., & Longman, K. A. (2020). Women’s leadership in higher education: Addressing glass ceilings and sticky floors. In The Wiley handbook of gender equity in higher education. Wiley.
Daryono, D. (2024). Peran collaborative interaction women leadership terhadap kinerja karyawan: Studi pada usaha mikro, kecil, dan menengah Banyumas. Jurnal Studi Manajemen Organisasi, 21(2), 110–128.
Ertel, S., Gomez, D., & Patterson, K. (Eds.). (2024). Women in leadership: Biblical and contemporary perspectives. Springer.
Hadi, K. (2021). Pemikiran dan praktek pemerintahan adat suku Dayak Ma’anyan di Kalimantan Tengah. Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan.
Hannah, N. (2020). Social capital of women leaders in the Indigenous community of Osing, East Java, Indonesia: A feminist ethnography research. Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya, 5(2).
Handayani, L., Gede, W., & Azainil. (2025). Integration of Dayak culture in women’s leadership to improve the quality of digital education in elementary schools. Borneo Educational Journal, 7(1).
Khairunnas, M., Daulay, H., & Saladin, T. I. (2022). Kepemimpinan perempuan Aceh. PERSPEKTIF, 11(4), 1559–1568.
Koburtay, T., Abuhussein, T., & Sidani, Y. M. (2023). Women leadership, culture, and Islam: Female voices from Jordan. Journal of Business Ethics, 183, 347–363.
Kondemo, M. M. (2021). In search of biblical role models for Mongo women: A Bosadi reading of Vashti and Esther. Old Testament Essays, 34(2), 554–572. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2021/v34n2a14
Lestari, Y., Prastyawan, A., & Isbandono, P. (2021). Women leadership based on local wisdom. In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities 2021.
Manimtim, H. E., & Perez, E. L. A. (2021). Philippine women leaders’ presence, practices, and challenges in higher education in the new normal. Education Review, 10(1), 15.
Maracle, S., Bergier, A., Anderson, K., & Neepin, R. (2020). “The work of a leader is to carry the bones of the people”: Exploring female-led articulation of Indigenous knowledge in an urban setting. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16(4), 353–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120954441
Mofokeng, T. (2021). In search of biblical role models for Mongo women: A Bosadi reading of Vashti and Esther. Old Testament Essays, 34(2).
Mubaraka, R., Prastyo, A. T., Barkah, Q., & Ismail, A. B. (2024). Leading with cultural wisdom: Egalitarian women’s leadership at three universities in Malaysia and Indonesia. Cogent Education, 11(1).
Msila, V. (2021). Indigenous feminism and Black women leadership. Sociology and Anthropology, 9(4), 42–51.
Mulya, T. W., & Sakhiyya, Z. (2021). “Leadership is a sacred matter”: Women leaders contesting and contextualising neoliberal meritocracy in Indonesian academia. Gender and Education, 33(7), 930–945.
Niko, N. (2020). Gender struggle: What can we learn from the Dayak Benawan women? Walailak Journal of Social Science, 13(2), 269–284.
Pilakoannu, R. T. (2020). Perempuan dalam konteks ritual agama Kaharingan pada suku Dayak Maanyan. Jurnal Teologi Kontekstual Indonesia, 1(1), 67–80.
Prescott, N. S. (2020). Building Native women’s leadership through community and culture. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 54.
Rohe, J., et al. (2022). Testing a model to assess women’s inclusion and participation in community-based resource management in Solomon Islands. Maritime Studies, 21, 465–483.
Ryan, T. (2020). The intersectional challenges of Indigenous women’s leadership. ab-Original, 3(2), 149–171.
Santamaria, L. J., Manriquez, L., Diego, A., Salazar, D. A., Lozano, C., & Garcia Aguilar, S. (2022). Black, African American, and migrant Indigenous women in leadership: Voices and practices informing critical HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 24(3), 173–192.
Sukmawan, S., Firdaus, E. N., & Setyowati, L. (2024). “Bale desa”: Preservation of cultural values and women’s leadership in Tengger, East Java, Indonesia. Wacana, 24(2).
Yanti, F. (2024). Women’s leadership communication patterns in the political areas in Lampung Province, Indonesia. Sexuality, Gender & Policy.