The ethnic riots in Indonesia, the massive rapes of Chinese women, and the burning of small shop-houses selling rice and foodstuff accompanied the turmoil of changing political leadership that could no longer respond to the needs of its people. The social contract between the governed and those who govern, the underlying basis for stability of many authoritarian governments in the region, has been broken. When societies, communities and families collapse or are in danger of collapse, women are expected to be the extraordinary heroes of everyday life, devising individual and collective strategies of survival, of reweaving the social fabric of broken communities and dealing with fractured lives. Yet, they are the first to be hit by an economic crisis. When small enterprises are put out of business, women are affected as both entrepreneurs and workers as they form the majority of owners or workers in SMEs.
Women are also the ones who feel the immediate effects of cuts in basic services.
Because of their responsibility in social reproduction, from childcare to care of the sick and elderly, their lack of access to essential resources and services means longer hours of work, heavier workloads and a fall in their nutritional status. When programmes are designed to cushion the negative impact of the crisis by creating jobs and supporting community initiatives, these concentrate mainly on public works, ignoring the sectors where women work. With the non-existence of social safety nets and the erosion of community support systems, this omission has serious consequences not only for women's lives but that of their children and the elderly. We have experienced the dangers. The first instinct is to reject globalization and to undertake a process of economic and cultural involution.