Introducing Gender-Equal Domestic Life through Children’s Books

In a small, rural village in Indonesia, access to electricity and the internet has been an ongoing challenge—particularly during the pandemic, when children studying from home relied on the internet for their lessons.

Gendis is a young girl who lives with her two siblings, her stay-at-home mom, and her father, who drives a motor taxi. Like the other kids in the village, she often must go to a nearby hill to find a stable internet connection so she can do her homework. Her father goes with her, and she uses his mobile phone to access her teacher’s instructions and submit her completed assignments.

This is the simple premise of Night on Signal Hill, an illustrated storybook from The Asia Foundation’s Let’s Read program in Indonesia. Funded by the Estee Lauder Charity Foundation, Let’s Read Indonesia creates books that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in this traditionally patriarchal society. These original works, created by local writers and illustrators, feature fathers who are present and engaged in domestic roles.

Portrayals of men and women in literature and lore shape children’s expectations for their future roles. When gender norms assign domestic tasks primarily to women, it discourages men from participating in the traditionally “female” spaces of caregiving. As a result, children develop rigid expectations about suitable roles for each gender that perpetuate existing stereotypes and limit their opportunities. 

Night on Signal Hill explicitly depicts Gendis’s father as an alternative to these gender norms. Supervising homework is traditionally women’s work in Indonesia, but Gendis’s father breaks with this norm, helping Gendis with her homework despite being the family’s principal earner, and quietly showcasing the importance of both parents to a child’s education.

What Day Is It, Yos?

Researchers R. P. Rohner and R. A. Veneziano have argued that the general view that the maternal role has superior importance in childrearing devalues the domestic role of fathers, contributing to “father absence.” Research shows that children from families with an absent father exhibit more behavioral issues, poorer academic achievement, earlier sexual activity, and greater life adversity than children from two-parent families.

This story, about a little boy who has just learned the days of the week, introduces young readers to Yos, who comes from a nontraditional family: his mother is a state employee, while his father works from home and takes on domestic responsibilities. As readers follow Yos through the day, they see his father doing chores that are typically relegated to women, like cooking meals and wrangling the children.

In Indonesia, where fathers are traditionally seen as breadwinners and mothers as caregivers, such depictions are rare. A study by the University of Indonesia’s MenCare+ program found that many men have never learned to do common household tasks and prefer women to handle them. Media representations of men doing housework are almost nonexistent. By featuring a working mother and a stay-at-home dad, What Day Is It, Yos? quietly suggests alternatives to these norms without devaluing either role. As it explores the strong, loving bond between Yos and his actively present dad, the story illustrates that men can share the chores while women pursue careers.

My New Color  

Parents often unknowingly treat their sons and daughters differently, whether they’re deciding who can do what or even something as small as which colors are “for boys” or “for girls.” Subtle differences in upbringing—such as assigning certain roles or behaviors to boys and girls or encouraging one child to pursue a certain interest while discouraging others—can shape how children see themselves, their potential, and even their sense of self-worth.

Little girls are commonly associated with the color pink and are constantly told that certain activities or interests are “not for girls.” This is the case with Alma in the story My New Color.

Alma does not like her pink bedroom walls. When her father and brother delay their promise to repaint, Alma decides to do it herself. At first, her older brother tries to take the paint from Alma’s hands, saying she won’t do it right. But eventually Alma convinces her entire family to help her.

My New Color highlights the importance of giving children space to be themselves, free from societal pressures. It encourages parents to listen and respect their child’s interests and abilities, fostering a deeper connection and mutual understanding between parents and child.

Books are not just a source of knowledge; they also play a powerful role in educating children about behavior, norms, and social values. These three books from Let’s Read Indonesia help children engage more critically with gender stereotypes in the culture they find around them. In this way, they serve not only as educational resources, but also as instruments for social change.

Let’s Read works with local writers and illustrators to create brand-new storybooks with characters, themes, and settings that reflect and affirm kid’s lives. Our country-based teams combine intuitive technology and deep community connections to equip kids, families, and communities with the books and skills to become life-long readers. Storybooks from Let’s Read are available for free in the Let’s Read digital library.

Haura Najmakamilla is the former program assistant for Let’s Read Indonesia. She can be reached at [email protected]. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author, not those of The Asia Foundation.