Older Single Women in Toba Batak Culture: Fighting Stigma and Seeking Identity

Riany Sitanggang, R. Hamdani Harahap, Asima Yanty Sylvania Siahaan, Harmona Daulay

Abstract


The Toba Batak community still upholds customs that place marriage as a social obligation, especially for women. In the Batak patrilineal kinship system, women are expected to marry and have children to continue the lineage (clan). Therefore, women who remain single until a mature age are considered to deviate from social norms and often experience pressure and negative stigma. This study aims to reveal the experiences of older single women in Toba Batak society from an existentialist feminist perspective. Using a qualitative approach with phenomenological methods, this research focuses on how older single women face social stigma, stereotypes, and customary pressures, as well as their struggles to gain independence and equal rights. The results show that although older single women face strong social pressure, they still have their own way of defining the meaning of happiness and independence in society.

Keywords


Patriarchy, Culture, Toba Batak, Single Women, Stereotypes, Negative, Feminism

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30596/miceb.v2i0.941

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