Dija, who has a single given name and no surname, is chairperson of the Association of Indonesian Women with Disabilities (HWDI)’s branch in Simbang in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. She is also a board member of the Section Indigenous Community, a sub-section of HWDI’s branch in South Sulawesi. Dija first became involved with HWDI over three years ago. Its mission includes advocating for the social development of women with disabilities and improving their quality of life. The organization champions equal opportunity and full participation for women with disabilities.

Dija also has been active in a participatory planning and budgeting system in Indonesia known as “Musrenbang.” During in-person and online forums, local governments engage citizens in discussions on community aspirations and priorities. Last year with HWDI South Sulawesi, Dija advocated for a Musrenbang focused on disability. She worked with two offshoot groups of HWDI to accomplish this  – Self-Help Group Batubassi Pammase and Self-Help Group Panrita. Both groups work to support Indigenous persons with disabilities in their respective communities. As a result of their advocacy efforts, the local government integrated disability into a pre-existing “Thematic Musrenbang for Women and Children” to form the “Thematic Musrenbang for Women, Children, and Disability.” Dija is a member of the Simbang District delegation at another local “Musrenbang,” representing Indigenous women with disabilities. 

At HWDI South Sulawesi, Dija also collects data on Indigenous persons with disabilities in Batubassi, a village in South Sulawesi, with Self-Help Group Batubassi Pammase. She assists with cases of sexual violence against women with disabilities in South Sulawesi’s Maros Regency with a Self-Help Group Batubassi Pammase companion. Dija is a children’s rights advocate, too. She joined a network of women’s and children’s organizations in the Stop Child Marriage Campaign Coalition in Maros Regency.