Volcanoes, embodied vulnerability, and technology:A decolonial feminist analysis of women with disabilities around Mount Merapi

Abstract

Disaster risk management in Indonesia mainly relies on technocratic knowledge and seemingly neutral or universal data systems. This article explores disaster risk governance near Mount Merapi, Central Java, from a decolonial feminist perspective, emphasizing the links between volcanic risk, women with disabilities, and digital technologies. Digital inclusion is seen not just as a technical fix but as a contested space of knowledge, power, and representation in disaster risk reduction. Using a qualitative method and a critical review of academic work, policies, and disaster data practices, the study finds ongoing colonial patterns affecting women with disabilities, including data exclusion, restricted access to digital infrastructure, platforms that are not disability-friendly, and policies that lack proper operational and contextual adaptation. The experiences and local practices of women with disabilities are often marginalized by official data systems that overlook the intersection of body, gender, and disability. Yet, the study also highlights grassroots initiatives led by survivors that promote digital inclusion and inclusive data as acts of resistance and efforts to decolonize disaster risk reduction. It argues that effective disaster management around Merapi needs a shift from technocratic control to approaches that see women with disabilities as knowers rather than passive protectees. A decolonial feminist view fosters more equitable, contextual, and inclusive disaster risk strategies for vulnerable groups.