Thankfully, not everyone thinks this way. Today, there are more and more men out there like Syaldi Sahude—the founder of Aliansi Laki-Laki Baru, or the New Men's Alliance. The organization is a pro-feminist group for men that promotes the idea of being a male ally to feminist women.

Let's face it, the term "feminist" still scares the shit out of a lot of men. They think feminists are man-haters, women who are getting all worked up over "the patriarchy"—this thing some men view as an intangible. Male feminists? Forget about it. What a bunch of overly sensitive men whining about gender equality.

VICE: What makes someone a 'male ally'? Is it enough to be a feminist and a man? Or is there more to it? Syaldi Sahude: There's a lot of debate over the term feminist allies since these days everyone can be a feminist, regardless of their gender. If we look at the term 'allies,' it implies that men are excluded from being feminists. But for me it's all about good intentions. The allies are anyone who supports and sympathizes with feminists across the globe. They could be anyone, whether they're a government official, a religious cleric, or a doctor...

This story is part of our ongoing collaboration with FemFest 2017, a two-day festival on feminism and gender issues held in Central Jakarta. For more details on the fest, see the bottom of this story.

Syaldi and his friends initially formed the alliance as a way to combat violence against women. But then these guys discovered that physical violence were just one of the tactics used to control and oppress women in Indonesia. He then expanded the group's focus and worked to combat all forms of gender-based violence and oppression. They use their privilege as men to try to educate the kinds of men who, at least on the surface, seem less receptive to conversation about the patriarchy. And, to a certain extent, it's working. Syaldi told VICE.

There are also people who don't want to be labeled, people who say 'I'll do my best to support the principles of feminism, but I don't want to be burdened by the feminist label and what not."

I feel like the term 'male allies' implies that there was a time when men weren't considered feminists. Is this true?

Back when I was younger, very much so. It was because I had a very limited knowledge of what it meant to be a feminist. Feminism wasn't as developed back then in Indonesia as it is today. Now men are involved in feminist activities. But back in the day there were radical feminists with the view that others were 'sleeping with the enemy,'—basically saying that if you married a man, it meant you were sleeping with the enemy.

The patriarchy benefits men the most, and it was created by men to suit their own interpretation. So I totally understand the anger directed at men. Most men who wish to enter the feminist circle felt intimidated from the start.

So you felt conflicted back then?

I did. Back then, before I had adequate knowledge about feminism, I made a lot of jokes about it. In the early 2000s, I would make jokes like 'I'd rather be chased by an army battalion than get scolded by one feminist.' That sort of joke came about after I saw how suspicious and angry people were when I tried to enter the feminist circle.