Kartika Jahja – Indonesian Singer

As a singer, Kartika Jahja uses her voice to speak up for those who seek gender equality with her amazing songs. Jahja goes by the nickname, Tika, and she is an independent force to be reckoned with, as the lead singer-songwriter for the band Tika and the Dissidents.

When Jahja came home after studying at the Art Institute of Seattle, she began recording her solo album, with the help of musicians like Aghi Narottama, Iman Fattah, Bemby Gusti, and Age Airlangga. When she released the album it was a hit, as she showed Indonesians that there is more to a female songwriter than being a pop-diva.

When she is not singing or writing songs, Tika is an activist on the issues of sexuality and gender. In 2016, Jahja was named as one of the most influential and inspirational women in the world by BBC. She stated that inequality is similar to pollution – in that we don’t realize that it's all around us and we are inhaling it all the time.

The feminine name Kartika is a Malay name taken from the Pleiades, which is a groups of stars. The name has Sanskrit roots and is taken from the word krittika, which reference the group of seven stars in the sky. While others believe that it is a common Indian name that is taken from the god Karikeya that means “bestower of courage”. There are many notable people with the name, from Kartika Rane an Indian actress to Kartika Liotard a member of the European parliament.