Published at: Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, Brill, the Netherlands, 2007Edited by Suad Joseph.
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About the author(s)
Suad Joseph, Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, is Professor of Anthropology and Womens Studies at the University of California, Davis. She has published Intimate Selving in Arab Families: Gender, Self and Identity (Syracuse University Press, 1999), Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East (Syracuse University Press, 2000) and Gender and Power in the Middle East (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001).
A unique collaboration of over 1000 scholars from around the world, the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures crosses history, geographic borders and disciplines to create a ground-breaking reference work reflecting the very latest research on gender studies and the Islamic world.
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Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures is set to become an essential reference work for students and researchers in the fields of gender studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, as well as scholars of religion, history, politics, anthropology, geography and related disciplines.
This encyclopedia consists of six volumes (including an Index volume), published from 2003 to 2007.
This is my entry at Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, Brill, 2007
Edited by Suad Joseph.vol: 6
Political-Social Movements: Feminist Indonesia,
by: Yuniyanti Chuzaifah
Introduction
Although over 90 percent of the population of
Indonesia are Muslim, making it the world’s largest
Muslim country, varieties of Islam have mixed
with local culture; this makes it difficult to study
Islam and the women’s movement in Indonesia.
Critical questions include: What is the guarantee
that the Muslim majority constitutes an Islamic
culture? What do we call Islamic culture? Considering
Indonesia has thou sands of local cultures,
which one best represents Islamic culture? Do we
want to describe women’s movements in an Islamic
culture or do we want to focus on the Islamic
women’s movement in Indonesia? What do we
define as a “movement”? Is a movement a public
and collective resistance, or should we include the
individual and personal as part of our definition of
a movement?
Based on these questions, this entry explores
the dynamics of women’s movements of various
kinds and their interactions with Islamic women’s
movements to negotiate their rights in regard to the
state, religion, local culture, and other influential
factors determining women’s life in Indonesia. The
entry examines different political periods that have
significantly changed Indonesian people’s lives in
order to see whether such changes have significantly
affected Indonesian women’s lives.
Pre-independence and the Old
Order movement
Indonesia was under Dutch colonial control for
approximately 350 years and became independent
on 17 August 1945. During the pre-independence
era, Indonesian women’s movements can be divided
into two periods: traditional-local and modern national.
During the traditional-local era, women’s
movements concentrated on local interests and
were not nationalist in spirit; they honored local
tradition (for example the adat system), based on
genealogical ties, and struggled individually rather
than collectively. Modern-national movements
were characterized by a rising spirit of nationalism,
the use of rational organization not based on genealogical
considerations, and an ideological mission
(Chuzaifah 2001).
Traditional-local
Traditional-local elements can be seen in some
Islamic kingdoms, for instance, Aceh in Sumatra
and Bugis in Sulawesi. Aceh had four sultanas:
Safiatuddin (1641–75), Naqiatuddin (1675–77),
Zakiatuddin Inayat Syah (1677–88), and Seri Ratu
Kemalat Syah (1688–99).
The most significant efforts of Sultana Safiatuddin,
who replaced the Sultan Iskandar Muda, the
famous ruler who expanded his kingdom by conquest
in some regions, were to build a parliamentary
system that included female members (≠Abd
Allàh 1983), send scholars and ulema to other kingdoms
such Thailand (Lombard 1986), build literary
and intellectual centers, and recruit a female navy,
inong bale (widows’ fleet) (Sufi 1994).
As well as Aceh, there was the Bone kingdom in
Sulawesi, which was the largest Buginese kingdom.
It had one queen in the sixteenth century, one in the
eighteenth, and three in the nineteenth century. The
difference between Aceh and Bone was that female
leadership was not as important an issue in Bone,
since female succession was viewed as a legitimate
part of the Buginese genealogical system of kingship
(Abdullah 1994).
In Aceh, notable female figures who played
a leading role in the struggle against the Dutch
colonizer were Cut Nyak Dien (1850–1908), the
commander of Acehnese army, Pocut Meurah
(d. 1955), and Pocut Baren (d. 1933). They were
traditional army leaders; the ideological motives
for their struggle against the state colonizer and
infidel “kafir” oppressor were strong, as noted
by Zentgraaff (1983): “Acehnese heroines fought
based on the way of god and they did not want to
compromise with the enemy. They never betrayed
their female dignity and only chose one alternative:
kill or be killed.” Historians have assumed that
many female leaders played second fiddle to their
husbands. In fact, they were able to be independent
leaders, accepted and respected by their society.
This shows that woman’s leadership is a matter
of negotiating and winning legitimacy with strong
capabilities and capacities.
Modern-nationalist
According to Cora Vreede-de Stuers (1960),
the history of the Indonesian women’s movement
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2 political-social movements: feminist
during the colonial and the Old Order periods held
religion to be influential on women’s position.
She shows that Muslim women made a significant
contribution to the struggle and achievement of
the colonial period. She divides women activists
into two groups: liberal nationalists and religious
reformists. Pluvier (1953) divides women’s movements
into three groups: religious Islamic groups,
such as Aisyiyah and Jong Islamieten Bond; non-
Islamic groups such as Roman Catholic women;
and a neutral group.
It is commonly held that most Muslim women’s
organizations were formed from parent organizations,
for example Aisyiyah from Muhammadiyah,
Muslimat from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Persistri
from Persis. In fact, they developed as fully-fledged
organizations in their own right and contributed
significantly to the development of Indonesian
women. Islamic women’s movements had to work
harder than other movements since they had to
fight on at least two levels. First, they had to join
the national agenda as part of the civil movement.
Islamic women’s political groups were involved in
the national struggle. Aisyiyah and Jong Islamieten
Bond Dames Afdeling were two of the seven initiators
of the first Indonesian women’s congress,
on 28 December 1928. Women activists Rasuna
Said and Rasimah Ismail were two important figures
in the strongest Islamic party, PERMI, based
in Sumatra. They were sent to prison, accused of
planting seeds of hatred and hostility against the
Dutch government (Medan Rakyat 1931). Second,
as Islamic organizations, these groups had to work
with religious movements to revitalize a religious
interpretation of women’s issues, and they had to
encourage Islamic society to lead a better life based
on religious teaching.
Other important tools used to strengthen women’s
movements were the many publications aimed at
educating women on a variety of subjects, including:
Poetri Hindia in Batavia (1909–11), Soenting
Melayu in West Sumatra (1921–), Soeara Aisjah
(1927–), Poetri Mardika in Batavia (1915–20),
Istri Soesila in Solo (1924–6), Isteri in Jogjakarta
(1929–), Doenia Istri in Surabaya (1928–30),
Soeara Kaoem Iboe in Bukittinggi (1929–30),
Pedoman Istri in Batavia (1935–9), Pahesan in Solo
(1937–8), and Kaoetamaan Istri in Medan (1939–
40). These publications had different perspectives
on how to define women’s roles. In general, they
contributed strongly to educating women in a reading
culture, encouraging nationalism and cross-cultural
communication, and increasing fund raising
for the organizations.
After independence in 1945, Indonesia became
a republic under the presidency of Sukarno until
1965. Sukarno encouraged women to be part of the
nationalist movement. Many women’s movements
therefore concentrated on the nationalist issues
rather than women’s agenda. According to one
statement by a prominent women’s activist, Maria
Ulfa Subadio: “Our movement was not a feminist
movement. We never became a feminist movement,
especially during the colonial period. Because we
believed that fighting against the colonizer was
preferable to fighting against men. Because we
needed men to be our comrades” (Doran 1994).
In fact, national freedom did not guarantee
women’s freedom, especially among Islamic
women’s organizations, which faced the difficulties
of choosing between nationalist and Islamic interests.
For instance, the issue of polygamy became
a main issue of debate among Muslim women’s
organizations, and among Communist and nationalist
organizations. Therefore, the women’s organizations
preferred to avoid discussing polygamy in
order to maintain unity as a basis for nationalism.
Interestingly, even though Muslim women’s organizations
could not rid themselves of polygamy,
which was considered an Islamic teaching, they did
manage to liberate themselves sufficiently to gain
involvement in the political sphere. Of 272 members
of parliament following the first election of the
independence era in 1955, 17 were women, 8 of
them representing the Islamic parties Masyumi and
NU. NU issued a fatwa in 1997 in favor of giving
women political rights, especially female leadership;
Muhammadiyah had issued a similar fatwa
in 1986.
The women’s movement under the
New Order era (1965–98) until
today
The Suharto regime, which is popularly called
the New Order, replaced the Old Order. The first
policy undertaken by Suharto was to stabilize the
political situation by banning Communism and controlling
political freedom. All mass organizations
were restrained and political parties were made
ineffectual. In the middle of the political transition,
woman’s organizations were in a difficult situation.
Suharto amalgamated political parties and placed
woman’s organizations under the one umbrella of
Kowani (Kongres Wanita Indonesia, Indonesian
woman’s congress)
According to Kathryn Robinson (1999), Suharto
tried to control women and homogenized views of
female social roles by attempting to obliterate the
diversity of gender relations which existed in the
archipelago. He did this by producing the ideology
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indonesia 3 of the motherhood state. Modelon Djajadiningrat
(1987) argues that “ibu or mother is a concept of
ideology which sanctions any action provided it is
taken as a mother who is looking after her family,
a group, a class, a company or the state without
demanding power or prestige in return.”
The public role of woman was based on the domestic
role, since women’s functions were simplified to
being mothers and wives. The state erected barriers
to prevent women from demonstrating their abilities
in the public political space. The new political
climate put an end to women’s movements, and
only allowed “motherhood” organizations such as
Dharma Wanita, the PKK (Family Welfare Movement),
and other similar woman’s organizations,
which were associated together under Kowani
and which sustained Kowani. Kowani consisted of
independent organizations such as Perwari (Persatuan
Wanita Indonesia, Organization of Indonesian
Women), Aisyiyah, and Wanita Katholik (Catholic
Woman), and organizations of the wives of
Indonesian civil servants or military such as PKK,
Dharma Wanita, and others. Inevitably, Kowani
became politically and economically dependent on
the government; the government provided support
to Kowani in the form of transportation, office,
finance, and so forth. In short, the government
more or less occupied and controlled this organization.
Woman’s organizations no longer had
freedom to organize at the grassroots level, except
for socio-religious or charitable activities. Only
organizations such Aisyiyah, PKK, and Dharma
Wanita were permitted to be active at the village
level (Wieringa 1995).
The developmentalist policies of the New Order
era, the regime’s main ideology, were a deep disappointment
to critical groups, including some
women activists. From 1982 onwards women
activists started small organizations to advocate
over issues important to the most marginalized
women. These independent women’s organizations
or non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
tried to address restrictions of woman’s political
involvement, especially at the grassroots level. The
political pressure during the New Order era influenced
the way the woman’s movements defined
their political platform, created organizational
forms, and chose strategies, programs, and target
groups.
In 1995 Solidaritas Perempuan (SP) conducted
research mapping out women’s movements under
the New Order era among 34 women’s organizations,
including some members of Kowani and
independent organizations that had been set up by
NGO activists. SP found tremendous complexity
and inconsistency among woman’s organizations.
Sometimes a group professed a radical paradigm,
but were far from radical in their formal statutes
and programs. Others chose a radical program
even though they resisted being considered a radical
movement or a feminist organization, because
the words “politics” and “feminism” were considered
dirty and dangerous under the New Order era
(Mochtar and Chuzaifah 1995).
The characteristics of women’s movements during
the New Order era can be categorized in many
ways, such as ideology, strategy, form of organization,
or history of development. One perspective
split Indonesian women’s movements into two categories,
wanita and perempuan. Both words mean
“woman” in Indonesian, but differ politically and
etymologically. Wanita was promoted by the New
Order regime and used formally in the state policy
documents. It represented the New Order ideology
of gender politics, including the promotion of
Indonesian women as wives and mothers who were
destined to follow New Order notions of femininity.
Thus wanita organizations were those women’s
groups that had no autonomy and independence,
since they had fallen under the hegemony of New
Order gender politics. Perempuan has been adopted
by other Indonesian women’s movements as a counter-
hegemonic symbol against state authoritarianism.
Perempuan has a more powerful meaning and
symbolizes more independence. Already at the first
Women’s Congress in 1928, the word perempuan
was being used. Perempuan organizations began to
appear in the late 1980s in an attempt to revitalize
the autonomous women’s organizations struggling
against the gender policies of the New Order.
They were influenced to some extent by feminist
discourse (Mochtar 2000).
At first, there were only a limited number of independent
women’s organizations that did not avoid
being called feminist and used the term feminist in
their programs. They were Kalyanamitra, Solidaritas
Perempuan, and Yayasan Perempuan Mardika
(Mochtar and Chuzaifah 1995). The independent
organizations who were closely tied to Islamic systems
and norms were the only mass-based Muslim
woman’s organizations aware of the need to challenge
patriarchal social relations and inequalities
inherent in capitalist modes of production, such as
Yasanti in Jogjakarta. Yasanti focused on the most
oppressed and the poorest women workers because
they formed the most vulnerable group who were
most at risk of being exploited and oppressed
socially and economically. The genesis of Yasanti
was partly an expression of its disappointment with
and criticism of the development programs and its
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4 political-social movements: feminist
questioning of the oppressive system launched by
the New Order (Istiadah 1995).
The 1990s marked an important era for Indonesian
Muslim women; a whole host of Muslim
women’s forums and organizations were founded
and progressive books dealing with Islam and
women were published. The Islamic organizations
were Lembaga Study Perempuan dan Anak
(LSPPA, Institute of Study and Development of
Women and Children) in Yogyakarta, Kelompok
Kajian Perempuan Islam (KKPI, Muslim Women’s
Study Group), and the Muslimat NU Jakarta. The
latter set up a forum on Islam and the advancement
of women in 1994 and published various works
about Islam and the advancement of women. Some
influential books about women in Islam have been
translated, especially those by famous international
Muslim feminists such as Fatima Mernisi, Riffat
Hasan, and Asghar Ali Engineer. These compete
with translated “Islamic patriarchal” books from
the Middle East.
The shift from the New Order to the Reformasi
era has not shown promise for women. The percentage
of women parliament members decreased from
12 to 9 percent. The raising of democratic issues,
together with the beginnings of regional autonomy,
opened a wider field for the growth of Islamic fundamentalism,
which politicized religion at the local
level through formalization of syariah law. Fortunately,
some Islamic progressive movements originating
in independent women’s movements (such
as Rahima, Fahmina, Puan Amal Hayati) or in
mass organizations that were previously controlled
by the New Order (such as Muslimat, Fatayat NU,
Aisyiah) and some of the centers for women’s studies
at Islamic universities have built strong alliances
and started to work at the local level. These institutions
criticize Islamic teaching from a gendered
perspective. They start by noting that tafsìr, ™adìth,
fiqh, and other classical resources of the ulema are
gender biased. At the academic level, the State Institute
for Islamic Studies already includes gender curricula,
and will open postgraduate degree programs
on gender and Islam. Many academic and popular
publications question women’s position in such
fields as leadership, sexuality/reproductive rights,
education, marital relationship, ownership/inheritance,
and so forth.
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