Women’s agency is central to all aspects of life in Indonesia.
When it comes to the practice of Islam in modern Indonesia it is;
"women’s agency that is often missing in conventional discussions of Indonesian Islam. Islamic revival and Islamic piety are often depicted as being the domain of men, with little attention given to what women are doing."
So, says Susan Blackburn in her introduction to a number of articles in the international magazine Inside Indonesia under the headline:
There are sections in this 2011 publication covering Women and religiosity, Islamic feminism, and Resistance to equality. A summary headed The turmoil within sets out the complex and contradictory currents flowing in contemporary Indonesian society. This is the section on Islamic Feminism:
People concerned about the effect on women of negative trends in
Indonesian Islam have focussed on a number of developments since the end
of the New Order in 1998. One is the scope provided by decentralisation
for local governments to adopt discriminatory regulations under the
guise of combating public immorality. Another is the proposal and
passing of the Anti-Pornography Law of 2008. This law contained a
sweeping definition of pornography which put many women in danger of
prosecution. Many also accuse the central government of turning a blind
eye to anti-woman practices and argue that polygamy is publicly
tolerated in a way that it never was under the New Order, to the
detriment of women. (According to the 1974 Marriage Law polygamy was
restricted by various conditions most of which are now either overtly
flouted or evaded by unofficial marriages – celebrated according to
religious customs but not registered correctly.) Of great concern has
been the decision of the central government in 2001 to allow the
province of Aceh to adopt syariah law, a departure from national policy
made to placate the separatist movement there.
A number of the articles in this issue raise these concerns and
illustrate the efforts of some Muslim groups and individuals to contest
these moves, usually adopting the argument that they are unsuited to
Indonesia and derive more from Middle Eastern culture rather than being
based on the spirit of Islam. According to moderate Indonesian
interpretations, the religion is perfectly compatible with democracy and
gender equality.
Indonesian Islam has long been distinct in various ways. One of the
most striking is the existence of two huge, mass-based Islamic
organisations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Islam (NU), whose origins go
back to the early twentieth century. The differences between these
organisations, usually seen as respectively modernist and
traditionalist, have narrowed over the years, although Muhammadiyah’s
membership still tends to be more urban, more national and better
educated, while NU’s heartland remains the Javanese countryside. Both
organisations have women’s wings which encompass millions of members and
which since the 1980s have been the site of some of the most
interesting developments in gender relations within Indonesian Islam.
Within these organisations have emerged a number of feminists, both
male and female, who have worked hard to make them more woman-friendly
and to reform misogynous discourse. This is a distinctive feature of
Indonesian Islam. Two articles, by Clare Harvey and Joanne McMillan,
provide us with vivid pictures of two of the impressive women leaders
of this multi-faceted and historic movement. Lies Marcoes-Natsir and
Farha Ciciek Asegaf have been pioneers of Islamic gender-awareness since
the 1980s. The articles describe their reasons for dissatisfaction with
existing interpretations of Islam. Both women were instrumental in
creating space for feminist interpretations of Islam in Indonesia and
for linking religion to women’s rights. They have pursued these goals
through various non-government organisations that they helped to
establish.
The struggle of these feminists is ongoing, but cumulatively their efforts make Indonesia unique in the Islamic world
Assisted by a number of other outstanding feminists, these two women
have begun to turn around discriminatory teachings concerning women in
NU’s education system. Similar reforms have been pioneered within
Muhammadiyah, and have even been carried into Indonesia’s Department of
Religion, by the redoubtable Siti Musdah Mulia who attempted (so far
unsuccessfully) to reform the national Islamic legal code to create
greater equality for women. The struggle of these feminists is ongoing,
but cumulatively their efforts make Indonesia unique in the Islamic
world.
Can a Muslim be a feminist? Many Muslim women and men have fought for liberation, justice and freedom, but some still question if feminism and Islam are aligned.
The practice of Muslim women wearing headscarves is often taken as a sign that they are objectified through religious practices. Genital mutilation, child marriage, domestic violence and polygamy in Muslim majority societies are practices said to be based on Islamic teachings.
This leads to the argument that being a Muslim means one lacks “agency” as one must submit to certain teachings.
Western feminism understands agency as a self-realisation and freedom for everyone to exercise their free will. Therefore, they should not be subject to tradition, culture or social coercion.
Indonesia’s first feminist Stories of Indonesia’s early feminist, Kartini, and the recent world-first female Muslim clerics congress in Indonesia both offer insights in this discussion. They highlight the struggle of Muslim women for equality, justice and freedom.
A national hero, Kartini was a young woman fighting against feudalistic and patriarchal Javanese culture founded on diverse foreign values, including Hinduism, Islam and Western colonialism. In her time (she was born in 1879), education was not for girls. Society’s expectation was only for girls to become a wife, give birth and look after children.
Her story, which has recently been made into a feature film in Indonesia, suggests her ideas about equality were influenced by her Dutch friends. But it was also Kartini’s encounter with Islamic teachings that allowed her to learn that the Quran guaranteed equality for men and women.
Tragically, although she campaigned against polygamy, her ailing father’s request forced Kartini to accept marriage to a man who already had three wives.
Female clerics taking over As if in the steps of Kartini, the gathering of almost 500 female religious scholars in Cirebon, West Java, is a milestone in Muslim women’s fight for equality.
The well-versed clerics are leaders of Islamic boarding schools and preachers. They believe gender equality is guaranteed in Islam and that the Quran, the source of Islamic teachings, is not misogynistic. The subjugation of women has instead been influenced by the male domination of Quranic interpretation.
Since the time of the Prophet, the authority to read and interpret the Quran has always been in the hands of men. In the congress, female religious scholars from the Middle East and the region passionately discussed strategies to take over this space and gain authority.
Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam. Albert Gea/Reuters
Malaysian Zainah Anwar, the founder of Sisters in Islam, delivered a passionate speech about fighting male domination in Quranic interpretation.
She told congress participants Islam gives women the right to define what Islam is. It is important for women to initiate reform and participate in public policy within the framework of Islam, the Indonesian constitution and universal human rights and women’s rights, she said.
The clerics believed complex issues like child marriage, domestic violence, polygamy and women’s role in combating the rise of radicalism could only be challenged if women took the lead in the interpretation of Islamic teachings.
Polygamy was one of the prominent themes in the congress. Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, a former human rights official at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, told the audience she always had to argue against her male colleagues in various meetings on women’s rights, and on polygamy in particular.
She said: “I told them it [polygamy] is not the teaching of Islam and I use verses in the Quran to support my argument.” The audience responded with a big round of applause.
Nur Rofiah, a professor in Quranic studies, explored how men have exploited particular verses to justify taking additional wives. According to Nur, Islam says every human being has to elevate the status of humankind, and polygamy does not.
At the congress, the female clerics released a fatwa to lift the minimum age for girls to marry to 18. The Indonesian Marriage Law stipulates 16 as the minimum marrying age for girls.
Although a fatwa does not have legal force in Indonesia, by issuing it the female clerics have taken a bold stand. Fatwa-making is traditionally a male-dominated field.
By taking this approach, the female clerics are attempting to open Muslim women’s minds to the idea that they should not only listen to male clerics on questions affecting their identity as Muslim women.
Muslim women’s agency The idea that Muslim women lack agency is hard to reconcile with this vibrant new network of intellectual women. They no longer accept becoming victims of male domination and they use Islamic teachings to challenge patriarchal practices. They take advantage of any available public avenue to express their need for independence, to be seen and heard.
Does this make them feminists? If they look upon their faith as one source of inspiration that motivates and helps them to achieve strength and independence, then Indonesia has millions.
Students walk to Kebon Jambu Al-Islamy Islamic boarding school in Cirebon, West Java, on Tuesday. The school hosted a three-day national congress during which hundreds of female clerics from across the country discuss the challenges faced by Indonesian women. (JP/Nurul Fitri Ramadhani)
Nurul Fitri Ramadhani The Jakarta Post Cirebon, West Java Thu, April 27, 2017
Responding to the long-standing controversy over polygamy, Indonesia’s women Muslim clerics are emphasizing that the practice is not part of Islamic teachings.
According to Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, who represents Indonesia in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC), Islam never introduced the concept of having multiple spouses at once.
“Polygamy has existed since the jahiliyyah era. At that time, men were allowed to have an unlimited number wives,” Siti said, referring to the era of “ignorance” in Middle Eastern history prior to the advent of Islam.
“When Islam came, it humanized the practice by limiting the number [of wives a man could take],” she added.
Many conservative Muslims still claim that polygamy is allowed in Islamic teaching. The government, however, upholds the principle of monogamy with Article 3 of the law, which stipulates that a man is only allowed to have one wife.
The law allows men take a second wife under certain conditions, such as cases in which his first wife suffers from a serious illness or is unable to bear a child.
“We should learn that the Quran itself pushes for monogamy; it says that if men are not able to treat women fairly, then they must only have one wife. So, the requirement [for taking a second wife] is strict and that’s because the practice can lead to violence against women,” said cleric Nur Rofiah of the Jakarta Quranic College.
In a given year, one out of every million women in Indonesia is murdered, more often than not by a man they already knew at the time of their death. It's this jarring statistic that drove Australian researcher/ activist, to spend two years compiling instances of violence against women in Indonesia with a team of like-minded researchers.
This research was compiled in the report Menghitung Pembunuhan Perempuan—which also the name of the Facebook account that she runs—that Walton released last April.
Walton, who also contributes to VICE, spoke with us about how she compiled these figures, how they are likely only the tip of the iceberg, and how the media is falling short when it comes to giving this issue the attention it deserves.
VICE: What was the reason this research? Tell me how you found all this data. Kate Walton: I started the Menghitung Pembunuhan Perempuan (MPP) project in early 2016. At the time, I was working for an international donor program that wanted to make a sub-program on violence against women. Then I got an idea to do the same because Indonesia still lacks data on violence against women cases. It wasn’t complicated actually. I didn’t work with police or other agencies. Me and other activists browsed the internet through Google News by using keywords like "pembunuhan perempuan," "perempuan tewas," "cewek tewas," et cetera.
It was surprising that most of these women, an estimated 50 percent, were killed by someone close to them. Most of the murderers are family or friends of the victim. It can even be their husbands or boyfriends. I wasn’t surprised that it also happened in Indonesia. The reason varies, but the most basic reason is jealousy.
Aside from jealousy, what else contributes to these deaths? Money problems? Psychological issues? Indeed, those factors can influence someone to commit murder. But in these cases, misogyny and discrimination against women play a big role here.
How does misogyny play a role here? One out of three women experiences abuse by her intimate partner in her lifetime. This includes physical, psychological, financial, and verbal abuse. This is dangerous because their intimate partners will try to overcome their insecurity by controlling them—by forbidding them to go out, for example, or not giving them money, or by being violent.
You found reports for more than 160 murders in a single year. Do you feel like you recorded all of deaths out there, or is this just a small sampling of what exists? I’m absolutely sure that the MPP data is just the tip of the iceberg, not only because there are so many unreported cases, but also because cases that are reported rarely get covered by the news, or followed-up by the police due to lack of evidence or suspects, among other reasons. This is just a glimpse of violence against women in Indonesia.
And you found that when these murders actually hit the press, journalists often use sexist language in their reporting, like headlines that read, "pretty girl found dead." It's such a shame. Media in Indonesia, but also all over the world, often covers murder cases with sexist or misogynistic language, especially in the headlines. They do that to attract readers. Words like, “pretty,” “sexy,” or “sweet” are often used, but it gets worse when the media (and the police and the government) blame the victims. This reflects how patriarchy is so ingrained in Indonesia.
How were most of these women killed? The most common killing method is stabbing with sharp objects like knives, or scissors, or machetes. Forty-two percent of victims in 2017 were killed with this method. From this information we can tell that majority of murders aren’t premeditated, but ones that happen suddenly, usually a result of an argument or dispute.
What can government institutions, NGOs, and everyday people do to prevent these kinds of killings? If what you meant is to change the culture that triggers killings of women, we still have a lot of homework. The simplest yet is for men to respect women like the humans they are. Women have the rights to live peacefully and safely, just like men. There shouldn’t be one gender more dominant in life, we all should help and complement each other. In a relationship, it means men and women should be open and willing to find the balance that works for them. So that nobody feels oppressed or disrespected.
During the last few months Indonesia'€™s official record on the humanitarian front has been rather underwhelming at best.
The execution of two Bali Nine members alongside other drug offenders and the initial hesitation to accept Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have seriously lowered the almost exuberantly positive expectations many expressed when Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo was inaugurated as president last October.
The most recent international outcry about the so-called '€œvirginity tests'€ that have been performed by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police for what appears to be decades, might now become another disappointment as Jokowi has so far remained silent on the issue.
Colloquially known as the two-finger test, '€œvirginity tests'€ have been condemned as a dehumanizing and potentially traumatizing treatment by many human rights organizations for a long time.
During the simple procedure, a doctor puts two fingers into a woman'€™s vagina in order to check whether or not her hymen is intact, declaring her a virgin in the former case.
The questionable rationale behind the tests is to ensure the stability of military families. Whereas such '€œvirginity tests'€ might appear to be an absurd residue of a more oppressive system that governed Indonesia until not so long ago, their intention actually betrays a fundamental problem within a society in which poverty and lack of education still often put unacceptable pressure on female reproductive rights and women'€™s opportunities to express and experience their very own sexuality in a fulfilling, positive and independent manner.
Like everywhere else in the world where the procedure is performed, the tests themselves are merely a symptom of the rampant misogyny that debilitates wide parts of Indonesian society.
Even when considered from a purely medical perspective, the test does not serve its questionable purpose. The assumption that a woman with a torn hymen must have had sexual intercourse is simply inaccurate as a laceration can occur due to a myriad of reasons, including disease and injuries.
Yet, while such medical inadequacies might already suffice to completely discard the procedure, they merely touch the surface of a pervasive systemic problem.
The invasion of privacy is severe and leaves many women emotionally scarred.
Even though sanctions often appear to be absent for women who '€œfail'€ the test, at least in the military, the performance of '€œvirginity tests'€ takes an extremely private part of a woman'€™s personal life and, unacceptably, makes it relevant to her professional career.
Such serious violations of human dignity in the name of establishing high moral standards might appear cynical at first glance, but their existence can hardly be surprising given the widespread dictate of how a good and proper woman must behave.
In the traditional patriarchal world order, a woman'€™s body is considered her main asset and the majority of female gender roles are defined through her sexuality as she is pushed along a preconceived life path from object of male desire to motherhood.
Because the female womb is crucial to the continuation of patriarchal power, its submission was a cardinal aspect in the establishment of the power structures essentially still ruling societal life today.
The most insidious and effective method of absolute control over women has always been performed through their bodies, the most basic level possible. And since ancient times little '€” if anything '€” has changed: even today patriarchal minds (which are not exclusive to men) still strive to hold more or less absolute power over the female body. In this worldview, women must not be granted the right to make decisions regarding their own sexuality.
When the ostensible importance of not having sexual intercourse outside of wedlock is discussed, it is therefore no coincidence that it almost always happens in the context of female sexuality alone. To the patriarchal spirit a woman'€™s social standing is almost completely determined by her sexual conduct, by whether or not she complies with the oppressive rules regarding her own body. If she does not, she becomes a '€œprostitute'€.
Whole religious institutions were created by influential patriarchs of yesteryear in order to strengthen this system of oppression. And it seems to have worked rather well.
Today we live in the 21st century among robots and spaceships, and still female virginity is considered something glorious, something sacred; instead of the unspectacular thing that it actually is to anyone apart from the woman in question: the rather mundane personal condition of not having had sexual intercourse.
'€œVirginity tests'€ are a patriarchal instrument to put women in their place, to remind them that at the end of the day political participation and the improvement of work conditions do not change the fact that their own vaginas, uteri and in fact their whole bodies do not belong to them. Such tests are institutionalized misogyny.
Abolishing them will of course not magically solve every problem women are facing in Indonesia today. It can only be a tiny step in the right direction by slowly stabilizing hopes that Indonesia can finally make another step forward on its long and onerous journey toward true sex and gender equality.
The invasion of privacy is severe and leaves many women emotionally scarred.
No comments:
Post a Comment