PUSH FOR REFORM: Indonesia

1
PUSH FOR REFORMIndonesia

• Maria Ulfah Anshor
• Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama

2
Indonesias Muslim Womens Movement

• Muslim women in Indonesia have been organizing
  since 1920s
• 1940s 50s Muslim women spoke out against
  poligamy trafficking in women
• during post-Soeharto reform, new organizations
  were set up
• Puan Amal Hayati support for victims of VAW in
  pesantren communities
• Rahima, Nahdina, Fahmina critical education on
  womens rights within Islam with men women
  religious teachers in pesantren communities

3
Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama

• an independent body under umbrella of Nahdlatul
  Ulama
• born in 24 April 1950 (56 years ago)
• membership of 4 million women of 20-45 years of
  age
• exists at national, provincial, district,
  subdistrict and village levels
• raising awareness and fulfillment of womens
  rights building democracy with gender justice

4
4 EFFORTS FOR REFORM

• Revision of uqud al lujain (classical text) on
  husband wife relations (2001-2004)
• Formulation of a Counter Legal Draft on Islamic
  Family Law (2003-2004)
• Advocacy on Domestic Violence (2004)
• Advocacy for fatwa law on reproductive rights
  for women (2002-2005)

5
Revision of Classical Text

• Uqud al lujain
• is a gender-biased classical text on rights
  responsibilities of husbands wives which is
  used by almost all pesantren in Indonesia
• PUAN AMAL HAYATI formulated a new
  gender-sensitive version published in Arabic
  Indonesian
• STATUS currently being discussed in various
  pesantren but still considered controversial

6
Counter Legal Draft

• The Governments Compilation of Islamic Law
• is used by all Religious Courts Office for
  Religious Affairs contains gender-biased views
• on marriage inheritance
• GENDER MAINSTREAMING WORKING GROUP at Ministry of
  Religion formulated a gender-sensitive counter
  legal draft (example against poligamy, women
  marrying without wali, recognition of children
  out of wedlock)
• STATUS rejected by Minister of Religion but
  continues to be discussed by Muslim womens
  organizations

7
Domestic Violence

• The verse in the Quran on nusyuz
• allowing a husband to hit his wife if she does
  not obey
• haditz prohibiting a wife to refuse sex from
  husband are used to justify domestic violence
• in Muslim families
• PUAN AMAL HAYATI provides assistance to victims
  in pesantren community advocated for Domestic
  Violence Law with other womens organizations
• STATUS Domestic Violence Law ratified in 2004

8
Reproductive Rights

• Maternal mortality rate in Indonesia
• highest in ASEAN (307 for every 100.000 life
  births) partially caused by unsafe abortion
• FATAYAT NU advocated for fatwa allowing for
  abortion, and for incorporation of safe abortion
  in amandment of Law on Health
• STATUS In 2005, Indonesian Council of Ulama
  published a fatwa allowing abortion for women
  victims of rape and incest before 40 days of
  pregnancy debate on amending the Law on Health
  on-going

9
CLOSING

• Muslim women in Indonesia have been struggling to
  change government policies and reinterpret
  Islamic laws for more than 80 years
• We continue this struggle until now, with new
  challenges, including a new religious extremism
  that is trying to push back our gains
• We join our sisters in other Muslim societies in
  this global struggle for gender justice