Conclusion
This chapter uses a case study of MISPI and its activists to demonstrate how one local women’s NGO and its activists respond to the implementation of Islamic law through rereading Islamic law.
It shows that the local NGO, while working for donors, was still able to maintain its own perspective in promoting equality. The discussion also shows that to work in a society where Islam and tradition are strongly entrenched in the people’s lives, an NGO needs to ensure that it works within the local context. MISPI is one Acehnese women’s NGO that has demonstrated its agency by preserving its Islamic credentials to earn respect from male-dominated government circles, religious Ulama, the conservative religious groups and the wider Acehnese community.In its response to the implementation of Islamic law MISPI has chosen to work with government institutions by initiating collaboration and networking. By working closely with religious leaders and government institutions, MISPI hopes that it can influence the policy-making process and, at the same time, introduce new understandings on equal gender relations in Aceh based on Islam. MISPI understands that in promoting the issue of equality and gender justice to a conservative religious community it needs to make sure that it pays attention to local knowledge and values. Although it promotes Islam’s egalitarian messages, MISPI and its activists are still in the initial stages of introducing what they see as Islamic knowledge on gender equality and justice. MISPI’s activities have been possible because of the presence of democratic mechanisms that allow freedom of speech and the freedom to associate. At the same time, however, the presence of foreign institutions and international NGOs has also introduced local women activists to international norms on human rights. Despite its resistance to new values coming from the West, MISPI is, in fact, engaging with feminism.
MISPI has demonstrated its agency to promote women’s status and gender equality within the framework of Islam because it sees that as the best way to challenge conservative views about women. MISPI maintains its Islamic credentials and Acehnese identity so it is able to negotiate its agenda and gain access to male-dominated government institutions and conservative religious leaders. While it may be seen as supporting the status quo, MISPI’s programmes have also empowered women and introduced women to their rights within Islam. MISPI has been successful in bringing women at the grassroots to start talking about equality and understand that Islam guarantees that their rights should be equal to men’s. More than that, I argue that MISPI has also brought together women of different social backgrounds to discuss their views on various issues, something that is new for many Acehnese women.
In conclusion, MISPI has introduced Acehnese women to the importance of having their voices heard and to listening to other voices that in the end can have a positive impact on their lives. MISPI allowed Acehnese women to start having their conversation on the issue of equality, women’s civil and political rights and how Islam guarantees women’s rights. MISPI’s strategy has also resulted in gaining leverage among religious and government leaders so that its voices and views are respected. With this strategy Syarifah and MISIPI have been able to exercise influence, which, it is hoped, will ultimately result in legal and social reforms that will better empower women.
Notes
1 See Chapter 3, where I discuss the social and political circumstances surrounding the emergence of local women’s NGOs and women’s movements in Aceh.
2 For a comprehensive account of these political developments, see Aspinall (2009).
3 See Chapter 4 for discussion of the Inong Balee and their struggles as part of the GAM movement.
4 See also Chapter 5 for details of intimidation of some Acehnese women by GAM followers.
In my conversations with various informants it was sometimes argued that GAM is very patriarchal. Informants referred, for example, to various incidents during the initial introduction of Islamic law, when GAM supporters conducted ‘razia jilbab’ or jilbab raids. Bowen (2003 has similarly revealed that in Central Aceh, GAM often conducted jilbab raids and in some cases cut women’s hair.5 See Chapter 4. For further account on how activists were treated by the Indonesian military, see Schulze (2006, 253–254).
6 At the time the research was conducted, Dana Lubis was the head of IMPACT, a local NGO that works to train trainers and facilitators. He was once the head of the HMI branch in Aceh province and when he graduated he worked at WALHI, an environmental national NGO. I interviewed him in the Hotel Sultan, Banda Aceh, on 8 December 2007, where he was a speaker at a seminar conducted by MISPI on developing a network among women leaders and women members of the local legislature from throughout the Aceh region.
7 HMI or Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam is a Muslim Student Organization established in Yogyakarta in 1947. Since its establishment, HMI has been one of the important student organizations until now. Many of the former members of HMI have gained respected position within government circles, for example, becoming members of parliament and ministers and occupying other important and strategic political positions. This organization has its branches in almost all provinces throughout Indonesia, and is usually based in universities across the country. Mukhtar (2006) argues that the cadres of HMI have been involved not only in Islamic or nationalist struggles. As Mukhtar (2006, 2) points out, Azyumardi Azra, one of the respected former members of HMI, has now become one of the most influential moderate Muslim political thinkers in Indonesia. Mukhtar argues that as an organization HMI has a strong political orientation due to its history. Azra (cited in Mukhtar 2006, 2) points out that at the time HMI was launched, Indonesia was in the midst of its struggle to defend Indonesia’s national independence and had to fight against the Dutch colonial government that sought to resume power in the country.
In addition, Hefner (1997, 79–81) has observed that the Muslim Student Organization (HMI) was one of the Muslim groups in Indonesia that ‘took a less pessimistic view’ of the New Order government. This can be seen, for example, in its support of the New Order policy to ban the Communist Party in the 1960s. Hefner argued that, according to the Muslim Student Organization (HMI), the New Order policy to restrict political Islam did not mean that it was against ‘cultural’ or ‘civil Islam’. Hefner has also noted that in the early period of the New Order, some prominent Muslim activists from HMI ‘chose to cooperate and work for change’ from within the system. The result was that these Muslim activists have been able to influence Indonesian Muslim political attitudes.8 Interview with Zubaidah Djohar, Banda Aceh, 12 December 2007.
9 Baiturrahman Mosque is the grand mosque in Aceh. People come here not only to pray but also for recreation. It is located in the main area of capital city of Banda Aceh. Many Acehnese believe that the mosque is sacred. It was built by the Dutch colonial administration in 1879. It has now become the city’s main landmark and a symbol of Aceh. Perceptions of the sacredness of the mosque increased after the tsunami, as it remained standing despite being hit by the earthquake and tsunami, while surrounding buildings were destroyed.
10 The central market or Pasar Raya in Banda Aceh was completely destroyed by the tsunami. At the time of my research, the market was in the process of reconstruction. It is located by the Krueng Raya River.
11 See Chapter 1, where I discuss how those who participate in various trainings, seminars and workshops, or who are informants in a survey, usually receive financial compensation.
12 Hefner (1993, 13) argues that the creation of ICMI, which received the support of Suharto in 1990, was a sign of a ‘deepening Islamisation of Indonesian State and Ideology’. For more accounts on the backgrounds of the creation of ICMI, see Hefner (1993), Ricklefs (2001, 393), Hefner (1997, 75–77) and Azra (2004).
13 Partai Bulan Bintang is one of the many nationally based Islamic political parties that emerged in 1999.
14 KPU is a government body assigned to manage elections. It is an autonomous commission that works on a nationwide scale, with a permanent basis. It has branches at provincial and district level which are called KPUD or Regional Election Commissions (Pratikno 2009, 58–59).
15 In Indonesia, it is very easy to get fake-branded watches or handbags. Many Acehnese women often travel to Medan, North Sumatra, to get fake fashion.
16 See also Mernissi (2003, 31–32), in which she mentioned that an Egyptian jurist and nationalist, Qasim Amin, had argued that men, in fact, should control their gaze rather than expect women to cover up in public space.
17 One women activist told me, for example, that when she travelled with a group of women activists to Cirebon for training organized by the Asia Foundation, some activists began to take off their jilbab as soon as their plane departed Medan, the transit airport from Aceh to Jakarta. By the time they arrived in Jakarta, they had completely let down their hair, without any covering.
18 Many Acehnese said they can recognize activists from how they cover their hair. A woman who wears a shawl that is draped loosely over the head and shoulder is most likely an activist.
19 See Chapter 3, in which I discuss the different interpretations that some Acehnese women have given to ‘Muslim clothing’.
20 Syarifah is referring to the mass gathering at the Grand Baiturrahman Mosque after Aceh was granted the rights to implement sharia law. For further accounts of this, see Aspinall (2009).
21 Syarifah expresses this opinion on sharia implementation in speeches that she delivers at almost every training, seminar and workshop organized by MISPI.
22 Golkar Party is a national-based political party. It was the political vehicle of the ruling government during Suharto’s New Order administration.
23 Interview, Banda Aceh, 24 January, 2008.
24 Interview, Banda Aceh, 7 December 2007. Partai Bulan Bintang is an Islamic political party.
In the 2009 general election, Partai Bulan Bintang won only 1.79 per cent of the vote. It has continued to lose the support from the Indonesian Muslims, as can be seen from declining votes. In 1999, it won 13 seats in the national legislature, but only 11 in the 2004 election.25 Interview February, Banda Aceh, 25 March 2007.
26 See Chapter 5 for a discussion on the resistance of some local NGO activists to the ‘West’.
27 For more on Majlis Taklim, see Doorn-Harder (2006).
28 This verse is quoted from Wadud (1999). Taqwa is a key Qur’anic term that refers to a person’s moral integrity and commitment to the teachings of Islam (Wadud 1999).
29 See Chapter 4 for a discussion of JPUK activities.
30 See also Chapter 4 on how women in Aceh react to the international norms.
31 All these religious leaders – Professor Alyasa Abubakar, Professor Tgk Muslim Ibrahim, Dr Nurjannah Ismail – that MISPI is working with are academics at the IAIN Ar-Raniry.
32 See also Riddell (2006, 48–49), in which he described that in forming their Islamic identity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Acehnese drew elements form other Islamic areas, such as from India and from Arabia, before adapting them to local contexts.
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