seems logical, given that at the time schools re-
mained closed to women. Only a small number of
women from the privileged groups, such as Kartini,
could enjoy education.
Some women activists had a slightly different
understanding concerning women’s emancipation:
Rasuna Said stressed the importance of women’s
political consciousness as part of women’s emanci-
pation. It can even be said that she was the first
woman activist who believed that women cannot
be separated from politics. Rasimah Ismail, Said’s
successor, emphasized her belief that women should
contribute to Indonesia’s independence movement.
Women’s political consciousness became more
apparent in 1928 when the first national women’s
congress was held in Jakarta. At this congress the
women addressed the issue of the improvement of
women’s education, and also supported the inde-
pendence movement. A year later, at their second
congress, also in Jakarta, they restated political
agendas including their support for independence
and their rejection of provincialism and regionalism.
From emancipation to gender
By the late 1980s, there was a shift of paradigm
among women activists concerning women’s dis-
courses. Emancipation had been achieved and the
issue of gender came to the fore. A number of
Muslim intellectuals introduced gender discourse
to Indonesian Muslims, along with the issues of
democracy, human rights, and environment. Pro-
minent figures concerned here are, among others,
the late Mansour Fakih, a representative of a non-
governmental organization who attempted to ex-
plain gender from a sociological point of view and
Masdar F. Mas’udi, who explained it through
examination of Islamic classical texts (fiqh).
Gender discourse raised contrary opinions among
Muslims. Conservative Muslim groups believe that
gender ideas have been influenced by Western lib-
eral principles which undermine religious teach-
ings. They argue that Muslims should be aware
that not all Western concepts, including that of
gender, align with the teachings of Islam. For this
reason, they rejected gender discourse as being un-
Islamic. Rejection of gender discourse comes
mostly from the so-called Islamist groups who
believe that since Islam is a complete religion, there
is no need for Muslims to seek other principles and
models for their life.
In contrast, a number of young Muslim intellec-
tuals hold that the principles of gender equality
should be disseminated among Muslims because
there are still certain practices in the community
which are undermining of women. Some Muslim
indonesia 603gender activists believe that certain Qur±ànic verses
and the ™adìth of the Prophet Mu™ammad were
biased by the social structure of the Muslim com-
munity, which supported patriarchal cultures. This
problem, they believe, can only be solved by decon-
structing the principles of Islam. Some gender
activists even say that it is time to demasculinize the
paradigm.
Among various intellectuals who examine Islam
vis-à-vis gender from different perspectives is Nasa-
ruddin Umar, who uses hermeneutical methods in
understanding the gender verses in the Qur±àn.
Umar finds that the Qur±àn was revealed in a lan-
guage highly influenced by patriarchal cultures and
is therefore gender-biased. Another gender activist,
Badriyah Fayumi, examines a number of ™adìth
that are supposed to be biased by gender issues. She
finds that gender biases in the ™adìth are influenced
by historical and sociological contexts which infil-
trated the body of Islam.
Another prominent figure is Husein Muham-
mad. From a deeply Islamic background, Muham-
mad approaches Islam and gender through classical
Islamic textbooks (fiqh). According to him, fiqh
actually gives a huge perspective on women, ranging
from conservative to liberal. Gender inequalities
emerged when conservative precepts dominated
fiqhand appeared to be the only fiqhavailable for
Muslims; this took place as a result of attempts
made by certain groups in the Muslim community
to maintain the status quo within the community.
Attempts such as those made by Masdar F.
Mas±udi have succeeded in improving gender un-
derstandings within the members of the NU, the
largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, frequently
labeled as representing “traditionalist Islam.”
Mas±udi is now a member of the top executive
board of the NU. During the late 1970s, he founded
P3M, the Center for Research and Development of
the Pesantren [Islamic boarding school] and Soci-
ety, and attempted to disseminate gender ideologies
among the members of the NU community.
Many Muslim gender activists in Indonesia come
from traditionalist Muslim backgrounds. Rahima,
one of the most important NGOs in Indonesia
working on gender issues, was founded by NU
intellectuals, including Husein Muhammad. The
Modernist Muhammadiyah also works on gender.
Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, a gender activist from
Yogyakarta with a Muhammadiyah background,
established Rifka Annisa, an NGO working on
women and gender issues.
Works of international Muslim feminists also
exert an influence. By the late 1980s, Fatima Mer-
nissi, Riffat Hassan, Nawal Sadawi, Ashgar Ali