FEMINIST IDENTITY AND THE CONCEPTUALISATION OF GENDER ISSUES IN ISLAM: MUSLIM GENDER STUDIES ELITES IN YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA Alimatul Qibtiyah A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Western Sydney Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies March 2012 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my family, to my beloved husband Susanto, who is always there for me and to my lovely sons, Ahabullah Fakhri Muhammad, Acedewa Fayruz Zihan and Akhdan Finley Brisbantyo, who have been so patient throughout. I dedicated it also to mother, father and all of my siblings for their encouragement Thank you all very much ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all of those who have helped me throughout this arduous task. First, I would like to express my appreciation to Professor Julia D Howell. Your expertise, knowledge, and courteous supervision, have inspired me greatly and have sharpened my analyses of feminist identity and conceptualisation of gender issues by Muslim gender studies elites. At each of our meetings, I obtained insightful and inspiring ideas as well as research skills that have allowed me to accomplish this dissertation. Your assistance and guidance made the completion of this thesis possible. I would also like to thank Professor Mary Hawkins, whose expertise on Indonesian and feminist studies greatly helped my analyses of feminist issues in Indonesia. Also, special thanks to Professor John Butcher and Cathy Burns, both of whom helped me in the early stages of my research at Griffith University. Your ideas, spirit and support helped motivate me to finish this study. It has been my privilege to work with all of you, for not only you are models of impeccable scholarship, but you grace the world with your human qualities of understanding and caring. I wish to thanks for all of my key persons and respondents in the Centre for Women Studies and Centre for Gender Studies at six Yogyakarta universities, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, UII, UMY, UGM, UNY and UPN “Veteran” Pembangunan Yogyakarta. Without your contributions, this work would never have been accomplished. To my research assistants, mas Faiz, mas Adin, mbak Novi, and mbak Ambar thank you very much: your assistance with collecting data and transcribing the interviews proved are very useful for finishing this sizable work. My thanks also to all professors, staff and friends at the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, University of Western Sydney for facilitating my realization that that religion and feminism can work hand-in-hand when dealing with women’s problems. Special thanks to my editor, Dr. Estelle Dryland, Macquarie University, for editing my work. I would like to express my thanks to the DIKTI and Kopertis V staff for providing me with a scholarship that has enabled me to pursue this doctoral degree. My most important thanks go to my beloved husband, Susanto, and to my sons Fakhri, Zihan and Akhdan, for being with me and constantly encouraging me throughout this process. Finally, I have appreciated the opportunity to undertake this research and explore my religious beliefs. By offering a new religious interpretation based on gender equality, this research will contribute to enhancing social justice in society. This research has also had a great impact on my personal faith. It has strengthened my faith and enabled me to believe more deeply. Thank you very much my God, for all Your blessings and mercy; because of You I was able to accomplish my study on time. STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original, except as acknowledged in the text. All of my sources of information have been acknowledged in the bibliographies. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Alimatul Qibtiyah 26 March 2012 ABSTRACT FEMINIST IDENTITY AND THE CONCEPTUALISATION OF GENDER ISSUES IN ISLAM: MUSLIM GENDER STUDIES ELITES IN YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA Women activists, both in the West and the East, are reluctant to self-identify as feminists (a) given the various understandings of the term ‘feminist’; and, (b) due to its positive and negative connotations. Among Muslim gender activists, the debate centres not only on ‘feminist identity’ but also on the conceptualisation of gender issues in Islam. Sometimes their understandings are not only different but contrast strongly with one another. One factor that influences the ways in which people understand gender issues in Islam and deal with the associated controversy is the approach they take when reading and interpreting Islamic texts. Some Muslims interpret them textually while others approach them contextually. Some work has been done on gender activists by others from organisations outside of universities who have expressed their ideas about particular gender issues; but, no comprehensive work has been done on Indonesian gender activists in universities. Therefore, this research is designed to fill the gap between the issues of feminism and Islam that obtain among gender activists and scholars at universities. This research, in effect, discusses two highly controversial notions, i.e., feminist identity and the conceptualisations of contentious gender issues in Islam of Muslim Gender Studies Elites. The thesis’ major tasks are to investigate ‘feminist’ identity among Muslim gender activists in Indonesia’s university-based Centres for Women's Studies (PSWs/Pusat Studi Wanita) or Centres for Gender Studies (PSGs/Pusat Studi Gender), to explore what the term ‘feminist’ means to university people who identify as feminist and to those who do not and why some reject that identity, and to ascertain their understandings of Western feminism. This research shows that for strategic reasons, some respondents opt not to publicly identify as ‘feminist’. Self- identification as ‘feminist’ carries a higher risk for women than for men. For those Muslim women who identify as ‘feminist’, the most preferred label is ‘Muslim Feminist’, whereas among non-feminists it is ‘Gender Activist’. The second task is to discuss the variety of understandings of contentious gender issues in Islam. The research reveals the most and least contentious issues among Muslim gender studies elites in PSWs/PSGs. As well, it shows that while almost all of the respondents evinced progressive views regarding gender issues that are not taken to the religious court, they were less progressive vis-a-vis issues related to ritual (ibadah) activity. Respondents’ progressive views and non-progressive views on polygamy and women’s status were relatively equal. The only gender issue towards which male and female respondents’ attitudes showed significant difference was polygamy, which is more problematic for women than for men. Respondents who advocated moderate and progressive views were to some degree close to the feminist positions. While most respondents argued that their gender equality values were not imported from Western feminism, they admitted that many Western feminist concepts and strategies had influenced and shaped their thought and their strategies for dealing with women and gender issues in Indonesia. They agreed that Western feminists are able to raise awareness of gender issues, strengthen feminist identity, and build up faith in Islam among their Muslim counterparts. i This research employs an admixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The respondents were recruited from six PSWs/PSGs in six universities in Yogyakarta: three were religious-based and three were secular. The respondents numbered 165, including 70 males and 95 females, 105 from religious- based universities and 60 from secular universities. All had been involved in PSWs/PSGs and identified as Muslims. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 respondents across all categories. In order to provide the context in which gender activists and scholars at universities play their roles within gender equality movements in Indonesia, I documented the social and historical background of the gender equality movement in Indonesia, details of the Constitution and the functioning of the Centres. ii Table of Contents Title Dedication Acknowledgements Statement of Authentication Abstarct Table of Content List of Tables List of Figures, Pictures and Graphs Abbreviation CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1. Thesis, Aims, Significance, and Scope………………………………..…………………………………………1 1.2. Research Context and Argument………………………………………………………………………………….5 1.3. Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 16 1.3.1. Gender and Sexuality in Traditional Javanese Society ................................................. 17 1.3.2. Indonesian Muslim Women’s and Gender Equality Movements ................................ 22 1.3.3. The Islamic Feminist Movement .................................................................................. 25 1.3.3.1. The History and Definition of Islamic Feminism .................................... 25 1.3.3.2. The Debate surrounding the terms ‘Islam’ and ‘Feminism’ ....................... 28 1.3.4. Approaches towards Gender Issues in Islam………………………………………………………………….30 1.3.5. Western Feminist Thought .......................................................................................... 31 1.4. Methodologies