Reading the Writings of Contemporary Indonesian Muslim Women Writers: Representation, Identity and Religion of Muslim Women in Indonesian Fictions Diah Ariani Arimbi A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of New South Wales September 2006 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed Date ………20 September 2006……………………………………............. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed Date 20 September 2006…………………………………………........................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed Date 20 September 2006…………………………………………........................... To My late father, who is my inspiration and whose spirit is living inside of me And My mother whose love, strength and prayers make me what I am today Acknowledgements This thesis could not exist without the help of many people with whom I share my love, my life and my gratitude. Most importantly, I am very grateful to Associate Professor Jean Gelman Taylor, my thesis supervisor. I am indebted to her caring guidance and support for the development of this thesis. I could not thank enough for her courage and faith in me. I am grateful to Dr. Rochayah Machali, my thesis co-supervisor, who helps me with her expertise and words of encouragement. I wish to thank Dr. Jan Elliott, my editor and proofreader for her tremendous help with my writings. I would like to thank Dr. Keith Foulcher for giving me opportunities to have teaching experiences. I am also grateful to my family (Mbak Nining, Mbak Wiwik, Nanang, Nanus, Gita, Pipuk, Pakde Mur) for their endless support and prayers for my well-being. I wish to thank Mary Gravitt, my best friend for our “hot” discussion on issues of politics, economics, philosophy and current affairs. I am very grateful to have a friend like her. She is really one in a million. I also thank to my fiends: Maimunah, Nur Wulan, members of Pecothot Jaya (mbak Anti, mbak Maria, mbak Umi), mbak Erna, mbak Nestri and Zain for their supports, and particularly to Riduan Zain for helping me with thesis printing, copying and submission. Many people have contributed to my education through their guidance, support and prayers throughout my postgraduate school years and the writing of this thesis. There are so many of them that I cannot possibly mention all their names. From the bottom of my heart I thank them for being there for me. I could not have done it without them. v Abstract Indonesian Muslim women’s identity and subjectivity are not created simply from a single variable rather they are shaped by various discourses that are often competing and paralleling each other. Discourses such as patriarchal discourses circumscribing the social engagement and public life of Muslim women portray them in narrow gendered parameters in which women occupy rather limited public roles. Western colonial discourse often constructed Muslim women as oppressed and backward. Each such discourse indeed denies women’s agency and maturity to form their own definition of identity within the broad Islamic parameters. Rewriting women’s own identities are articulated in various forms from writing to visualisation, from fiction to non fiction. All expressions signify women’s ways to react against the silencing and muteness that have long imposed upon women’s agency. In Indonesian literary culture today, numerous women writers have represented in their writings women’s own ways to look at their own selves. Literary representations become one group among others trying to portray women’s strategies that will give them maximum control over their lives and bodies. Muslim women writers in Indonesia have shown through their representations of Muslim women in their writings that Muslim women in Indonesian settings are capable of undergoing a self-definition process. However, from their writings too, readers are reminded that although most women portrayed are strong and assertive it does not necessarily mean that they are free of oppression. The thesis is about Muslim women and gender-related issues in Indonesia. It focuses on the writings of four contemporary Indonesian Muslim women writers: Titis Basino P I, Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim, Abidah El Kalieqy and Helvy Tiana Rosa, primarily looking at how gender is constructed and in turn constructs the identity, roles and status of Musim women in Indonesia and how such relations are portrayed, covering issues of authenticity, representation and power inextricably intertwined in a variety of aesthetic forms and narrative structures. vi Table of Contents Page Number Title Page……………………………………………………………………………… i Dedication Page……………………………………………………………………….. ii Acknowledgements...…...……………………………………………………………... iii Abstract………...……………………………………………………………………… iv Table of Contents.…………………………………………………………………...… v Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter 1 Women and Islam in Muslim Societies: Some General Issues……………….………..20 Chapter 2 Theorising Islamic Feminism…………………………………………………………..61 Chapter 3 From Global to Local: General Perspective of Gender Issues and Islam in Pre-Independence Indonesia……………………………………………………………87 Chapter 4 From Global to Local: General Perspective of Gender Issues and Islam in Post-Independence Indonesia…………………………………………………………114 Chapter 5 Muslim Women Writers in Indonesian Literary Tradition: Walking Their Path for Existence…………………………………………………………………………..149 Chapter 6 Authors, Their Worlds and the Female Traditions………………….………………...182 vii Chapter 7 Representation, Identity and Religion: Images of Muslim Women, Their Lives and Struggles in Fiction (Part I)……………………..………………………………..206 Chapter 8 Representation, Identity and Religion: Images of Muslim Women, Their Lives and Struggles in Fiction (Part II)……………………….…………………………….257 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….293 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..298 Appendixes……………………………………………………………………………330 viii Introduction Women, gender and Islam will always be a contested site because women’s locus in relation to Islam is problematic when their status is manifested through the eyes of the practiced Islam. Various interpretations of Islam have managed to define, locate and perhaps entrap women under certain fixed categories. Amina Wadud and her attempts to break the hegemony of patriarchal fiqh is an example of the problematic female position in Islam. Her endeavour to be an imam, by leading a Friday prayer in New York, triggered a strong controversy.1 The possibility of a woman leading prayer of male and female congregation resulted in outbursts from Muslim leaders and Islamic scholars. However, where many religious authorities condemned her action several others supported her. What Wadud had attempted to do clearly brings gender issues into focus as the idea of female imam for mixed gender congregation remains a controversial issue. Amina Wadud is not the only woman struggling to conduct new readings of the Islamic teachings. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian Muslim woman judge, has shown that Wadud is not working alone. Ebadi, the first Muslim Nobel Laureate woman from an Islamic state focuses on the congruence of the discourse of human rights and Islam and its demanded actions. Her mission as defender of human rights in general and women’s and children rights in particular in Iran, within an Islamic discourse, has made her an inspiration for other Muslim women. Ebadi believes that her use of Islam as a strong support in articulating and advancing human rights is justified. She states: [the] divine book (the Qur’an) sees the mission of all prophets as that of inviting all human beings