Women as Important Actors for Critical Thinking in Society

Speakers in the webinar “Religion, Women, and Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy”, Thursday (21/4/2022. From top left to right: Dean of Ushuluddin and Islamic Thought Faculty at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Dr. Inayah Rohmaniyah, Secretary General of the Asian Muslim Action Network Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah, Chairman of the Assembly of the Evangelical Church in Timor Rev. Mery LY Kolimon, and Vice President of the G20 Interfaith Association Dr. Katherine Marshall.

IL News 007/2022

Jakarta, May 18, 2022 – The figure of Raden Ajeng (RA) Kartini, whose birthday is commemorated every 21^st of April, demonstrates the role of women as important actors in inculcating the habit of critical thinking in society. Through her letters which were compiled in a book entitled “From Darkness Into Light”, Kartini succeeded in reconstructing the patriarchal mindset of her time which had a significant impact on Indonesian women’s access to education.

This was the gist of the Kartini Day international webinar with the theme “Religion, Women, and Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy” held by the Ushuluddin and Islamic Thought Faculty at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN, for its acronym in Indonesian) and the Leimena Institute, and also supported by the Templeton Religion Trust on Thursday (21/4/2022) evening.

“Kartini led the change for Indonesian women, liberating them from the shackles of traditions that encumber, opening the horizons of the urgency of education for women,” said the Dean of the Ushuluddin and Islamic Thought Faculty at Sunan Kalijaga UIN, Yogyakarta, Dr. Inayah Rohmaniyah.

Inayah stated that RA Kartini had the courage to conduct social criticism of her own culture or society. Kartini argued that education is a route to increase the capacity of women, to free themselves from arranged marriages, and even to prepare themselves to become mothers.

According to Inayah, Islam also accommodates the principle of gender equality, among others stating that both man and woman are servants and stewards of Allah and also that both are recipients of the primordial agreement, both are actively involved in the events of the cosmic drama, and have the same potential to attain achievements. The universal values of Islam also provide space for the equality of men and women, namely tawhid (oneness), musawah (equality), ukhuwah (brotherhood), ‘Adalah (justice), and tawasut (moderation).

“However, an understanding has emerged that does not manifest these basic values such that many social problems occur in society including sexual violence, a high rate of domestic violence, violence and discriminatory policies in the name of religion, and prejudiced cultural views with religious justification or understanding,” said Inayah.

Executive Director of Leimena Institute Matius Ho said that the mindset of RA Kartini who was still young was a big breakthrough in the context of a society that restricted education for women. RA Kartini’s critical way of thinking cannot be separated from her ‘cross-cultural’ associations at an early age. Until the age of 12, Kartini studied in a European Elementary School which gave priority to Europeans. She used Dutch in writing letters to her pen friends who were also Europeans.

“It is very possible that intense correspondence with people from different religious and cultural backgrounds greatly influenced her in producing advanced, open, and critical thoughts, including her religious understanding or literacy,” Matius remarked.

From top left to right: Rector of Sunan Kalijaga UIN Prof. Dr. Al Makin, Executive Director of Leimena Institute Matius Ho, Moderator Hasna Safarina Rasyifah, and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Washington Dr. Chris Seiple.

Low Participation

Vice President of the G20 Interfaith Association, Dr. Katherine Marshall, said that women’s participation in the global agenda is still very low, as contained in one of the 2019 evaluations that only 3% of mediators, 4% of signatories and 13% of negotiators are women.

“The role of women is unseen because women are also grappling with various kinds of socio-cultural expectations,” said Katherine.

With respect to education, the aspects of equality and justice continue to remain a problem. The dropout rate for women has actually increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. “From our experience, it is very likely that women who dropped out of school will not continue their studies even after the pandemic comes to an end,” Katherine mentioned.

Secretary General of the Asian Muslim Action Network (Aman), Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah, said that efforts to spread Islam’s rahmatan lil’alamin (‘mercy to all creation’) are implemented through two vital approaches, namely women and dialogue. According to her, women have a unique nature because they can effectively become agents of conflict transformation.

She gave as an example the Women’s Peace School program, which she and Pastor Roswuri from Poso run by utilizing unproductive lands for organic farming development. The said school has so far involved more than 4,000 interfaith women in 41 villages/urban villages in Indonesia.

“Organic farms become a medium for breaking down Muslim and Christian resentment, prejudice, and distrust, and these farms were conceptualized and are being managed by the community itself,” remarked this woman and peace activist who is fondly called Ruby Kholifah.

Ruby also popularized Reflective Structured Dialogue (RSD) to female ulamas. The RSD Method, which she learned from a training in Romania by Mediators Beyond Borders International, is being utilized as a social reintegration effort for 40 former ISIS supporters. In 2018-2019, Ruby together with female ulamas from various schools of thought such as Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya, Salafi, and Wahhabi also held dialogues on controversial issues including child marriage, polygamy, greeting salaam to non-Muslims, and diversity.

“Currently, a dialogue approach in an urban village in the Regency of Depok is being tested to support the social reintegration process of ISIS supporters who returned from Syria and Iraq,” Ruby added.

“Currently, a dialogue approach in an urban village in the Regency of Depok is being tested to support the social reintegration process of ISIS supporters who returned from Syria and Iraq,” Ruby added.

The Chairman of the Assembly of the Evangelical Church in Timor (GMIT, for its acronym in Indonesian), Pastor Mery LY Kolimon, said that the Protestant Reformation (which started in 1517) reconstructed the identity of women as equal to men including leadership. “In tribal religions, the religious role of women is very limited, thus Christianity provides a new identity as an equal in relating to the Divine,” she stated.

The Rector of Sunan Kalijaga UIN, Prof. Dr. Al Makin, said that the blessing of Indonesia’s diversity should be understood as a basic asset to achieve progress. Meanwhile, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Washington, Dr. Chris Seiple, added that the involvement of women in public spheres is still very minimal, when in fact, women play a crucial role in the sustainability of development and peace. (IL/Chr)