TheJakartaPost
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Getting in same boat on gender sensitivity
Recently, 91 bylaws were issued with a “sharia nuance” that restrict women’s involvement in public or private spheres, adding to previous bylaws.
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The restriction of women in public and private spheres using religious justifications must be discussed critically on a national level. (Shutterstock/File)
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mplementing religion in our daily lives is challenging because different people have different values. Many religious authorities in Indonesia promote peace. However, some religious groups have used religion as justification for violence.
The same can be seen with regard to women’s rights. On the one hand, religion is used to protect women’s rights in many Muslim countries, while in countries like Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, women’s rights are restricted using religious justifications.
Do these religious policies for women reflect women’s voices? To find out it is necessary for women to raise their voices and weigh in on issues of women’s rights and religious jurisprudence.
Indonesia’s first Congress of Women Ulema should continue the spirit advocating women’s rights in Indonesia. Last month, a women’s long march was held in Jakarta along with similar marches in other nations.
Following Kartini Day on April 21, which commemorates a national heroine for womens’ rights, the first Congress of Women Ulema is to be held in Cirebon, West Java on April 25 to 27. It is to reflect the strong desire of many gender practitioners and scholars to fight injustice and stand for equality.
The congress would be crucial to solve many problems that women face. Just take the reports in mid-April on Aghnia Adzkia, an Indonesian student who had graduated from the University of London who was ordered by Italian immigration officials in an airport to take off her hijab.
Some said there is nothing wrong with proving that the woman was a regular passenger and not a terrorist, but this policy, particularly the way it has been implemented by many Western countries, has become a sensitive issue because the hijab is seen as an individual right for women. No one should force a woman to take off her head scarf.
