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isyiyah, the nation'€™s oldest women'€™s organization, marked its centennial at its long-term umbrella organization Muhammadiyah'€™s Makassar congress. Aisyiyah has never been separated in its struggles from Muhammadiyah. Nation-state theorists say it takes 100 years for a country to reach political stability. Aisyiyah activists can be proud of their elderly members who enthusiastically took part in the congress this week.

The women'€™s movement in the Reform Era has been political. Women'€™s desire to enter the realm of decision-making in the legislative bodies after political changes of 1998 was immediately challenged, with some believing that women were not fit to take part in politics. This is surely not true, at least from close observation of the activities and leadership of Aisyiyah. Its political challenge today is how to ensure the participation of its members in political contests outside the organization.

But why should Aisyiyah members enter politics? How urgent is it to channel the interests of Aisyiyah into the state?

Gender-blind political approaches view that it is enough for women activists to campaign for the interests of women. This view says that women do not need to fight for themselves as they should focus on the domestic realm, as men can also strive for their interests.

Yet all public policies relate to women as citizens. First, policies specific to their gender regarding women'€™s reproductive rights. Aisyiyah has long worked in this field, opening a variety of women and children'€™s hospitals.

Second, all policies relate to relations between men and women in either marriage or divorce. Third, all policies are perceived as neutral, but have different impacts on females and males, such as policies on education, health, employment, labor and violence reduction.

How can Aisyiyah, which enters its second century this week, contribute to solutions for the Muslim community and the nation in various spheres of life?

Although Aisyiyah has worked hard for many areas, its strength lies in education and health, and it has thousands of schools from kindergarten to higher education. It pioneered early childhood education centers in 1919 long before Indonesian independence, which were known as Frobel kindergartens, after the German leader of kindergarten education Friedrich Froebel.

It is impressive that at that time Aisyiyah was able to successfully import and implement an educational philosophy from as far away as Germany!

Today the kindergartens are named TK Aisyiyah Bustanul Athfal, and there are 5,865 of them across the country. Early education is crucial for a child'€™s development.

At the higher education level, Aisyiyah leader Siti Noordjannah Djohantini says it has 16 institutions, largely health academies and one university, the Aisyiyah University in Yogyakarta.

Other challenges relate to migrant workers and their vulnerability to violence and the development of their children. The millions of our women who work overseas make a large contribution to Indonesia'€™s international image, and the issue has a massive impact on their lives. Aisyiyah'€™s initiative in providing protection to women migrant workers and training to those who have returned from overseas so they can open businesses has received much acclaim.

The state can take inspiration from Aisyiyah in finding solutions to national problems of this kind. To provide the daily needs for modern families Aisyiyah could also strive further to balance the supermarket and minimarket networks

Under the New Order, with its massive membership and structured organization Aisyiyah was in a safe zone against the regime'€™s tendency to pressure and ban various activities. Today, despite there being several politicians and officials with an Aisyiyah background, the organization still faces the challenge of political participation, ideally reaching a quota of 30 percent women'€™s representation at all levels in both the legislative and executive bodies.

It is no longer enough to contribute ideas; Aisyiyah members must join the politics of presence. Their capability in understanding the ummah (Islamic community) and the nation, their leadership and rhetorical skills, their vast membership and strong social networks are their ultimate capital with which to enter politics.

One of their main challenges comes from within '€” the perception that politics is filthy, full of dirty money and corruption. To overcome this issue, the organization needs to establish a clear code of ethics in dividing the role of Aisyiyah members in political organizations and within its original social and cultural institutions.

The current debate about whether Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah should or shouldn'€™t play a more significant role in politics will continue as political interests will always be present.

As one of the world'€™s largest women'€™s organizations, Aisyiyah members'€™ entrance into politics would do it no harm. Its members could contribute their decades of experience, and use their power to do something for the ummah and the nation, not for themselves.

To have women with quality in Indonesia'€™s politics, Aisyiyah should have tough mandatory rules and a code of ethics, and it should only contribute political candidates who adhere to them.
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The writer is deputy of Muhammadiyah'€™s Institute for Politics and Public Policy and lectures in politics at the University of Indonesia. She was a cofounder of the Indonesian Women'€™s Coalition for Justice and Democracy and was a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU).