Looking at this, you could hardly be blamed if you got the impression that Islam is against feminism. Is that really the case?

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is said to be the largest Muslim social organization in Indonesia, in fact, in the world. As of 2019, it had 91.2 million members. So, you can imagine what the head of the NU Central Executive Board (PBNU) says, holds a lot of sway.

In December 2021, Yahya Cholil Staquf, popularly known as “Gus Yahya”, was chosen to head the PBNU, for a period of five years (2021-2026). Around mid-January 2022, he appointed 11 women to sit on its executive board, the first time ever since 1926 when NU was founded. It was truly a major and extremely significant breakthrough for NU and for the nation.

In a press release, Gus Yahya stated, "Women leaders are included because there is an urgent need…[as]…there are big problems related to women's issues that have to be resolved. We invite the toughest and strongest female figures.”

He was not kidding. Among the women were some of the nation’s most staunch and influential Muslim feminists, including Sinta Nuriyah and Alissa Wahid. They are respectively the widow and daughter of the late Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, who was head of PBNU between 1984-1999 and Indonesia’s fourth president from October 1999 to July 2001.

Gus Yahya served as Gus Dur’s presidential spokesperson during his time in office, and had been strongly influenced by the pluralist and inclusive ideas of his boss, long before his presidency.

So, imagine our shock and dismay when in mid-January, Gus Yahya advised Fatayat dan Muslimat, two women’s organizations under NU, thus: “NU does not need to go along with various gender ideologies developed from other cultures. I remind Fatayat and Muslimat: Don't get involved in feminism."

What is the reason for the sudden volte-face? Why the act of menjilat ludah sendiri (licking back your own spitum) and a slap in the face, even a stab in the back, of all the strong female figures he himself had appointed?  His statement is a backlash that could cause a setback to the entire women’s movement! Why did he say it, especially at a time when the antifeminist movement is strengthening in Indonesia, with the rise in conservatism in this country as well as worldwide?

I wondered what my KUPI friends would say. KUPI stands for Congress of Women Ulema.  It’s a progressive movement, led by Muslim feminists, both female and male (see “Women ulema spearhead movement for just society”, The Jakarta Post, Nov. 30, 2022).

The first response was from Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, a brilliant young Muslim scholar, author of  several books that are feminist interpretations of Islam, and a leading proponent of KUPI. He said that we should see Gus Yahya’s statement in context, that he was trying “to convey the importance of NU people having our own roots, namely Aswaja an-Nahdliyah, in promoting women's rights and advocating gender justice”.

Aswaja is an abbreviation of Ahlussunnah wa al-Jama'ah, the underlying ideology of NU which simply put, is a moderate Islam that is inclusive and just.  

He was heavily criticized by Lies Marcoes, a colleagues of his at KUPI and one of the most prominent Muslim feminist activists and scholars in Indonesia. She said what he wrote was too apologetic, and that in the community of scholars, which both Gus Yahya and Faqih are a part of, they should be able to correct conceptual mistakes, even if they are made by their leader.

Gus Yahya did not specify what the “big problems related to women's issues” were, but clearly they center around gender inequality and injustice. What KUPI has been fighting against are patriarchal ideologies and practices that oppress women. For this, they use feminism as a tool, borrowed from the West, to dig up teachings in the Quran that support gender equality, but that have been distorted and manipulated to oppress women.

Faqih has done this in the most clever way. One of his books, “Perempuan (bukan) Sumber Fitnah” (Women are not the Source of Slander/Sin) (Afkaruna, 2021) refers to the common perception that sin originates from women, most likely derived from the story of Eve leading Adam astray. In the book, he uses feminism to examines the various hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) that tend to be misinterpreted to subordinate women, even to demonize them, by using mubadalah (reciprocity between women and men), a concept that Faqih himself developed. Gus Yahya really should read this book.

Gus Yahya said that people should be judged by their abilities, not their gender. But according to Lies, that is  very backward and dangerous, and it is precisely what Dr. Nur Rofiah, another prominent KUPI figure, opposes, as the different roles and social status of men and women should be taken into account as a measure of justice. Lies points out that by saying “Don't join feminists”, it is the same as admitting that you cannot use the right method to be just toward those who are disadvantaged: children, ethnic, racial, religious minorities, people with disabilities and women.

I asked Nur Rofiah what she thought about Gus Yahya’s statement. She said, his progressive and bold move to include women in the PBNU leadership was not met without resistance from within the organization. So, was it a means to appease them?

Rofiah replied, yes. Also, that women’s empowerment should be seen as a process, so that  in NU it is not divorced from the organization’s religious tradition, i.e. the Quran, hadith, the opinion of the ulemas and various NU decisions, which are numerous. There has to be a push and pull, she added.

Well and good, but clearly there is still a lot of ignorance about feminism in society and among the PBNU leadership. There is also a phobia against the West and its various isms, including feminism. This phobia creates an a priori rejection of feminism, which in the end is about gender discrimination, and the source of gender-based violence. 

Gus Yahya said people are judged by their capacity; but in a patriarchal society, how can they have that capacity if they are discriminated, and not given the opportunity to develop it?  Historically, this is what our national heroines and educational figures like Kartini (1879 -1904) and Dewi Sartika (1884 - 1947) have been demanding. Without opportunity, Nyai Walidah Ahmad Dahlan (1872- 1946) would not have been able to set up the Aisyiah Islamic school for girls,  and Nyai Khairiyah Hasyim (1906 1983)  to set Madrasah Lil Banat, the first girls  madrasah in Mecca. 

So Gus Yahya, with all due respect, please consider very carefully the impact of what you say, so that you do not undo the good that you have done by appointing the 11 amazing feminists in PBNU.

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The writer is director of the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Center at the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES).

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