Aisyiyah's politics and independent womanhood

Siti Syamsiyatun, Melbourne

Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, the independent women's organization of the Muhammadiyah, held its 10th national congress from Dec. 8 to Dec. 11 in Surakarta, Central Java.

Aisyiyah's membership consist of women between the ages of 17 and 40. The theme of this year's congress was Strengthening the role of Aisyiyah in the making of public policy, which indicates that the groups is obviously prepared to become involved in policy-making to protect women's rights.

During the New Order, Aisyiyah withdrew from the political scene, such as in gathering supporters for a particular political party and other activities. However, Aisyiyah's political reluctance is receding in the post-New Order era.

In this year's general elections, about 20 Aisyiyah members representing at least four different political parties campaigned for a post in the local legislatures -- this, in Yogyakarta alone.

Considering this behavior, one may wonder what kind of womanhood does Aisyiyah pursue, and how?

In 1931, the organization adopted the name of Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, which means the younger generation of Aisyiyah. Aisyiyah means those who follow or embrace the qualities of Aisyah, the Prophet Muhammad's wife.

The organization's ideal representation of womanhood is the Prophet' wife, who was known to be loving, caring, active, financially independent, knowledgeable and courageous.

At present, Aisyiyah claims to have representation in all 32 provinces. In order to manage its massive membership spread throughout the country, the organization's leadership is divided into five levels: national, provincial, municipal, wards and hamlets.

In the 9th congress held in Jakarta in July 2000, Aisyiyah reconfirmed its vision to become the women's front of Muhammadiyah in performing the Islamic dakwah, amar makruf nahi munkar -- or religious promulgation, calling for good deeds and avoiding evil -- to create a virtuous Muslim community.

To implement this vision, Aisyiyah established the five departments of Dakwah, Cadre, Social and Economy, Information and Documentation, and Art and Culture, as well as the two semi- independent institutes for research and for organizational development, and a bureau of public relations and foreign affairs.

While the New Order viewed Islam as a political threat, for Aisyiyah, the faith has always been an important source of values for improving women's lives. It is thus not surprising that the group's founding principles as stated in the preamble to its constitution was inspired by the Koranic imperatives: "Let there be one nation of you, calling to good and bidding to honor, and forbidding dishonor; those who do will prosper"; and "And the believers, the men and the women, are friends one of the other; they bid to honor, and forbid dishonor; they perform the prayers and pay the alms, and they obey God and His messenger".

Both verses call to implement the Islamic ideal of virtuous humanity and community, based on divine honor and transcendental communion. Aisyiyah's ideal of a prosperous community toward which women should actively pursue is driven by a normative image, which is expressed in Koranic terms as ummatan wasatha -- a community justly balanced -- and baldatun thoyyibatun wa rabbun ghafur -- a good land and a All-forgiving Lord -- as is clearly delineated in the constitutional preamble.

The Cadre Department is responsible for educating future leaders who are expected to internalize the character of the Prophet's wife, which was based on Islamic virtues. The group believes that human beings should live according to tauhid, or pure monotheism, and sincere devotion to God, and should embrace wisdom, patience, persistence, open-mindedness and knowledge.

The Dakwah Department is responsible for maintaining the groups members' connection to Islamic tradition and establishing a sense that performing religious duties is a happy and rewarding endeavor. This department also provides training for aspiring women clerics. The Dakwah program was developed upon major themes in collaboration with the new semi-independent Research Institute.

From 1990 to 1995, the major theme was "Women, Health and Environment". Reportedly, Aisyiyah was among the first women's organizations in the country to respond to the emerging issues of women's reproductive rights and women's health in direct criticism of the New Order's family planning policy.

For the 1995 to 2000 period, it focused on "Women's Political and Economic Empowerment". The group's focus was timely in light of the 1990s economic crisis, which led to a severe political crisis and the fall of the New Order in 1998.

Aisyiyah's Family Welfare Department was established in 1971. Despite the similarity in nomenclature it shared with the state- sponsored Family Welfare Movement (PKK), Aisyiyah propagated a different image of womanhood, quietly rejecting the image of submissive and apolitical motherhood.

In the PKK's early phase, the government focused on population control and other quantitative targets, which violated women's dignity and rights in many cases. Aisyiyah, on the other hand, promoted family planning not only targeting the betterment of women's health, but also of their children's physical and moral well-being.

Through such means, Aisyiyah was able to advance its mission in women's health and family affairs while at the same time, it did not create an open conflict with the government.

In 1990 the Family Welfare Department was renamed the Social and Economic Department with a broader mandate and different focuses. It is now responsible for carrying out programs to improve social and economic conditions for women and the community.

Aisyiyah and its members encouraged necessary and manageable economic activities that were needed and manageable, such as small-scale cooperatives, small business networks and non-banking financial institutions, which are not incompatible with religion.

Official recognition of new branches is given by Aisyiyah's central leadership when the women have proved their commitment and developed activities that benefited their community, such as setting up pengajian, an informal group for religious learning, micro-finance institutions, cooperatives, as well as antismoking and women's group, to mention a few.

It is the Aisyiyah women who created their own programs to meet their needs in their particular locality and when it suits them.

Apparently, when Aisyiyah was under the strict control of the New Order regime, it undertook a strategy of strengthening its internal resource and organizational instruments, rather than outwardly challenging the government. Several women's NGOs deliberately opened a "front" to challenge the government by organizing mass rallies, announcing the statement via the media and conducting boycotts.

Aisyiyah is, however, more subtle, and applies a psychological approach to convey its criticism, so as not to create open conflict with the government and protect its members.

The writer is a member of Nasyiatul Aisyiyah and a lecturer at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University at Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Monash University, Australia. She can be reached at ssya4@student.monash.edu