Aisyiyah's politics and independent womanhood

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