Progressive ideas 'should start from grassroots'

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The entrenched patriarchal culture and growing religious extremism here meant progressive ideas on women and their position in Islam should be disseminated at the grassroots level first to minimize serious opposition, women's activists say.

Kamala Chandrakirana, the chairwoman of the National Commission of Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said that the case of alternative draft for the Islamic Code of Law (KHI) showed that the right strategy was needed to promote what was a controversial issue.

If debates about women were not entered into carefully, they could result in a backlash that would halt the struggle against conservatism -- what happened with the KHI, she said.

"The launch of the KHI was a tactical mistake. It served as more ammunition for conservatives to attack progressive ideas. KHI defenders then were put in a defensive position, which was unfortunate," Kamala said on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) on Saturday.

Designed by a team led by gender expert and Islamic jurisprudence scholar Siti Musdah Mulia from the religious affairs ministry, the KHI was an attempt to accommodate contemporary issues and women's needs, instead of heavily weighing on male interpretations, she said.

The draft put women in a more powerful position in marriage, by banning polygamy, giving women equal divorce rights, as extended to men, as well as the right to marry without the permission of a guardian.

Many Muslim clerics, however, were angered by draft, with some calling it satanic and others, comical. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a group whose members span from the mainstream to the extreme fringes of Islam, opposed the draft.

The draft was later retracted by the Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni on February.

Many activists at the meeting called for a revival of the draft and blasted the government for shutting down public discourse on the issue, which they said violated the right of free speech. However, others thought the team had used the wrong strategy to promote the draft and said its introduction was too hasty.

Kamala said that despite the retraction, people were still discussing the draft and the ministry was amazed by the large support given to Musdah and her team.

"The problem, however, is that MUI has already launched dirty campaigns against KHI in the Muslim community and in the mosques," she said.

There were several ways in which the movement of progressive activists and young Muslim intellectuals remained weak, Kamala said.

The movement did attempt to engage with or represent crucial arenas where religious conservatism was maintained and religious extremism was spreading: Public schools, mosques, prayer groups (majelis taklim) and television shows.

Activities in the Islamic boarding school (pesantren) communities were also been too focused on leadership and the elites, and were not focussed enough on the grass roots, she said.

Muslim feminists also had not devoted sufficient time to consider strategies addressing religious extremism among women.

The fragmentation of the progressive movements had also halted the attempt to disseminate progressive thoughts, she said.

Kamala pointed to Islamic non-governmental organization, Rahima, which she said had been quite successful in its movement at the grassroots level.

"The NGO is barely exposed in the media, but they really work hard with the general public."

While there were many obstacles, there was no need to be pessimistic as the country was on the right track, she said.

"Progressive ideas about women do not only appear in KHI, but have already emerged everywhere. In the mosques and the Islamic schools young people are also talking about these ideas," she said.

Fellow activist and Muslim scholar Lily Zakiah Munir said that progressive ideas must be pushed and advocated for continuously.

"There are many ways to do this, but everything must be orchestrated and coordinated well, instead of people and groups acting individually," Lily said.