Maria Anshor of the Fatayat Nahdlatul Ulama says radical Islamic groups in Indonesia are an insignificant minority but that they threaten womens’ rights.
Speaking at a conference in Helsinki, Finland, entitled Religion, Fundamentalism, and Gender under the auspices of an organisation called the International Peace Bureau (IPB), Maria Ulfah Anshor, a senior figure in the womens’ wing of the NU, said that the activities of the radical fringe in Indonesia were blown out of proportion by the mass media. What’s more, compared to the influence of the NU, and Muhammadiyah, the extremists had little effect on the views of most Indonesian Muslims.
Radical Islamic groups were, she said, obsessed with the issue of sharia, and this brought them into conflict with womens’ organisations like Fatayat. She gave an example from one of the hadiths in which it is said that a woman may not refuse sex with her husband. She advised that hadiths such as this one had to be interpreted in terms of the times they were written and that they no longer were appropriate.
Another Indonesian speaker at the IPB event, Rahmawati Husen from Komnas Perempuan, a human rights body, said that there were many attempts presently to institute aspects of sharia within regional government legislation and by-laws. She mentioned as an example the anti-prostitution law in Tangerang.
…there is a rule against women going out at night alone and they can be arrested as prostitutes if their behaviour is suspicious.
(…ada larangan terhadap perempuan keluar malam sendirian, dan mereka bisa ditangkap sebagai pelacur jika tingkah mereka mencurigakan.)
if they arrest my wife just because she is waiting my pick up on side walk, I’ll sue their smart ass til i recover my wife honor back. I don’t care even so they say it was standard procedure.
standard procedure my ass, they did wrong one time with another women here. they can done another right?
Yep, accept if they want to give money and car to every woman who has to work at night and has to go home by bus to afford family’s life.
aarrgghh!!!!
It’s so true, they’re just an insignificant amount, but they really act as if they own this world or at least own this country, and why our government just let them do that?
Molisan Tono, if it were my wife who they arrested, she’s the one who will be suing the Tangerang Pemda, not me.
Yes, my wife probably would be happy to know that I would do everything to “recover her honor” but I am pretty sure she’s capable of bringing the lawsuit herself.
“Recover her honor” haha… This is 21st century Indonesia, you know. I could almost see Ms. Anshor and Ms. Husen roll their eyes reading your comment.
Funny, for someone who makes fun of the radicals, you don’t sound that much different.
I find it hard to believe that Indo gov does almost zero to prevent this insanity.
God created men and women equally, one should understand this very basic foundation.
aloy, recover our wife honor is at least small part a husband could do. of course my wife is capable to so her own swing, but as I am her husband, it’s still a part of my job as a head of family to defend a family honor. unless ofcourse you don’t give a damn or at least care what happen to your wife. listen to this carefully…
if they busted your wife, they don’t treat your wife as honorable and nobel woman, they will treat her like a prostitute… a whore. where the hell is her privilledge to car attorney than? or worse… call you? but what the heck… hey it’s Indonesia 21st century government dude. you trust this country system?
wait till you see your wife showed up on TV screaming or yelling “I’m not a prostitute”… then you’ll bang your head off until you understand what I meant.
peace.
I’d say it will never happen, it’s a small group, therefore has no power. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It has no strength, in my opinion.
haha, molisan & alloy, you two are living in your own little worlds, aren’t you? arguing over what ifs… 😀 next you’ll argue over your imaginary friend’s mariage.
keep talkin Hassan… ;p
Asslaam-ailikum.
Women not going out at night is for there own benefit. A decent Islamic girl would not be out at night and nor would a good husband allow her to be.
salaam
Assalamu Alaikum Waseem,
You are obviously not aware of the realities in this country where unemployment is high and many families rely on the wife/mother’s income to survive. These are decent Islamic girls by and large who are trying their best by working in factories, restaurants, supermarkets and shops to provide food for their families and a basic education for their children.
With regard to you second comment are you saying that Muslim women are not the equal of Muslim men?
Salaam
I think waseem is not Indonesian… am i right?
Indonesia population is over-count now, women is larger number than men. I don’t do the statistic, but it’s true. and most labor are women too.
if women don’t work, they can’t help their family economy, and it may cause other major problem. unemployee issue. Indonesia payroll regulation is low and not eficient, so people need to get work for better life. government miss that part when they make such draft to argue about.
if every male citizen here like in Emirate, I think I don’t need to pay much attention if my wife work or not since I have better salary. but hey, this is Indonesia. everything has price tag, so it’s really hard life we are living with.
I do not find this topic the least amusing. Women rights are a big issue all over the world, not only in Islamic cultures. The reason why this topic is at stake is that the Western world is being forcefully driven by Jewish-controlled media towards confrontation with Islam.
Whether in Latin America, Europe, Asia, USA, Australia, etc., women are treated as second-class persons, usually very limited in their careers and most usually forced to work out of home and then in-home once they are back.
I know Jewish women that have ended up marrying non-Jewish men in the hope of avoiding the social stigma that being a practicant Jewish brings upon them. They disklike being treated as second-hand individuals who are made seat in the rear of the sinagoge, as if they were pets.
Christians are not any better in such a sense, either. Their women might seat up front in the church, but the religion still indicates only men are worth of priesthood.
What is necessary is not only that Islam changes its insight upon women, but that we all do. Secularity is of great help to improve the overall women rights. Separating state and religion greatly helps improve everybody’s life.
You cannot say you love your mother to the point of risking your life to defend her honour, yet, consider her unworthy of praise should she have an oppinion of her own regarding her own right to decide upon her own destiny.
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Couldn’t agree more!