Muslim Women and Education in Indonesia: The pondok pesantren experience

Abstract

The pondok pesantren education is a “traditional” form of Muslim education in Indonesia. This boarding school system can be traced back to the 18th century or further. However, it was not until 1930 that the pesantren officially admitted female students, beginning with the Pesantren Denanyar of Jombang. The acceptance of female students in the pesantren was a significant breakthrough in the Indonesian Islamic context. It has led to a unique provision of Muslim education in a largely gender-segregated setting, although the strictness of this depends on the flexibility of the pesantren leader. This paper provides a qualitative, socio-historical perspective of the current state of pesantren education for women in Indonesia, and the challenges faced in achieving gender equity. It discusses the positioning of female students vis-à-vis limited access to public space, their roles—both expected and aspired to—in society, gender bias in teaching material, and the male-centred structure of authority within the institution. While acknowledging the contributions that the pesantren have made to the education of Muslim women in Indonesia, this paper urges them to address such internal tensions to improve the quality of education provided to women.

Notes

 1. In Bahasa Indonesia (the national language of Indonesia), students from other educational institutions (apart from pesantren) are called murid or pelajar.

 2. In the pesantren world, the term pondok also specifically means dormitories, referring to the accommodation for the live-in students.

 3. “Traditional” here is not necessarily something contradicting the modern. The term describes the characteristic of a pesantren which has existed for several centuries in Indonesian history (see Mastuhu, 1994).

 4. In some areas, the term pondok is used more frequently than the term pesantren, thus pesantren students would be popularly known as anak pondok (children of the pondok), and the verb for living in a pesantren is mondok (derived from pondok). This suggests that what has been predominantly (and traditionally) understood as pesantren education is that of a live-in or boarding educational system.

 5. The history of the pesantren tradition is believed to start in the 13th century (Mastuhu, 1994). They were predominantly known as Islamic learning institutions during the 18th century; Yunus (1984) also mentions the existence of pesantren institutions within Javanese society circa 16th century.

 6. Pesantren Seblak was not only known as a reputable pesantren for girls in the area, but it also had a significant female figure in its leadership. One of them was Nyai Khoiriyah, the daughter of Kiai Hasyim Asy'ary (see Srimulyani & Syamsiyatun, 2005).

 7. This rule referred to the religious values in which there is a hadith (Prophet Muhammad tradition) who is quite well known. It is also known within the pesantren community that a woman should not resemble a man. This includes the dress code and other matters. Within Indonesian society, trousers and pants, particularly jeans, are strongly associated with male dress codes.

 8. From the Arabic word al-nidâ', which means calling.

 9. The third one is a popular teenage magazine in Indonesia.

10. In this regard, it means that the pesantren does not have formal educational schooling.

11. In the rules from a Buku Panduan (a book of guidelines) for students, there is no clear information about what kinds of novels are prohibited. This is because the common assumption is that the term “novel” itself implies a love story that might contain some adult information, which is not considered appropriate for young pesantren students.

12. Martin Van Bruinessen (1999) has a specific discussion on the origin of the term “kitab kuning” in Indonesia. The Indonesian Muslim community has two different terms to identify a book written in a Latin script from a book written in Arabic script: the former is called a buku, whereas the latter is a kitab (p. 132). According to Van Bruinessen, such a classification also implies a distinction between the traditionalist and the modernist groups in Indonesia. The first group refers exclusively to the kitab kuning for their Islamic learning. It is called kitab kuning (yellow book) because it is printed on the yellow paper imported from the Middle East at the beginning of the 20th century.

13. Mahram refers to a group of close male relatives who are permitted to act as escorts for a Muslim woman when she travels, but whom she is not permitted to marry.

14. She is the wife of the former Indonesian president, Abdurrahman Wahid, a considerable figure in the pesantren-affiliated organisation Nahdlatul Ulama.

15. The critiques of the results of FK3's work on a new version of Uqud al-Lujain was formulated into a published book by FKIT entitled Menguak Kebatilan dan Kebohongan Sekte FK3 dalam Buku Wajah Baru Relasi Suami-Istri, Telaah Kitab ‘Uqûd al-Lujayn. The book presents a critical account of FK3's work, particularly in the analysis of hadith (Prophet Muhammad tradition) (see Husaini, 2004).

16. The women's section of P3M cooperated with the pesantren for some workshops and training sessions to raise the pesantren community's awareness of gender issues, such as the reproduction rights of women.

17. Some pesantren formed the pilot project of Puan Amal Hayati's women's crisis centre, such as Pesantren Nurul Islam and Darut Tauhid in West Java, as well as al-Islahiyyah in Malang East Java.