Piety and Sexuality in a Public Sphere: Experiences of Javanese Muslim Women’s Political Leadership

ABSTRACT

“Familial ties,” “political dynasties” and “moral capital” are some factors previously believed to explain female leadership in Asia. However, these are no longer sufficient to understand the rise of Muslim women in Indonesian politics, surrounded by the third wave of Islamization and globalization in the 21^st century. This paper analyses competing ideas of Islamic piety and sexuality behind the rise of Muslim women in Indonesian local politics. It explores the stories of four female Javanese Muslim political leaders in using ideas of gender, piety and sexuality in private life and as political strategy. This paper reveals that the idea of Islamic piety, such as wearing the veil to show modesty within the increasing engagement of Indonesian society with Islamization has been prominent. Donning the veil not only signifies their Islamic modernity, it also provides comfortable spaces for manoeuvre in the public sphere. The discourses and practices of sexuality focusing on heterosexual norms have been predominant in shaping societal expectations and are used in political campaigns. This paper sees that the gender normative standard that stipulates appropriate positions and roles of women and men in Javanese society and politics has changed, in favor of greater participation by Muslim women in the public sphere.

ABSTRACT IN BAHASA

“Hubungan kekerabatan,” “dinasti politik” dan “modalitas moral” adalah beberapa faktor yang dahulu mampu menjelaskan kepemimpinan perempuan di Asia. Namun, hal itu tidak lagi cukup untuk memahami kemunculan para perempuan Muslim sebagai pemimpin politik di Indonesia, dalam konteks Islamisasi gelombang ketiga dan globalisasi di abad-ke 21. Tulisan ini menganalisis kontestasi ide mengenai kesalehan Islam dan seksualitas di balik kemunculan para perempuan Muslim pemimpin politik lokal di Indonesia. Tulisan ini mengekesplorasi cerita empat politisi perempuan Muslim Jawa dalam mengolah gender, kesalehan, dan seksualitas dalam kehidupan pribadi dan strategi politik. Tulisan ini mengungkapkan bahwa penggunaan gagasan kesalehan Islam seperti pemakaian jilbab untuk menunjukkan kesalehan di dalam komunitas yang semakin Islami, menjadi sangat penting. Memakai jilbab tidak hanya menunjukkan bahwa mereka moderen dan Islami, tetapi pada saat yang bersamaan menjadikan mereka nyaman berkiprah dan menyiasati ruang publik. Wacana dan praktik seksualitas yang berpusat pada norma heteroseksual menjadikan mereka mudah diterima oleh masyarakat dan karenanya digunakan dalam kampanye politik. Tulisan ini menengarai bahwa norma gender standar yang menggariskan peran dan posisi ideal perempuan dan laki-laki di Jawa, dan dalam politik telah mengalami perubahan, yang mendorong partisipasi perempuan Muslim di ruang publik yang lebih besar.

KEYWORDS:

• Muslim women
• Javanese
• political leader
• piety
• sexuality
• public sphere

KEYWORDS:

• Perempuan Muslim
• Jawa
• pemimpin politik
• kesalehan
• seksualitas
• ruang publik

Acknowledgement

This work was commissioned by the Asian Association of Women's Studies (AAWS) as part of the Korea-ASEAN Collaborative Research Project supported by the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund. My deepest thanks go also to the two anonymous referees of AJWS for their critical and valuable comments.

Notes on contributor

Kurniawati Hastuti DEWI is senior researcher in the Research Center for Politics, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and is also a member of the Asian Association of Women’s Studies (AAWS). She earned her Ph.D. in Area Studies from Kyoto University and MA in Asian Studies from the Australian National University. Her research interests are in the areas of gender and politics, gender and decentralization, Islam and women’s leadership, representation of women and ethnic minorities, human rights of women and children. Her publications have appeared in leading academic journals, such as SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesian Feminist Journal, Masyarakat Indonesia, Jurnal Perempuan, Jurnal Penelitian Politik. Her latest publication is Indonesian Women and Local Politics: Islam, Gender and Networks in Post-Suharto Indonesia (Singapore: NUS Press and Kyoto University Press, 2015). Email: [email protected].