WOMEN AND HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER ISLAM University of South Carolina

1. WOMEN AND HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER ISLAMUniversity of South Carolina GENDER & HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDONESIABy Julia Suryakusuma

2. Lecture 4 SEX AND DEMOCRACY: THE ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY BILL AND THE “SASTRAWANGI WRITERS”

3. The RUU APP: origins, rationale & aims • The Anti-Pornography and Anti-Pornoaction Bill, popularly known as the RUU APP, was originally proposed in 1999, has gained strongest support from orthodox Muslim groups • Aim, according to Balkan Kaplale, head of special parliamentary committee to formulate the bill: to prevent moral degradation • Din Samsuddin, head of Muhamadiyah (modernist Muslim mass organization, 29 million members, 2nd largest after Nahdlatul Ulama, traditionalist, with 40 million members) : “the country needs a pornography law to "reverse the situation" of an increasingly liberal society. We are concerned by the moral liberalization that will lead the nation to the brink of collapse, unless it is stopped as soon as possible.”

4. Problems with RUU APP • Ambiguous definition of pornography and obscenity, could allow multiple interpretations and cause confusion and conflict; invites arbitrary arrests based on personal or political interests/considerations • controversial articles in the law involve regulations on public dress and restrictions on nudity in the media and art • Infringes on personal freedoms, limits freedom of expression • Imperils rights of women • Threaten indigenous traditions and culture, threatens pluralism • Against press freedom • Scares tourists away

5. Effects & Reflections • Generated a huge controversy with demonstrations for and against; deepened polarizations within society • Reflects our social fragmentation, search for identity and hypocrisy • Reflects persistent debate about the state and implementation of Islam. Nothing new, but now women are dragged into the argument, and targeted in the process • Reflects machinations of politics: no firm stance from government, and politicization of religion (nothing new) • Reflects weakness and contradictions of legal system • Wrong end of stick: we are an immoral, degenerate and hypocritical society, not that pornography, never mind the way women dress or behave, cause moral degradation

6. If bill becomes law:examples • women who bare their shoulders or legs or artists who include nudity in their work could be prosecuted for indecency and could be jailed or fined up to 2 billion rupiah (US$217,503) • penalties of up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to 2 billion rupiah (S$350,500) for simple acts as kissing in public and baring of legs or shoulders • Even now artists taken to court for works of art: recent example of Agus Suwage, depicting a garden of Eden scene with live nude models of a well known actor and a model; Inul dangdut singer sensual, girating “drill” dancing said to be pornographic (or “porno-action”)

7. Supporters of RUU APP • MUI: Indonesian Ulama Council • ICMI (Association of Muslim Scholars) • Some “Islamic” parties: 1. Justice Welfare Party 2. • Conservative Muslim groups: Front of Islamic Defenders, Hisbut Tahrir, etc • Proponents of Perda in gthe regions

8. Protesters of RUU APP From women & women’s groups: • Limit women’s freedom of expression in public space • Criminalise women’s behaviour; define sexual expression outside marriage as obscene (no kissing in public or PDA) • Prohibit exposing ‘sensitive’ body parts: bare arms, thighs, breasts, thighs, belly and navel, shoulders, legs and hair From arts community (artists, writers, designers, photographers, : • Criminalization of sexuality in the arts, literature and media, literature and media • Outright prohibition on nudity and ban on revealing attire From tourism and entertainment industries: • Will inhibit tourism and the entertainment sector which provides employment for many people

9. Protests…(cont) From regions: • Bali : nudity in certain contexts is an accepted part of the island's art and culture. Balinese also worry that tourism could be affected by the law -- with holidaymakers forbidden from wearing revealing swimming outfits. Balinese protesters have threatened to seek independence from Indonesia if the bill is passed as is. • Papua : there are few cultural prohibitions on nudity. Men wear penis sheaths, women grass skirts and bare breasts • Batam : tourism plays an important part in the island's economy, and the sex industry thrives and is mainstay of the economy

10. Hardline “Islam” versus the rest of us • Others arenas of conflict: 1. Polygamy 2. Domestic violence 3. Family values 4. Abortion 5. Gender equality 6. Women’s political rights 7. Freedom of expression (in the arts, media) • The above are examples of the ongoing tension between hardline Islam and the rest of Indonesian society which is more tolerant, liberal (permissive even!) which can be seen also in the world (I.e., tension between conservative and liberal, or just normal!)

11. The bigger picture • What is the RUU APP really? 1. An attempt to introduce syariah by stealth and reintroduce the Jakarta Charter 2. The Anti-Pornography Bill are the local syariah regulations writ large • Tightening the ranks on both sides: 1. Muslim hardline groups 2. Galvanise other members of Indonesian society against Islam hardliners: women’s groups, intellectuals, artists, and ethnic and cultural group, and even among more tolerant Islamic groups/organisations. Creation of Aliansi Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, the Unity in Diversity Alliance

12. State, society, democracy • The real battle is among civil society groups, state just sitting on the fence (not even arbitrating or mediating) • Indonesia society really trying to democratise: rejects authoritarianism, whether from the state or extreme, conservative Muslim groups • Women targeted, but unwilling to be victims, and again become major actors in resisting repression from Muslim hardline groups, and of claiming their gender and human rights

13. The Sastrawangi Writers • Sastra = literature; wangi = fragrant • The women writers, who are they? Young, 30-something, intelligent, creative and imaginative women writers who have spearheaded literary development since 1998 • “MTV generation” who cross sectors, of class, ethnicity and religion; do not bear the psychological, political and ideological burdens of the New Order • Explore daring sexual themes (but not just), pushing boundaries, questioning, taboo breaking even (see “Sacred, Mundane, Profane, p. 371 -377) • Why literature? Literature reflects life and society. In Reform Era increased conservatism, but also increased openness reflected in among others, literature

14. Competing Gender Constructions • Competing gender constructions, related to various ideological and political camps: 1. conservative (hardline Muslims and traditional conservatives) 2. moderate (mainstream society) 3. liberal (artists, writers, activists, professionals) • Gender constructions reflected in the variety of literatures that exist • In Reform Era literature flourishing: regional, Islamic, community, children, chic-lit, cyber literature and more, but spearheaded by young women writers

15. Sastrawangi controversy • The sastrawangi writers have grabbed attention and generated controversy, even within literary circles and other women writers • Label controversial and loaded with meaning • Some believe it embodies patriarchal values and therefore self deprecating, implying the authors are secondary and unintellectual, popular because of their looks and sensuality • Others think they are “destroyers of patriarchal values” • Sastrawangi label used to advantage by various parties (the publishers, media), and by the women authors themselves because it’s commercially advantageous

16. Women as guardians of morality? • The subject matter, writing styles and language often employed by the sastrawangi writers is sometimes shocking • Depart from common view that women are “guardians of morality” and therefore inappropriate for them to be writing explicitly about sex • Sex considered masculine domain: man as subject, women as object (to give men pleasure) • Sastrawangi works reverses this notion: women become subjects, and relishing it • Construed by women activists and critics as a rebellion against hypocrisy and turning the prevailing patriarchal construction of womanhood on its head • Criticism from other women writers: excessive and self-debasing, indirectly supporting male domination

17. Other women writers • Linda Christanty: author of “Kuda Terbang Maria Pinto” (The Flying Horse of Maria Pinto), political novel, set in East Timor. Unique in choice of subject matter. Linda’s background as journalist and activist is related • Nukila Amal, Nova Riyanti Yusuf, Hely Tiana Rosa, Medy Lukito: some of women writers who prefer to be just called “writer”. Still dominated by urbanites, with differences based on generation, social class, religion and experience • Women religious writers: usually didactic. Also booming but not exposed much by media • Others: regional, horror & mystical, and women writers from the 1970s who are still productive today

18. Literature reflects life - but not exactly • The expressive space of literature is the realm of imagination and creativity, without boundaries, unlike mundane “real” life • In theory, literature has a greater democratising potential than the political process • Human rights and gender equality part-and-parcel of democracy, and literature provides greater opportunities for its expression than in real life • Through literature, women can express themselves more freely, and have proven to be vanguard of recent literary development in Indonesia • Detractors: many, even among non-Muslim groups, but there are no literary police who can put them away. The readers (public) vote with their wallets, and the sales of the women (sastrawangi) writers show clearly they are winning in the race

19. Reform Era Literature manifests pluralism • Indonesian society is pluralist, but gender constructions in Indonesia are fragmented (reflection of the society), and the Reform movement is proceeding at snail’s pace • Literature in Reform Era exhibits a true pluralism, the hallmark of democracy • Women are resisting having their gender and human rights trampled on in all arenas: personal, political, social, economic, cultural, legal, but the resistance of women in the field of literature and the arts in general, is clearly winning • Women writers voicing the collective spirit of the people: our pain, our wounds, our struggle, our search • Can literature act as vanguard for gender and human rights in Indonesia? Not in the short run, but acts as a beacon

20. Conclusion for Lecture 1 - 4 • Gender (not just women) and human rights under Islam in Indonesia is a reflection of the political conjuncture: the balance of political and social forces, and articulated through that specific conjuncture • In the New Order, the state predominated, and set the example of the dispensing and control of power, which was centralised, authoritarianism, and exercised through coercion and force • Patterns of political behaviour (like any other kind of behaviour) is learnt. Non-democratic behaviour is the only way we know, not just for the 32 years of the New Order, but also before

21. Conclusion…. • State and civil society structures can be changed, destroyed created, but mind-sets are much harder to change • The values and level of civilization of a society can be seen by a number of indicators - one of them is the status of women and how women are treated • In all political eras/regimes in Indonesia, women not accorded their full rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution • There is also equality for women in Islam, but distorted interpretations make it not so (this is true for so many other things as well caused by misinterpretation of Islam) • We create our own reality and history. Empowering women (education, political awareness, access to resources) will give them the ability to struggle for their rights, and by gaining them, create a better and more democratic society