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Indonesia: Islamic supremacists misunderstand Islam, stall gender equality bill

May 10, 2012 2:09 am By Robert Spencer

Now wait a minute. Muslim spokesmen in the West constantly insist that Islam respects women; some even claim that Islam grants them equality of rights with men (see, for example, here). And yet Muslims in Indonesia are opposing the gender equality bill on Islamic grounds. And oddly enough, the Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. and Europe who insist that Islam grants women equality of rights will not say a word about their Indonesian coreligionists, but will simply ignore them while continuing to brand as greasy Islamophobes the non-Muslims in the West who dare to point out the religiously-sanctioned mistreatment of women in Islam.

“Islamists Stall Gender Equality Bill,” by Kafil Yamin for IPS, May 9 (thanks to Lachlan):

JAKARTA, May 9, 2012 (IPS) – The fate of a gender equality bill pending in Indonesia’s parliament and aligned with the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms discrimination against women (CEDAW) has become uncertain after falling afoul of powerful Islamist groups.

No fewer than six major Islamic organisations have formally objected to the equality bill on the ground that some of its articles go against Islamic values in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation where 80 percent of its 238 million people are followers of the faith.

Organisations opposed to the bill include the influential Indonesian Ulema Council, the Indonesian Consultative Council for Muslim Women Organisations, Aisyiah, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) and the Islamic Community Party.

Iffah Ainur Rochmah, spokeswoman for HTI, said after an important consultation with parliament’s commission on religion and social affairs held on Mar. 16 that gender equality and policies that encourage women to seek employment could only lead to conflicts within marriages.

According to Rochmah, divorce rates among female teachers were high because “wives with better earnings may feel superior to men leading to conflict.”

The bill goes against the grain of the Islamic Shariah law on inheritance which favours males. It also allows a man or a woman to freely choose a marriage partner regardless of religious persuasion and seeks to legalise homosexual or lesbian marriages.

Many ordinary women now accuse non-government organisations (NGOs) such as the international Women Against Shariah (WAS) of creating confusion in Indonesian society that has set notions about the place of men and women in it.

According to WAS, Shariah law imposes second class status on women and is incompatible with the basic principles of human rights that include equality under the law and the protection of individual freedoms….

Indonesia’s women empowerment and children protection ministry reports that the number of domestic violence cases has increased during the last two years – 105,103 cases in 2010 and 119,107 cases in 2011.

But, what irks many ordinary women is allegedly hyped up data on gender violence released by some NGOs. “It’s amazing how these NGOs can collect data so easily in a large and diverse country like Indonesia. We are a society that keeps domestic affairs out of public view,” Amira said.

Yeni Huriani, a lecturer at the State Islamic University of Bandung, says many NGOs have no credibility. “Let’s be honest, there are some NGOs who attempt to draw public attention by creating controversy and may possibly be trying to attract donor funds,” she said.
Recently an obscure NGO, Keadilan Jender dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Gender Justice and Human Rights), published a survey alleging that students of Islamic boarding schools in Central Java have become the victims of sexual abuse by their teachers.

Although the survey did not cite any responsible teacher, student or manager of any Islamic school, it found its way to the popular “˜Solopos” tabloid, sparking outrage among Muslim leaders, academics, and students.

“How can such unreliable information be spread among the public? Sadly, this is the kind of information that is used by feminist lobbyists to press their agenda,” Huriani said.

“This is the work of radical feminists who are fed by the West,” Kirana Andilycia, a housewife, commented in the Facebook group “˜No to Gender Equality Bill”. “It has been stamped in their minds that Muslim women are oppressed, beaten, and excluded from public positions, although the facts are different.”

Andilycia said it is not difficult to see that the real aspirations of Indonesian women are not reflected in the bill. “I think freeing women from breastfeeding and demanding 30 percent of (parliament) house seats are a bit much. That is not what Indonesian women want.

“We will stick to Islamic teaching in women’s affairs. God created women different from men. Our duties and responsibilities are different. Our tendencies and inclinations are different. But we are equal as human beings, as God’s creatures.”…

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Filed Under: Indonesia, Sharia, women's rights in Islam


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