Male Perspective on Women in Contemporary Indonesian Islamic Literature

Wajiran Wajiran*  -  Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Indonesia

(*) Corresponding Author

 

 This paper aims at discussing the image of women in contemporary Indonesian Islamic literature after the ‘Indonesian Reformation’ in 1998. In contrast to the previous era, the images of women in this period are presented differently by male writers. Women are depicted more moderate and progressive. This paper applies the method of sociology of literature whereby literature is regarded as a reflection of its society. It employs content analysis of the text to see how Javanese Muslim women are depicted and how the depiction reflects the society. Two novels discussed in this paper are Cinta Suci Zahrana by Habiburrahman El Shirazy and Perempuan Badai by Mustofa W. Hasyim. The results show that these novels raise various issues of Muslim women in contemporary Indonesia. They show that there is a development in presenting the image of Muslim women in Indonesia. There is a development of thoughts, especially about the social status of women. The changes include the level of education, determination of spouse and freedom to participate in public spheres. The level of education obtained by the main characters is an essential milestone in changing women’s position in Indonesian Muslim society. Women are not just an object, but they should be the subject in the life of the Muslim community. 

Keywords: contemporary Indonesian literature; gender bias; Islamic literature; male's perspective.

  1. Abrams, Meyer Howard. 1953. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Vol. 360. New York: Oxford University Press.
  2. Arimbi, Diah Ariani. 2009. Reading Contemporary Indonesian Muslim Women Writers: Representation, Identity and Religion of Muslim Women in Indonesian Fiction. Vol. 3. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
  3. Aveling, Harry. 2007. “Indonesian Literature after’’Reformasi’’: The Tongues of Women.” Kritika Kultura 8: 9–53.
  4. Damayanti, Eka. 2013. “Analisis Nilai Moral Novel Cinta Suci Zahrana Karya Habiburrahman El Shirazy Dan Skenario Pembelajarannya Di Kelas XI SMA.” SURYA BAHTERA 1 (07).
  5. Danerek, Stefan. 2006. Tjerita and Novel. Literary Discourse in Post New Order Indonesia. Lund University.
  6. Dewi, Kurniawati Hastuti. 2015. Indonesian Women and Local Politics: Islam, Gender and Networks in Post-Suharto Indonesia. Singapore: NUS Press.
  7. El Shirazy, Habiburrahman. 2011. Cinta Suci Zahrana. Ar-Risalah Product.
  8. Farwah, Aliyah. 2013. “Faktor Sosial Terhadap Kesejahteraan Islami Keluarga Muslim Di Kota Surabaya.” Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Bisnis Airlangga (JEBA)| Journal of Economics and Business Airlangga 23 (2).
  9. Hasyim, Mustofa W. 2006. Perempuan Badai. Yogyakarta: Panda.
  10. Heryanto, Ariel. 2012. Budaya Populer di Indonesia: Mencairnya Identitas Pasca-Orde Baru. Yogyakarta: Jalasutra. https://openlibrary.telkomuniversity.ac.id/pustaka/143198/budaya-populer-di-indonesia-mencairnya-identitas-pasca-orde-baru.html.
  11. Nasrullah, Nurdin. 2013. Sastra Adab Nusantara Dalam Bingkai Sejarah. Jakarta: Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah.
  12. Osman, Rahmah Ahmad. 2008. “Defining Islamic Literature.” International Journal of the Humanities 5 (11).
  13. Rani, Mohd Zariat Abdul. 2012. “Islam, Romance and Popular Taste in Indonesia: A Textual Analysis of Ayat Ayat Cinta by Habiburrahman El-Shirazy and Syahadat Cinta by Taufiqurrahman Al-Azizy.” Indonesia and the Malay World 40 (116): 59–73.
  14. Rinaldo, Rachel. 2011. “Muslim Women, Moral Visions: Globalization and Gender Controversies in Indonesia.” Qualitative Sociology 34 (4): 539–60.
  15. Rosidi, Ajip. 1995. Sastera dan Budaya: Kedaerahan Dalam Keindonesiaan. Dunia Pustaka Jaya.
  16. Sakai, Minako. 2012. “Preaching to Muslim Youth in Indonesia: The ‘dakwah’ Activities of Habiburrahman El Shirazy.” RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 46 (1): 9.
  17. Wahib, Ahmad Bunyan. 2014. “‘Reformasi’ Hukum Keluarga Di Dunia Muslim.” Ijtihad: Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam Dan Kemanusiaan 14 (1): 1–19.
  18. Wajiran, Wajiran. 2018. “Polygamy and Muslim Women in Contemporary Indonesian Literature.” Jurnal Humaniora 30 (3): 291–304.
  19. Weintraub, Andrew N. 2010. Dangdut Stories: A Social and Musical History of Indonesia’s Most Popular Music. Oxford University Press.

Open Access Copyright (c) 2019 Wajiran Wajiran
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Publisher:
Institute for Research and Community Services (LP2M)
Universitas Islam Negeri Walisongo Semarang, Rectorate Building, 3rd Floor
Jl. Prof. Hamka - Kampus 3, Tambakaji Ngaliyan 50185, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
Email: walisongo@walisongo.ac.id

 

 
apps