Politicizing Piety

Women’s Rights and Roles in the Tarbiyah Movement in Indonesia

Abstract

The Tarbiyah (education) movement in Indonesia today is the best known and has the largest number of members amongst groups in the Dakwah (proselytising) movements that mostly work in Indonesian campuses. Using the notion of Islamic feminism, this study aims to explore the numerous varieties of women’s activities in this movement, especially in relation to the ways women see their rights and roles within their notion of piety. Female and male activists of the Tarbiyah movement in six state universities in East Java were interviewed to obtain data. Participant observations and in-depth interviews were used as approaches for data collection. This was undertaken from April 2015 to September 2016. One important finding indicates that the Tarbiyah members acknowledge that male and female are segregated in nature (biological construction). At the same time, however, they subscribe to concepts of women’s rights and equality while maintaining a form of sexual segregation.