Senang sekali mendapat kado dari Mbak Dewi, terima kasih banyak. Saya belajar
lebih mengenal Muhammad SAW jadinya.
Kadonya saya buka dan bagi-bagikan ya :-) semoga Mbak Dewi tidak keberatan.
All the best,
Ida Khouw
"We are crying for new Muhammads,
fighters of gender equality, in our poor and most densely populated
Muslim country in the world."
--------------------------
Mbak Ida yang baik,
Senang sekali dapat balasan. Ini ada kado untuk Mbak Ida. Semangat
Muhammad adalah semangat minoritas waktu itu. Dia adalah pejuang kesetaraan
gender sejati.
Salam hangat,
dewi
__________________________________________________________
Women as the Pestilence of Democracy?
Dewi Candraningrum, Asienhaus, Germany
In the traditional Javanese philosopy, we have a popular advice
given to the new elected leader: "Ojo silap karo harto, tahto, lan
wanito" (Do not easily being tempted by wealth, position, and
woman). The advice goes further that "the leaders should serve those
they are going to lead". This advice departed from an
epistemological construction that women are contested objects. This
old sayings had long lubricated the wheel of the patriachal feodal
noble rank of Javanese Kingdoms. Relocating dozens of wives in
Keputren (similar to Harem-Middle East, Zenana-Indian Continent, and
Playboy mansion in its modern version) and treated them as precious
jewels which became Raja's symbol of power as the absolute Master
and the people as his servants.
Don't worry too much, this was only paraded by the feodal noble rank
circle. How about the people? Those who lived outside of the circle,
mostly, practiced monogamy. Women and men went together working in
the rice field. Compared to the women who were kept in the Keputren
and were not allowed to enter into the public arena, ordinary women
had their breath outside of the domestic life. Even, traditional
Javanese market were supported by Javanese women's sellers. This
artefacts left its imprint in the well-known Klewer textil market in
Surakarta where women's seller dominated the daily transactions.
Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen bank in Bangladesh who helps
women's micro economic credits who is awarded with prestigious Nobel
Price this year, is very correct when he said "women are better with
money". These women could claim their independence roles within the
public arena as well as are being able to serve their beloved family
in the domestic arena.
Prophet Muhammad devoted all his life to serve his Ummah. He never
positioned himself as Master to His Ummah. He was a true fighter for
gender equality. Muhammad protested and banned the burial of baby
girls and the practice of having hundred of wives among the wealthy
high rank in the Arab world. Muhammad lifted women's existence
as "complete-human being" to counter the jahiliyah Arab society who
regarded women as "half-human being". Muhammad's perspective
relocated women's position from the contested object to the
independence subject. This universal conscience is also affirmed by
our Republic Indonesia, a state which affirm democracy as one of the
basic philosophy to guarantee the very rights women have.
The Indonesian parade of polygamy is the parade of wealthy high rank
who occupy the state, who regard themselves as "Master" rather
than "Servant of the People". Indonesia is very well known of its
corrupted government. One of the notable pestilence is their illegal
practice outside of the monogamous marriage, whether polygamy or
nikah sirri which are strongly objected even by our Islamic Law
Compilation. This further mushroommed the inevitable corruption,
leading to bad performance in managing the state. What a shame to
promote polygamy in a poor state like Indonesia.
The landscape of current corruption is characterized by a
perspective that maintains women's existence not more than
constested objects. "Women" are objectified and being correlated as
source of temptation which is similar to the temptation attached to
the word "wealth" and "position". The reciprocal hybdridization and
inter-penetration of "communal" textual patriarchal interpretation
of Sharia and "egoistical" western modern cosmology have been used
by dirty corrupted state leaders to justify their act in violating
their monogamous marriage. They will say loudly: "do not immerse
privat matters into state policy". They are clever indeed. On the
one hand, they strongly and loudly pushed their gender-bias
interpretation of Sharia to regulate of how women shall behave in
the public into the state policy, that is the ratification of 23
Sharia Districts Regulations which robbed the rights of women to
enter into the economic activities and freedom of identity in
chosing their way of dressing. On the other hand, they loudly
denounced women's activists amandement on marriage law into the
state policy which has been clearly abused by leaders who revive the
practice of Harem which was banned by Prophet Muhammad himself. This
is gross violation against women's rights. They pushed policy they
liked and banned policy they didn't like. What a wishy washy.
Behold, we are your citizens as well whose rights shall be assured.
"Do not steal our very basic rights in the marriage law. If you want
to exercise polygamy, ask first our permissions. Don't tell us that
you have already married (nikah sirri) a girl without first asking
our permission, the permission of your wife and your children. Do
not steal our rights in choosing the way of dressing. Do not steal
our rights in accessing the economic activities. Do protect us from
structural poverty that push us selling our bodies. Do protect us
from the medias who sell our bodies cheaply. Catch those who
traffick us in the black market. Listen to the more gender-based
interpretation of our beloved Sharia, that undoubtedly protect our
very rights. Listen to the voice of those who are experts in the
legal formulation who affirm the gender-mainstreaming project
initiated by Ministery for Women Empowerment. If you deteriote our
rights, you deteriorate the rights of your citizens. This means,
once again, Violation Against Women's rights (VAW)".
Do we, women, the pestilence of democracy? Women, if seen as
contested object, becomes the most temptational object ever in this
world. Whose perspective is this? This is the perspective exercised
by our leaders who regard themselves as Master. They regard their
positions as Raja of a feodal kingdom Indonesia. They revive
Javanese mythology that regard women as their symbol of power. They
forget that Indonesia is a Republic that affirms democracy.
Democracy, demos and kratos, means the power of the People instead
of the power of the Master. Give us back our rights that you have
stolen.
Women, indeed the strong propagator of democracy. Women, if seen as
an independence subject, shall claim their "guaranteed-rights" in
front of the state. I buy the bravery of the Indonesian women
activists's proposal in banning the practice of poligamy, not only
for the civil servants, but also for those state leaders who regard
themselves as Master instead of Servant of the People. I buy their
daring amendement of the marriage law. We are longing for state
leaders who piously regard themselves as Servant of the Ummah,
Servant of the State, Servant of the Citizens, and respecting every
rights we deserve to exercise. We are crying for new Muhammads,
fighters of gender equality, in our poor and most densely populated
Muslim country in the world.
Dewi Candraningrum (Univ Muhammadiyah Surakarta) is recipient of
DAAD Stipendium who currently pursues doctoral degree as well as
teaches at the Institut fuer Ethnologie, Univ. Muenster. She can be
reached at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
"Ida I. Khouw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Terima kasih banyak Mbak Dewi buat emailnya yang sangat mencerahkan.
Replynya saya cc.kan ke milis Pantau, Jurnalisme dan Mediacare dimana tulisan
Mbak Sirikit diposting dan dibahas.
Tambahan dari saya:
Keprihatinan saya terhadap orang2 yg tipikal di step 1-3 (untuk
menyederhanakan saya suka labeli mereka sebagai kaum literalis/tekstualis),
selain sangat takut keluar dari 'box' sendiri, mereka juga cenderung
berpenyakit akut sentimen antipati terhadap konsep2 yg dianggap asing, spt
terhadap hermeneutika (saya kira sikap antipati itu terutama karena pisau
analisis studi sejarah ini dipakai di studi biblika Kristen), dan feminisme
serta gerakan perempuan (seperti tercermin di artikel Sirikit).
Parahnya, sikap antipati ini sering dibarengi dengan pengetahuan yg dangkal
terhadap konsep2 yg mereka antipati-i itu.
Sementara menyangkut feminisme, bila ditelisik secara kritis Nabi Muhammad
-menurut beberapa teman saya- sebetulnya seorang feminis di jamannya (andai
istilah feminis sudah ditemukan saat itu): betapa tidak, beliau berani
memanusiakan perempuan pada masa ketika nilai perempuan hanyalah setara dengan
harta milik (benda mati). Salah satu contoh: ketika perempuan tak diakui nilai
kemanusiaanya, Muhammad SAW tampil dengan konsep perhitungan warisan untuk
perempuan, suatu 'gebrakan' yg revolusioner saya kira.
Sayang, sebagian besar umatnya gagal melihat spirit ini, boro2 melanjutkan
spirit pembebasan ini di konteks masa kini Indonesia yang bukan Arab jaman
jahiliyah. Di sini pula gagalnya mereka melihat makna dibalik pembatasan
empat istri di konteks Arab jahil :-)
Salam balik dan selamat menikmati ornamen2 Natal di Muenster :D,
Ida Khouw
__________________________________________________
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