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By employing a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper examines the issues of women's movement and empowerment by exploring the literacy practices of feminist activists. The narratives of literacy and its impact on women's empowerment have been dominated by economic approaches. Freire's notion of consciousness-raising has provided insight into the importance of women's agency and their ideological struggle in fighting patriarchal ideologies through critical literacy practices. By taking the case of Women's March Serang (WMS), we explore alternative stories of critical literacies and women's empowerment and argue that critical literacies serve as a valuable mediating tool by which the women's movement group could both transform themselves and engage in wider social activism. More specifically, WMS employs critical literacies to advocate gender equality and social inclusion in order to mobilize resources in a relatively patriarchal culture. From marching on the street to digital campaigns in social media, WMS has challenged the dominant discourse of functional literacy and women's empowerment and demonstrated the adaptability of critical literacy practices in ongoing ways to support social activism and advocacy.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of gender-based bullying in a kindergarten. Such places are often depicted as innocent spaces, and hence, teachers often overlook the fact that bullying could also take place. This paper is based on an ethnographic study, conducted in a kindergarten in Indonesia. Twenty-eight children and four teachers participated in this study. Drawing from feminist poststructuralist approaches, this paper illuminates the kindergarten as a site where heteronormativity is promoted. Using the experiences of young boys who do not conform to the dominant and traditional gender values in the school, the findings demonstrate how gender-based bullying takes place. The findings also reflect how increasing homophobia in Indonesia is channelled in kindergarten. The paper shows how larger socio-political discourses in Indonesia influence the school. Finally, it is suggested that teachers in early childhood education (ECE) should have a gendered lens in understanding children's play to tackle gender-based bullying in the school context.

This paper explores ethical issues of reciprocity, reflexivity and situatedness in conducting ethnographic fieldwork in the Global South as part of PhD research projects. Against the backdrop of increasingly bureaucratised doctoral processes, we argue that PhD students occupy a particular terrain that involves continuous navigation of tensions between institutionally-required ethical procedures and 'situational' ethical processes in the field. We illustrate these tensions by analysing reflections on our experiences of conducting fieldwork in Indonesia, India and the Philippines. Guided by decolonial and feminist thought highlighting the politics of knowledge (co)production, this paper unpacks the problems of insider-outsider binaries and standardised ethical procedures, and explores the possibilities of ethics as visible, collaborative negotiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 documentary film They Call Me Babu utilises historical film footage including the home movies of one Dutch family with a voiceover in Bahasa Indonesia to narrate the fictionalised experiences of a former female domestic worker in the colonial Netherlands East Indies in the closing decades of Dutch colonial rule from 1939 to 1949. By centring the experiences of 'babu', women who worked as nannies and nursemaids for families holding European status, the Dutch-Indonesian director Sarah Beerends endeavours to make these women visible and to narrate their viewpoints. In this paper we argue, however, that the director's aspiration to centre the women's stories is haunted by the spectres of the colonial matrix of power. This leads to the unintended replication of nostalgic images of, and tropes about, the colony that has characterised earlier Dutch memory work. The film does not offer a critical engagement with colonial violence and the colonial structures of power are instead positioned as contributing to the nanny's gendered emancipation. Furthermore, we reflect on why, in the context of recent vociferous debates about colonial violence, a film which serves to soften images of Dutch colonialism, was generally well received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood poverty matters—not only because of the disturbingly high number of children affected, but also because of the deleterious impact on their human flourishing, both now and in the future. Effectively addressing child poverty requires clear identification of the nature and causes of the problem, as well as an understanding of how it is experienced. This paper aims to deepen understanding of child poverty, by drawing on key elements of a capability approach, rights-based approaches, and feminist standpoint theory, and empirical research. It is grounded in the findings of rights-based, participatory research with children aged between 7 and 15 years in Indonesia and in Australia, which cast new light on the dimensions of poverty that are most egregious from a child-driven standpoint. It presents a three-dimensional typology of material, opportunity, and relational poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to examine the legal dialectic over the age limit for marriage and political rights in Indonesia. It was promoted by a new marriage regulation stipulating the minimum age of nineteen years for men and women. This regulation correlates with the rules containing the minimum age limit, necessitating a further discussion. Objective: Previous studies on the minimum age limit did not focus on the law dialectic. Methodology: There are contradictions between the normative method of law and the idea of legal dialectics. The conclusions were drawn inductively. Findings: There are inequalities in several laws and regulations over the minimum age. The legal products, including a minimum age, are specific to certain laws and actions. The marriage dispensation has broken through higher laws, significantly impacting political rights. Therefore, positive law that ideally becomes a thesis turns into an antithesis due to the dispensation. Paper Type: Research Article [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies is the property of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Al-Jami'ah Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper is an attempt to map out the development of Islamic and Christian feminist theologies in Indonesia within the framework of comparative feminist theology outlined by Jerusha Lamptey. As with Islamic feminist theology, Christian feminist theology in Indonesia is rooted in local thoughts and traditions, and in the larger discourses of Asian feminist theology. Though Lamptey's framework aimed to construct a I Muslima i feminist theology, her insight on the formation of a feminist theology can also be used to identify principles that bind diverse Christian and Islamic feminist theologies together. Regardless of whether the feminist theologian in question explicitly states that her/his theology is interreligious, the unique religious plurality found within Indonesia is inseparable from the feminist theologies that they constructed. [Extracted from the article]

Recent research on migration in Asia has been enriched by a wide range of methodologies that variously seek to capture the performative, affective and material dimensions of migration and mobility. Rather than interrogate the merits of particular methods for eliciting 'data', this paper extends the feminist underpinnings of this new wave of research to offer a reflexive account of the methodological dilemmas in the emotional and material dynamics inherent in practices of migration research in Asia. The paper focuses on the omissions and strategic erasures that lie within in all research choices, and that are revealed through an analysis of emotion, materiality and reflexivity in research. Discussion focuses around two related areas through which omissions and erasures may be cast: (i) the role of emotional identification/dis-identification in framing issues considered worthy of research, and (ii) the materiality of research designs that struggle to 'capture' contemporary forms of migration and mobility across multiple research sites. Reflections draw on the author's experiences of researching migration in Indonesia, and are enriched by a consideration of recent contributions to literatures on migration and mobility in Asia and beyond. The paper concludes by considering how a reflexive approach is key to understanding how omissions and strategic erasures come about, and in laying bare the implications for research dissemination and advocacy work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of feminist "sisterhood" holds an uneasy historical and contemporary relationship with difference; indeed, new ways of knowing and doing research across, within, through and between the boundaries of race, class and religion are needed disrupt the sedentary monologism of "white-supremacist-capitalist-imperialist-patriarchy" (after hooks, 1994). Collaborative autoethnography presents itself as one such possibility for doing the work of difference "differently", and in this paper, we share the sameness and differences of our "southernness" as feminist academics to explore this potential. As two female academics from Indonesia and Australia, we draw upon the postcolonial feminist work of Mohanty and the poststructural, feminist scholarship of Holman-Jones, Connell and Braidotti to challenge and re-imagine notions of global and Southern sisterhood as Indonesian and Australian Gender Studies academics. Under feminist research methodology, we use collaborative autoethnography to share our "same" personal-as-political experiences as mothers and academics in Gender Studies. It is together with our "different" experiences as student-advisor, Western and non-Western women to explore the ways in which we are positioning ourselves in relation to and performing the possibilities of a Southern sisterhood. Our writings reveal that our student-advisor, Western and non-Western relationship is one replete with differences of power and privilege and yet as Gender Studies academics we are bound together by a commitment to global and distinctly "Southern" sisterhood where striving for empowerment as women is joyful. We claim that Southern sisterhood is possible. Collaborative autoethnography holds much promise in relation to an Australian -- Indonesian sisterhood which travels across the boundaries of race, class, and religion. Such travels of difference entangle moments of comfort and discomfort and in this paper we share some of the ways in which our shared subjectivities as academics plays out as difference in a relationship committed to a gender just future for women in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the evolution of the Riot Grrrl movement. A feminist punk movement that profoundly impacted popular culture in the West during the 1990s, Riot Grrrl is generally regarded as an important but short-lived phenomenon. This paper explores the political relevance of Riot Grrrl within both feminism and popular culture, but also debunks the myth that Riot Grrrl faded away by the turn of the century. Exploring specific cases in Russia and Indonesia, the paper illustrates the ways in which Riot Grrrl has become a global movement and remains active today, influencing people's subjectivity and agency, helping transform people from passive consumers to active feminist cultural producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of extremism that has the potential for terrorism in Lampung province has become a concerning matter. Recent reports have revealed that Densus 88 has arrested two suspected terrorist groups in Lampung province within the last three months of 2023. According to BNPT, Lampung province ranks fourth in Indonesia in terms of the potential for extremist and terrorist activities. Women play a crucial role in preventing the spread of radical ideologies and are expected to actively provide enlightenment and education within both the family and the wider society. This research project focuses on investigating the involvement of the women's organization Muslimat NU in Lampung province in preventing extremism and terrorism. The research adopts a descriptive qualitative approach and refers to information related to the research topic. The findings of the research indicate that the success of preventing extremism lies not only at the government policy level but primarily at the smallest unit, which is the family. The primary defense against extremism and terrorism lies in the role of women within the family. The movement carried out by Muslimat NU focuses on instilling and promoting an understanding of national and religious values following Islamic teachings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the need to re-imagine multiculturalism and feminism in order to better accommodate women in minority cultures who are religious. It begins and ends with comments about multiculturalism and ‘difference feminism’ in Australia. In the body of the paper I use anthropological field-work in Indonesia, first to show that culture and religion are not separate and immutable, and secondly to show how Muslim women in the women's movement in Indonesia are using Islam to build a multicultural discourse. Finally I apply my findings about Muslim women activists in multicultural discourse in Indonesia to multiculturalism in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Islam as the majority religion in Indonesia has important influence on its adherents, including in the metter of husband-wife relationship. This paper aims at discussing Indonesian Muslims' discourse of husband-wife relationship. In Indonesia, Muslim women are mainly accustomed to stay at home, to respect and to obey their husbands. This construction of women's domestication and subordination is usually based on the two most frequently quoted h}adi>ths: (1) on the curse of angel for women who refuse to have sex with their husband; and (2) on the woman whose parent enters paradise because of the woman's obedience to her husband. The two traditions are commonly used to justify this construction of husband-wife relationship. However, since the coming influence of global Muslim feminism in Indonesia in the early 1990s, this traditional construction of husband-wife relationship has been criticized by the emerging Indonesian Muslim feminist scholars whose works have provided new perspective on the discourse of husband-wife relationship. Different from the mainstream perspective which tends to domesticate and subordinate women, the new perspective gives position to women and should be treated as equal partner of their husband. Islam sebagai agama mayoritas di Indonesia berpengaruh besar dalam keseluruhan aspek kehidupan pemeluknya, tidak terkecuali dalam aspek hubungan suami-istri. Artikel ini mendiskusikan diskursus relasi suami-istri yang dilontarkan oleh pemikir Islam di Indonesia. Di Indonesia, perempuan Muslim kerap ditempatkan dalam ranah domestik saja, dituntut untuk menghormati dan mematuhi suami mereka. Cara pandang domestifikasi dan subordinasi perempuan tersebut biasanya didasarkan pada h}adi>th mengenai murka para malaikat kepada perempuan yang menolak ajakan berhubungan badan para suami dan h}adi>th yang menceritakan kisah orang tua seorang istri yang tunduk terhadap perintah suaminnya. Namun, sejak dekade 1990an, ketika feminisme global diperkenalkan, konstruksi tersebut dikritik oleh sebagian kalangan akadimisi feminist Muslim, yang karya-karyanya mengetengahkan perspektif baru mengenai diskursus hubungan suami-istri. Berbeda dengan perspektif mainstream, perspektif baru ini menempatkan perempuan pada posisi yang sejajar dengan suami mereka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contends that cultural, political and historical factors create a local political environment where de facto discrimination against women is the norm. Without thoroughly addressing and altering the underlying issues causing discrimination against women in politics, a weak quota system will not immediately lead to increased women's participation in Bali. This paper argues that the leading factors contributing to low levels of Balinese women's participation include widespread money politics, the revitalisation of customary institutions and local identities through decentralisation, and the collective memory of the violent dissolution of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani) in 1965-66. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indonesian Communist Organization Gerwani was banned in 1966. It had been associated with sexual perversions during the 1 October 1965 putsch in which senior figures within the Indonesian army were killed. These accusations helped fuel the massacre of over a million people and brought General Suharto to power. Yet in many ways Gerwani's ideology was puritanical and geared towards strengthening the monogamous family unit. It breached traditional gender ideology only in its insistence that women should be political actors and militant mothers. More recently, the organization has been accused of 'promoting lesbianism', when it in fact has never discussed the issue. This paper analyses Gerwani's ideology to explore the link between political activism and sexuality. The women's organization can be regarded as one of the forces of 'modernity' which stimulated homophobia. It is suggested that Gerwani's political activism was considered such a breach of traditional gender ideologies that it triggered a fear of social disorder in which women would be free from male heterosexual control - either as loose, perverted women who were seen as liable to castrate generals, or as lesbians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The view that the patriarchic system has dominated human life is untrue. Evidence has been found that, in the history of human civilization, women have been raised to the royal throne and ruled a kingdom. The existence of a queen has also been found in folklore in Indonesia. Using the qualitative research design with the perspectives of feminist literary criticism, the present study analyzes four folklore titles with a queen as the main character, such as: (1) The Legend of the Hermitage of Queen Kalinyamat, (2) Queen Kencanawungu, (3) Madam Undang Beautiful Queen from Kupang Island, and (4) The Legend of Princess Rengganis. Findings show no gender bias in the transfer of the royal inheritance or in choosing the successor of the royal throne in some kingdoms of regions in Indonesia. The crowning of a new ruler is more based on kinship and leadership qualities. This research also shows that before the emergence and development of feminism in the West, it has been existed in the archipelago, which can be called Indonesian feminism, i.e, feminism that gave women rights and voices not only in the domestic sphere but also in the public sphere, as a queen whose power was recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of sexual violence cases in Indonesia is increasing every year. However, only a few of the victims are willing to speak out, including on social media sites like Twitter. The study aims to determine the tendency of victims to speak by measuring the tendency of news written on Twitter through news headlines, news writers, types of sexual violence, responses to news of sexual violence revealed on Twitter, and the sustainability of the case before the law. This research method uses quantitative content analysis methods. The results of research on the tendency of sexual violence news content on Twitter show that the majority of news published does not meet the main elements of the news, and the most revealed type of violence is mental and physical sexual harassment, compared to other types of violence such as physical, sexual harassment only, sexual assault in the form of rape, prosecution or coercion of sexual activities, and forced sexual activities. Victims dominate the news writers who tell their stories via Twitter, and the rest are written by friends or relatives related to the victims. Of all the violent news stories examined, not one received a negative response. The majority responded positively, and very few responded neutrally. After the news was published on Twitter, only one case out of four continued to be processed legally. Research findings show that framing news on social media can influence people's perceptions and attitudes toward important issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual review examines Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice in Indonesia viewed from Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST). The current study uses a literature review to build an argumentative contribution from communication science perspective. FGM is a global phenomenon locally and culturally practiced in more than 29 countries, including Indonesia. Despite many state regulations and international treaties forbidding the practice because of its harmful consequences, FGM practice is persistently maintained by religion, culture, tradition, and other factors. The author proposes FST as a theoretical base to criticize FGM because it does not represent the lived experience of women, marginalizes women further to the brink of ideal democratic participation, and does not contribute towards the positive construction of female selfhood. The author will elaborate on these three objections using the communication science perspective within the Indonesian cultural context. The author proposes more action-oriented theorizing to overcome FST’s practical deficiency by providing insights from critical intercultural communication. Women’s collective agency based on situated knowledge will empower their communicative skills as enablers of transformation to eradicate FGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores women's issues and Islam in the Reformation Era in Indonesia which started after the attack on women in a mass rape in May 1988. Topics include the women's struggles to regain their rights during the era, some of the approaches employed by the women's movement to counter Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia, some of the achievements gained by the Indonesian women's movement, and issues being negotiated in the context of increasing anti-rights activities in the country.

As a preserved ancient tradition in Indonesia, female genital cutting is often neglected because its incidences are not readily visible. This paper attempts to make this practice more visible by exploring its origins, meanings and the challenges surrounding it. This exploration shows how local contexts serve as an important basis for the presence of female genital cutting in Indonesia. In both research sites, Javanese court tradition was established prior to the introduction of Islam. The coastal Islamic tradition developed since the 16th century, and the spread of western medicine since the colonial period generated ceremonial 'symbolic only' practices of female genital cutting. However, the medicalization process has lead to the commercialization of the practices, while the recent rise of Islamic fundamentalism allows 'real cutting' and even more harmful practices to be carried out among Muslims throughout the archipelago. This study points out how patriarchal myths surrounding these practices affect the women's sexuality and health and help shed light on the true challenges of female genital cutting in Indonesia today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three case studies of Javanese Muslim women excavate their marital lives to unpack some of the complexities of Javanese and Islamic traditions that condition their sexual relationship with their husbands. Both these traditions in their practice underline a patriarchal society that subjugates women in sexual and marital relations. The case for women's subordinate position in Javanese Muslim society shares some common philosophical grounds with the perspective of Western radical feminists in the 1970s. However, this is not a discourse pitting Western liberalism against a restrictive Islamic orthodoxy. Instead, the discussion draws on Islamic precepts that preach equity in gender relations and examines how they can coexist with certain Islamic practices that are unfair to women. The women in these studies vary in their abilities to draw on their religious grounding to negotiate a way out of unsatisfactory matrimonial situations. Their experiences provide an opportunity to discuss how religious texts should be understood when what they prescribe is subject to conflicting interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Purpose Of This Research Is To Find, To Describe The Actual Symbols That Exist In Indonesian Digital Fiction, And As A Requirement In Completing Doctoral Studies. This Research Method Uses Qualitative Methods With Phenomenological And Narrative Approaches. The Data Sources Are Ten Applications Containing Digital Short Stories And Ten Applications Containing Digital Novels. All Applications Are Taken From The Onlineplaystore Store. Selection Of Data Sources Based On Certain Criteria, Namely: Rating 3+ To 18+, Most Downloads, And 4.0-50 Reviews. While The Research Data Are Words, Phrases, Clauses, Sentences, And Paragraphs That Contain Actual Symbols. The Data Analysis Technique Used Descriptive And Hermenutic Techniques. The Technique Of Testing The Validity Of The Data Used Triangulation, Peerdebriefing, Guided Discussion, And External Auditors. The Result Of The Research On The Narrative Symbolization Of The Characterization Of Indonesian Digital Fiction Is That Indonesian Digital Fiction Is Rich With Actual Symbols. Actual Symbols Include: Subject, Object Sender, Opponent, Helper And Receiver. The Functional Symbol Consists Of Six Aspects, Namely: The Initial Situation, The Transformation (The Proficiency Test Stage, The Main Test Stage, And The Brilliance Test Stage) And The Final Situation. The Actual Symbol Represents The Values That Apply In Indonesian Society, The Character Of Modern Indonesian Society, The Shift In Traditional Values To Modern Values, The Existence Of Strong And Close Kinship Ties, The Existence Of A Feminist Movement, There Are Two Values Adhered To By Modern Indonesian Society, And The Involvement Of Readers Or Netizens. In The Works. Through This Research, It Is Hoped That Researchers Can Create A Combination Of Theories For Digital Fiction And Digital Fiction That Can Develop Into Literary Works That Are Rich In Values And Culture. The Combination Of Good Quality Work, Technology, Virtual Space, Media, And Virtuous Netizens Will Make Indonesian Digital Fiction Develop In A Better And Higher Quality Direction. With The Increase In Quality, The Next Stage Of Digital Fiction Can Be Used As An Asset For The Indonesian Nation In The Category Of Indonesian Literature Cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Indonesia's leading Islamist party, the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PKS) has attracted much scholarly interest, prompting debate on the extent to which the party's inclusion in electoral politics has required it to moderate its initially strict ideological vision. In this article, we extend consideration of this "inclusion-moderation" thesis to the party's attitudes and practices regarding women. PKS has a large and active female support base, but it emphasises that women's political and social roles should be secondary to their primary duties in the domestic sphere. Through a close study of female PKS candidates in Indonesia's 2019 legislative elections in East Java, we show that women members of the party are moderating the party's anti-feminist stance. Though they do not explicitly challenge party ideology, they demonstrate significant independent agency in their campaign practices, engaging in outreach to female voters in a strongly practical rather than strictly ideological mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motherhood identity was intensively deployed during campaigns for the 2019 Indonesian presidential elections. Based on interviews conducted with women’s activists in Jakarta and surrounding areas from September 2018 to April 2019, this article analyses the contestation of ideas about motherhood identity expressed in the campaign rhetoric of the “power of emak-emak” (ordinary, working-class mothers) and “Ibu Bangsa” (Mothers of the Nation). It argues that the “power of emak-emak”, used by the Prabowo-Sandi campaign, is a populist narrative that sought to empower ordinary mothers and was similar to the use of motherhood identity as a populist narrative in Latin America. Meanwhile, the Jokowi-Ma’ruf slate advanced the idea of Ibu Bangsa, which is less related to ordinary women’s daily problems. This article reveals how the debate among women’s activists over the two contending terms signifies the political division of the women’s movement, including in its support for the two presidential candidates. This article not only seeks to enrich the discourse on gender and populism in Indonesia, but also provides a current portrait of the Indonesian women’s movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the indiscernibility of social-media-based young Muslim women's groups' (YMWGs) transformative roles in socio-political analysis, standing in contrast to the groups' visibility in Indonesian young women's everyday lives. How does the (in)visibility of the YMWGs reconfigure the (political) subjectivity of Muslim womanhood? How should we understand the influence of this form of 'women's movement' in the re-invention of Muslim identity? This article proposes the notion of 'social media religious influencer' to understand the groups' conflation of religious, political and commercial elements in their online and offline representations and their encouragement to their followers to do self-transformation. The article demonstrates how, although such creative conflation challenges prevailing ideas about young Muslim women, it requires the young women to remain and take part in the prevailing gender regime by maintaining female conformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asian Studies Review is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article argues that in practice, concepts of magico-spiritual power (Javanese: kesekten; Indonesian: kesaktian) are linked with sexuality, particularly female sexuality, in some segments of contemporary Central and East Javanese Muslim society. Few scholars have turned attention to the interconnectedness of these seemingly contradictory topics. Feminist studies tend to focus on the ways in which women locate themselves within and critique Sharia-based discursive and social orders, without considering the roles that magico-spiritual power and associated practices play in these Islamic systems or in Islam in a more general sense. Similarly, male scholarship that considers the cultural relevance of Islam and magic rarely refers to gendered and sexual dimensions as praxis from a feminist perspective. By drawing on examples of 'magical women' including the Javanese spirit queen of the southern ocean Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Kidul, the historical Hindu figure Ken Dedes, and contemporary ritual sex practices at a Muslim saint's grave, we show how women, female spiritual beings and female sexuality, and sexuality in general, can be considered sources of magico-spiritual power in Muslim Java. Our arguments conclude that in Javanese Islam, transgression of Sharia sexual norms can be both a sign and a source of magico-spiritual power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to read the Rahab story in Joshua 2:1-24 with its implication for Indonesian Christian women. Using a sociological reading and postcolonial feminist analysis as well as an autobiographical criticism, the author draws a connection between Rahab's own multiple colonizations and those of Indonesian Christian women. This way of reading allows Rahab to use her personal voice to invite Indonesian Christian women to speak back to their own oppressions and to imagine a world where they could create a third space in which they can actively and innovatively resist oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the transnational links Indonesian women made with women abroad by means of participation in the WIDF (Women's International Democratic Federation) from 1946–1965. Drawing on Indonesian women's speeches at WIDF congresses, contributions to WIDF publications and documents from Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia, the Indonesian Women's movement) national congresses the article argues that the WIDF provided an important political compass for Indonesian women on the political left and directly influenced the form and content of its campaign for women's rights. At the same time Gerwani women were able to draw attention and attract support from the extensive membership of the WIDF for domestic challenges, which they positioned as connected to broader struggles against imperialism. With a rapidly rising membership Gerwani was assuming increased importance and influence in the WIDF by the early 1960s and had begun to shape the direction and causes of the WIDF. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Indonesia has been haunted by the “spectre of communism” since the putsch by military officers on 1 October 1965. That event saw the country's top brass murdered and the military attributing this putsch to the Communist Party. The genocide that followed was triggered by a campaign of sexual slander. This led to the real coup and the replacement of President Sukarno by General Suharto. Today, accusations about communism continue to play a major role in public life and state control remains shored up by control over women's bodies. This article introduces the putsch and the socialist women's organisation Gerwani, members of which were, at the time, accused of sexual debauchery. The focus is on the question of how Gerwani was portrayed in the aftermath of the putsch and how this affects the contemporary women's movement. It is found that women's political agency has been restricted, being associated with sexual debauchery and social turmoil. State women's organisations were set up and women's organisations forced to help build a “stable” society, based on women's subordination. The more independent women's groups were afraid to be labelled “new Gerwani ” as that would unleash strong state repression. This article assesses the implications of these events for the post-1998 period of Reformasi and reviews some recent analyses of 1965, state terrorism and violence and reveals blind spots in dealing with gender and sexual politics. It is argued that the slander against Gerwani is downplayed in these analyses. In fact, this slander was the spark without which the bloodbath would not have happened and would not have acquired its gruesome significance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]