Feminising Islam in Contemporary Indonesia

This book addresses the question of how progressive Muslim women's organisations have contributed to the reformation of Islamic law on gender and promoted women's rights in contemporary Indonesia. It discusses both legal scholarship and thinking, and also activism and the implementation of ideas. It traces how views on this issue and government policies have evolved from the Dutch colonial period, examines how far women's organisations are fragmented and local, and explores conservative Islam and its promotion of patriarchal relations between men and women. The book shows how progressives have both feminised Islam in Indonesia, and adapted it to local Indonesian conditions; and assesses why progressive Islamic feminism has been only partially successful, as conservative Islam remains very strong.