Indonesian Muslim Women Research Articles

Cultural Adaptation of Indonesian Muslim Women Students in Europe

Cultural adaptability in the context of international students' intercultural communication has affected how communication works. Indonesian students, especially those who display their identity as Muslim women, have their challenges in adapting to both academic and social-cultural contexts. This study discusses the cultural adaptation of Indonesian Muslim women students to societies in Europe. All informants who are scholarship awardee students have obstacles in adapting, especially when communicating with the societies. This study aims to discover how Gudykunst’s Anxiety and Uncertainty Management theory interprets the experience phenomena around individuals in adapting to Societies in Europe through intercultural communication. The study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Five informants in this research have gone through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The results of the study show that the experiences are related to academic and social experiences adapting to the local community’s culture (cultural), adapting to individual personality (sociocultural), and adapting to interpersonal perceptions (psycho-cultural). Indonesian Muslim women students need to be familiar with the local community, open to accepting differences in society, and able to interpret the meaning of accepted in intercultural communication context.

In the Name Religion and Defending Women; Experiences of Three Pesantren Women in Indonesia Local Elections

The leadership of Indonesian Muslim women experienced a development, marked by the ever extensive political roles. Some previous researches state that the factor of familial closeness (political dynasty), gender, collusion, sexiness and piety marketing stimulate women’s election in political contestations. But these reasons are not enough to explain the reason for women’s roles in the public, especially women of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). We suggest that women’s courage in the struggle for the political position is due to their desires to strive for women's rights that are ignored and not comprehensively understood by male leaders. The existence of the thought that women can (only) ‘understand women’ becomes the reason why regional leaderships are also seized by women. The article also shows the ability to integrate spirituality towards public roles by utilizing their social capitals. This paper also counters some arguments that women always lose in public sectors in political sector fights as they are under the shadow of their husbands or men.

Concept Of Virginity From the Perspective of Islam And Muslim Women

This research delves into the intricate interplay between societal norms and the honor attributed to women, specifically addressing the pervasive myths surrounding the virginity of Muslim women in Indonesia. Rooted in the negative impacts experienced by women due to their virginity status, this inquiry seeks to unravel the perspectives of 17 Muslim women on the significance of virginity within the context of Islamic teachings. Employing qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, the study illuminates nuanced dimensions, shedding light on how these women navigate the complexities surrounding their virginity. The findings underscore three pivotal conclusions: Indonesian Muslim women emphasize the importance of virginity and the need to protect it. Importantly, they highlight that virginity is not solely judged based on the hymen. Moreover, their stories reveal that Islam honors women who maintain their virginity. These conclusions contribute significantly to a more comprehensive understanding of the societal implications and individual experiences associated with the concept of virginity among Muslim women in Indonesia. The study's outcomes hold the potential to inform broader discussions on cultural perceptions and foster awareness, promoting respectful discourse surrounding the role of virginity within the social fabric.

Consumer Loyalty to Muslim Fashion in Encouraging Consumptive Behavior: A Phenomenological Approach of Online Muslim Fashion

Objective: The objective of this research was to investigate the loyalty of Indonesian Muslim women towards online Muslim fashion brands, specifically Dian Pelangi, Rabbani, and Zoya. It aimed to understand whether consumer loyalty had a direct impact on the consumption of Muslim fashion in Indonesia. Method: A qualitative research approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews with 30 female consumers of the mentioned brands. These consumers were categorized into three distinct groups: career women, housewives, and female college students, residing in regions with substantial Muslim clothing-wearing populations. Result: The study revealed that consumers of Dian Pelangi, Rabbani, and Zoya exhibited remarkable loyalty to these brands, lasting for over five years. Their loyalty was attributed to factors such as unique designs, comfortable materials, and affordable pricing. They also actively recommended these brands to their communities and organizations, contributing to the growth of the Muslim fashion market in Indonesia. Conclusion: In conclusion, this research demonstrates the strong consumer loyalty towards online Muslim fashion brands in Indonesia. The long-term commitment of consumers to these brands, along with their recommendations to others, has significantly influenced the popularity and growth of the Muslim fashion industry in the country.

Hijab Discourse in Indonesia: Unraveling the Narratives of Freedom, Religion, and Media Representation

This study delves into the intricate narratives surrounding the hijab in Indonesia, exploring the multifaceted perspectives presented by Deutsche Welle (DW) Indonesia, a transnational media entity. In the context of Indonesia, a nation characterized by religious diversity, the hijab has become a focal point of discussions, particularly concerning its compulsory nature and its implications for women's freedom and religious identity. The study critically analyzes DW's portrayal of hijab-wearing Indonesian Muslim women, highlighting the interplay between media representations, cultural identities, and societal perceptions. Employing Sara Mills' critical discourse analysis, the research examines the subject-object positions within DW's coverage, unraveling the complexities of hijab discourse. Through the examination of DW Indonesia's coverage, the study reveals diverse perspectives, emphasizing the non-compulsory nature of hijab, the potential limitations it imposes on women, and the societal pressures associated with wearing it. However, the research underscores the need for a cautious interpretation of these narratives, recognizing the inherent complexities of individual choices, sociocultural backgrounds, and religious beliefs. The study also addresses the influence of global perceptions and Western biases, urging a critical approach to media representations. The research not only contributes to the scholarly discourse on media representations but also critically examines the intersection between religion, freedom, and media influence in contemporary Indonesian society.

Do Digital Technologies Support Entrepreneurship Growth? Evidence from Indonesian Muslim Women in Depok City

The main objective of this paper is to assess the impact of digital technologies on the entrepreneurial output of Muslim women in Indonesia. Using a questionnaire, we collected data from Muslim women entrepreneurs involved in digital entrepreneurship in Depok city. We applied multiple linear regression to analyze the data. We found that the use of e-commerce platforms and internet services affects positively the entrepreneurship growth of Muslim women in Indonesia. However, online payments have been found non-significant because of awareness of risk and security towards online payment system. One of the limitations of this research is the size of the sample. Obtaining data from Muslim women entrepreneurs was very difficult. Again, the case under study is limited to one country. Therefore, it is recommended for future research to use a large sample size and include more countries. Indonesian government should implement tax reduction policies in order to improve the growing sector of Muslim women entrepreneurs, which can help them to become empowered in society.

Solo travel intention: A study of Indonesian Muslim and non-Muslim women

The paper analyzed the intention to travel alone in the perceptions of Muslim and non-Muslim women regarding travel constraints, motivation, perceived behavioral control, negotiation, and openness. Based on the existing literature, hypotheses were formulated and tested through structural equation modeling based on data from 574 valid online responses. Purposive sampling was applied to collect 278 responses from Muslim women and 298 responses from non-Muslim women, all from Indonesia. The results revealed the different direct influences between travel motivation and travel intention in Muslim and non-Muslim models. Constraints were found to have an insignificant impact on travel intention in both phases. All other proposed hypotheses were found to be significant. This paper contributes to the emerging research on Asian solo female travel and discusses practical implications for the travel industry to cater solo travel market.

Religious Identity Negotiation in Japanese-Indonesian Intermarriage

This research is qualitative research using a life story approach. The informants of this study were seven Indonesian Muslim women and one Christian who married a Japanese man living in Japan. The study analyzes how religious identity is negotiated in the marriages of Japanese men and Indonesian women. The previous research informants were three Indonesian women who married Japanese people in Indonesia. The prior research indicates that all Japanese husbands follow the religion of their Indonesian wives. This study finds that all Japanese husbands, before marriage, follow the religion of their Indonesian wives. Still, after marriage, some continue to follow the informant's religion, while others return to their previous religion. Seven informants kept their religion, but one person converted to the religion of a Japanese husband. Two informants entered marriages with different religions. One informant who did not want to follow her husband's religion had a severe conflict because of the intervention of the informant's mother-in-law. Husbands generally do not question the religion of their wives, but disputes arise in cases where Japanese husbands adhere to a particular religion. The Indonesian wife's family and several Japanese husband's families also intervened in the religious negotiations. The religious change of Japanese men before marriage is initially more of a consideration for the smooth running of the marriage process. Research on intermarriages between Indonesians and Japanese is minimal. Research like this needs to be done because the number of intermarriages is increasing. This research brings valuable knowledge to prospective Indonesian and Japanese intermarriages.

Purchase Intention of Halal Lip Cosmetics on Shopee among Youth Generation: An Investigation using Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract. As the world's largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia presents its Islamic Economic Landscape in the 2019-2024 Sharia Economic Masterplan, which features halal cosmetics as one of the six highlighted clusters. The leading research shows that Muslim women have expressed concerns regarding cosmetic product compliance with halal standards. This study aims to explore the specific purchase intentions of Indonesian Muslim young women regarding halal lip cosmetics, focusing on their preferences and behavioral intentions on a popular e-commerce platform (Shopee). This research object is Generation Z and Y Muslim women in Indonesia, totaling 210 respondents. This research employs a quantitative data analysis approach using the Smart-PLS 3.2.9 Variance-Based Structural Equation Model. All hypotheses significantly and positively affect the purchase intention of halal lip cosmetics on shopee. The findings indicate that the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables (Attitude- SubjectiveNorm- Perceived Behavioral Control) can still be applied to examine the behavioral intentions of young Indonesian Muslim women regarding the purchase of halal lip cosmetics. In addition, the extended variables of TPB (E-WOM and Brand Image) emerged as positive predictors of behavioral intention, indicating that further investigation of other variables as potential extensions of TPB is needed. Keywords: E-WOM, brand image, theory of planned behavior, purchase intention, shopee, halal lip cosmetics.

Redefining Manhood and Womanhood: Insights from the Oldest Indonesian Muslim Women Organization, 'Aisyiyah

This paper asks the question: why is it mostly men who define good manhood and womanhood? Where are women’s voices on these contested concepts? To elucidate women’s conceptualization of manhood and womanhood, this study draws on the oldest Indonesian Muslim women organization in Indonesia, ‘Aisyiyah, by examining its published treatises Interviews with 'Aisyiyah activists were also taken in June and August 2021 to enrich and clarify data from these documents. Amongst the most significant findings are that ‘Aisyiyah has argued for a very different kind of manhood and womanhood from those promoted by conservative groups, religiously and culturally. ‘Aisyiyah does jihad for a mutual and reciprocal idea of good manhood and womanhood; that means good men must behave well to women, and good women must respect men. Their arguments are based on contextual interpretations of Qur’anic texts and Prophetic traditions as well as local and cultural notions of proper manhood and womanhood.

Women’s Agency in Action: Higher Education and Career Paths for Young Muslim Women in Indonesia

This article is an analysis of narratives of young Indonesian Muslim women to explore their behavior and thoughts on being well-educated women in their chosen career path. It examines women’s thoughts on completing higher education and their lifelong study; whether pursuing a career or being a full-time mom. Having the capability to choose the career they want and implementing the beliefs of Islam’s teaching are attributed as their main responsibilities for being a real woman in this world and hereafter. The biographical interpretive method is engaged in this study to more deeply explain and explore the main idea selected. The research findings show that higher education allows women to become a new version of themselves. Obviously it can be said that education is the key for the next, better, future generations of Indonesia.

The Application of Digital Marketing in the Covid-19 Era in the Indonesian Muslim Entrepreneur Association (IPEMI PC Kuranji) Padang City

Covid-19 in Indonesia to date has had both positive and negative impacts on the economic sector, especially UMKM in Indonesia. Covid-19 has been felt significantly by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises UMKM who are experiencing an economic crisis. The research was conducted on Indonesian Muslim women entrepreneurs (IPEMI PC Kuranji) and the impact of covid-19 is the decline in purchasing power of women entrepreneurs IPEMI PC Kuranji because 40% of them are still quoting in the offline world not online, therefore digital marketing is one of the efforts for achievement in improving the business that is more advanced in the future.

Niqab, Protest Movement, and the Salafization of Indonesian Islam

<p>This study aims to reveal the niqab as a protest movement and an instrument of regeneration (salafization) for Salafi Muslim women in Indonesia. The niqab has been one of the important symbols in the Salafi Islamic movement and has been the main dress for Salafi Muslim women. This study is of importance since the existing niqab studies are more related to religious identity, culture, motivation, stigma, and stereotypes. Data in this phenomenological research were obtained through interviews, observations, and documentation involving the niqab-wearing women from Salafi Islam activists at Majlis Ta’lim Al-Izzah of Pekalongan and Pondok Pesantren SJR Al-Salafy of Yogyakarta. The data were then analyzed with the Moustakas’ model. This study has shown that the niqab in the internal circle of Salafi Islam has a plural meaning. Among Salafi Muslims, it not only functions as a cultural identity or a symbol of piety in religion but also holds the spirit of protest, resistance, struggle, and an instrument of da’wah to expand the influence of Salafi ideology. That is, the niqab has become a symbol of resistance to both the hegemony of religiosity and the established dressing culture for Indonesian Muslim women. It is also a symbol of the struggle towards the kaffah Islam and an essential instrument for the regeneration of Salafi Islam. Overall, the niqab phenomenon in Indonesia indicates that the salafization in Indonesian Islam has been running in a structured, massive, and sustainable way.</p>

Indonesian Muslim women’s fashion design preference

Indonesian Muslim women’s fashion design preference

Indonesian Muslim Women: Jihad, Radicalism, Terrorism

This study aimed to explore the understanding of Indonesian Muslim women regarding jihad, radicalism, and terrorism. The study found that women have an understanding that terrorism is all forms of adverse action, carried out in a structured and grouped manner. They understand that all forms of terrorism activities usually have goals to be achieved and are based on religious or ideological understandings that are considered correct according to terrorist groups. Muslim women try to minimize this Islamophobia through improving understanding for themselves, their family, and community. The involvement of Muslim women in supporting counter-terrorism can be one of the strategies to create an atmosphere of peace in the community. Muslim women realize that the perpetrators of acts of terror in carrying out their actions sometimes act in the name of religion, even though there is no religion, including Islam, that legalizes the killing of fellow human beings and actions that cause damage to the environment. Therefore, one way to counter-terrorism according to Muslim women is by improving the mindset starting from themselves and their family. A person's actions originate from the mindset, which is why the mindset must be fixed first, before preventing the doctrines of misguided notions.

Mukena: A balance between the Indonesian women's prayer dress and the hadiths on the prayer of prophet's wives | موكينا: موازنة بين لباس صلاة المرأة الإندونيسية وأحاديث صفة صلاة أمهات المؤمنين

Mukena is a women's prayer dress in Indonesia. It is well known that the Nine Saints knew her in the fourteenth century AD, but the truth is that Nyai Mukena first knew her in Cirebon. Mokina is considered an Indonesian women's prayer dress. The prayer dress has standards that must be met for the validity of its use in prayer. The mothers of the believers wore the dress of prayer for the Arabs in the past, as mentioned in some narrations. This research analyzes Mukena's hadiths about the dress of the mothers of the believers' prayer.This research is written using the analytical method by searching for hadiths of the prayer dress of the mothers of the believers, looking at the explanation of the hadiths, and analyzing them in the Arabic traditions in Mukena. The method of writing this research is the library method of collecting sources, references and scientific theses related to this research.One of the results of this research is that Mukena is the prayer dress of Indonesian Muslim women. It is the result of Indonesian culture, and is said to be the result of adaptation by the Nine Saints in the revival of Islamic law. The hadiths describing women’s prayer dress indicate that Islamic law has standards in prayer dress, which are not to show a woman’s private parts. Islamic law does not require the form of dress, and all Muslim women must use the local dress that meets the conditions for covering the private parts of the body in prayer.

Negotiating Salafism: Women Prayer Groups and their Preachers in Indonesia's Islamic Digital Mediascapes

AbstractThis article is concerned with Muslim women's negotiation of Salafism at the intersection of online and offline spaces. It focuses on two groups of Indonesian Muslim women who formed majelis taklim (study groups on Islam), namely Majelis Mutia (lit. Assembly of the Obedient) and Majelis Sahabat Cinta (lit. Assembly of the Friends of Love), to examine how these social media‐savvy women, who demand a more contextual interpretation of the Islamic foundational texts, negotiate Salafi teachings in order to bring them in accordance with their everyday lives. This article argues that online and offline encounters at these majelis have brought different negotiations. They have also created incongruencies, especially on the parts of Salafi preachers, as the latter have to adjust to the audience who are not used to pure Salafi discourse. These incongruencies provide opportunities for the members of the majelis taklim to practice a “softer version” of Salafism that, on occasion, seems to contradict those same Salafi teachings. Contrary to the general understanding that Muslim women are easy prey for Salafis, my research shows that the proliferation of preachers in the context of Indonesia's Islamic digital mediascapes have created a far more pluralized and optative religious forum.

Possibilities of Modern School Libraries in Pesantren in Indonesia: A Case Study with Two Young Muslim Women

In this case study, the potential for modernizing school libraries in pesantren, Indonesian Islamic boarding schools, is explored. n, a Japanese Library Science researcher, met and interacted with two Indonesian Muslim women, a student and an apprentice teacher from two different pesantren in Java. Guided by the author, the student and apprentice were introduced to modern libraries through trips to Jakarta and Tokyo in 2012. By observing and analyzing the two participants’ words and conduct, as well as the photos and notes they took, the author found that they showed a distinct interest in introducing new types of activities to their own school libraries. In particular, both participants noted their approval of the student research projects displayed in the Japanese school libraries they visited; this positive reaction suggests the Indonesian participants’ openness to new styles of teaching and learning.

Mukena in Madurese Social Life

Mukena is a well-known typical dress for Indonesian Muslim women in conducting prayers. Mukena is taken for granted as a daily routine dress that did not receive much attention from many people in a more in-depth study, so it needed to be highlighted to the field of research. This study aims to determine two sides, namely, the meaning of dress in religious social life as well as to find out the meaning of mukena for Madurese. This study uses qualitative field research method. The sources of data are obtained from interviews and literature studies confined to things that only have relevance to this research. Using purposive sampling, the informants taken in this study were Madurese Muslim women from both santri and non-santri groups. The results discovered in this study are that Madurese Muslim women interpret clothes, including; as a part of social ethics, as a cover of aurat as well as an affirmation of social identity in a community. The meaning of mukena for Madurese Muslim women includes the following; mukena as a cultural tradition, as a form of self-sacralization, and as an affirmation of identity for Muslim women.

Intercultural Communication Life of Transnational Indonesian PhD Muslim Female Students in the US and Australia

This study aimed at investigating the intercultural communication life of Indonesian PhD Muslim female students in the USA and Australia as transnationals. They face not only the language hardship but also the newest environments challenge both in academic and social setting. Stereotype, stigmatization, discrimination, and other forms of oppressions appear in relation to their visual identity. Applying Stella Ting-Toomey’ Identity Negotiation Theory, the study is to answer questions: (1) How far is the influence of the intercultural communication of these students living in a country? and (2) To what extent does intercultural communication competence influence the success of these students? This study is a qualitative descriptive based on the video/audio or diary tape of the respondents in the USA and Australia. To sum up, the video/audio or diary tape revealed that the success of intercultural communication on the these Indonesian Phd Muslim women students is influenced by knowledge, motivation, and skill obtained from the challenges in daily experiences both in academic and social life. Later, those three elements are very essential components in the ‘mindful/effectiveness intercultural communication’. Those elements become competence for Indonesian PhD Muslim women students to form adaptive strategies to overcome their internal and external situation. The process of intercultural communication might be challenging. However, the competence reveal during their first year living in a new country will be solution in facing problems or minimizing difficult situations in future years ahead.