Indonesian Women & Terrorism: A Two-Part Analysis (Part 1)
Since the start of terrorism in Indonesia, it was almost certain that the perpetrators of such violence were adult men. Women did not appear to be involved in violence perpetrated by Darul Islam (DI), a key radical movement that dated back to the 1950s. This demonstrates the centrality of masculinity in this movement and, thus, cemented the notion that terrorism or extremism belonged to men.
In Indonesia, women only started getting involved in this movement in the 1980s as DI began its recruitment campaigns in campuses. The recruitment of female students, alongside males, marked the start of their expanding roles. DI began expanding its outreach to campuses as they saw how students were mobilized to protest against the Suharto regime since the 1970s. Additionally, they saw increasing resentment from women towards the regime which sought to repress women’s role from public or political space. Such resentment benefited DI as a means to strengthen its movement of establishing Islamic polity in Indonesia.
Female-centric publications were produced by DI to convince women in believing the group’s purposes. These publications included books such as “Hijab” written by Abu Al A’la Al Maududi and pamphlets such as “The Big Sins and Forgotten Ayahs by the Moslem.” “Hijab” portrayed Zainab Al Ghazali as a mighty female leader who was imprisoned and tortured by the Egyptian government for attempting to instil a pure form of Islam. The hijab consequently became a symbol of a Muslim woman’s faith. This created the notion that women must wear the hijab as a sign of their piety.
Additionally, women were recruited via student gatherings in campuses in the form of intimate women-only religious classes. However, the roles of women in this group were limited to being objects with the sole purpose of reproducing the next generation of jihadis, also known as Allah’s army (Jundullah). Due to this limitation, women were again not involved in violence which continued to be perpetrated by male members of the movement.
Such forms of masculinity continued throughout the 1990s with the formation of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). JI was formed in Malaysia by DI members who fled from Indonesia to escape prosecution. This group subsequently established its networks throughout Southeast Asia. Under the command of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, JI did not permit the involvement of women and children in the group. The group also restricted their members from revealing their involvements and activities to their wives. The basis of these restrictions was that they believed women to be subordinate to men. Even if women were involved in the group’s activities under extraordinary circumstances such as when there is a need or in an emergency, they only played supportive roles such as logistical support.
From personal interviews with several JI members in Jakarta and Java, there were several reasons for JI’s subordination of women:
- Women are responsible for household chores and to care for their husbands and children. There is no need for them to know of their husband’s involvements in the group as all of JI’s matters are “men’s business.”
- Women have a tendency to not keep secrets which is essential for covert movements such as JI. As such, informing women of the group’s activities will compromise the group’s safety and the success of the mission.
- Women are seen as the glue holding their families together if their husbands are caught. By keeping them uninvolved in JI’s activities, these women can continue caring for their children and become their families’ breadwinner.
Reinforcing this subordination is a publication from Pesantren Ngruki, an Islamic boarding school owned by Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. This reference book, entitled “The Law of Jihad for Women”, was distributed to their female students at the boarding school. Written by Al Umdah, the book encouraged readers towards “domesticated jihad” which was entirely different from “jihad qital” or war. By framing as such, women were obligated to produce and to raise future soldiers for the cause. Additionally, the group continuously primed female relatives to marry their jihadi members including those who were imprisoned. Such marriages served to strengthen JI’s networks that were in Indonesia, Southeast Asia and the pacific.
In other words, women were unknowingly made to serve JI’s cause by 1) producing and raising future generations of Jihadis, 2) strengthening the bonds within JI via marriages, 3) caring for their families as dutiful housewives, and 4) being pious by wearing clothing that reflects their piety. Therefore, it is not uncommon for these women to express shock and disbelief when their husbands were arrested for terrorism-related offences as they saw their husbands as good members of society, fathers and imams to their families.
As time passed and with the imprisonment of numerous JI members, women began to yearn to be involved in “jihad qital.” As evident in 2008-2009, several women began expressing their thoughts and yearnings of jihad on social media. However, they were still unwilling to reveal their female gender in their profiles. Instead, they used male nom de guerre while discussing in chatgroups belonging to this radical group. Despite the passing of time, the restriction of women to participate in “jihad qital” was still enforced. This was because JI have yet to consider Indonesia to be in a state of war. Consequently, femininity in violent extremism was yet to be considered a necessity for the group.
Women were still considered by JI to not only be second class but who lack the capacity to understand serious matters. Although their access to such violent endeavours were restricted, women were given pseudo autonomy in making decisions related to their children’s education and upbringing. This pseudo autonomy was due to the expectations by the groups via their husbands to raise future jihadis. Women were also given some space to contribute economically to their family via several professions including trade, teacher, and herbalist. They were restricted from pursuing a career and working in places where males were also employed.
