Browsing by Author "Eva F. Nisa"

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    Divorce Narratives and Class Inequalities in Indonesia
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-02-02) Rachel Rinaldo; Eva F. Nisa; Nina Nurmila
    In the past 20 years, divorce has increased in Indonesia. Indonesian statistics show that divorces initiated by women exceed those by men. One issue that is often neglected is how socioeconomic differences also play a role in this matter. Drawing on our collaborative research on Muslim divorces in Indonesia, this paper focuses on the interplay between divorce strategies and socioeconomic differences among Muslim couples. Our in-depth interviews with 93 Muslim men and women and 19 judges from Islamic courts show that class differences shape distinctive dynamics of divorce among Muslim Indonesians. Couples from less educated, lower-income backgrounds accept marriage dissolution more easily, with women becoming much less tolerant of men’s behaviors such as infliction of domestic violence, infidelity, and failure to provide financial support. Educated, middle-class urban couples divorce for similar reasons but tend to experience a lengthier process accompanied by complex layers of conflict. Many educated women’s narratives emphasize their ability to support themselves through working, and a desire to be free of a bad marriage at any cost. Class and education thus contribute to significant differences in the experience and trajectories of divorce in Indonesia.
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    Relegitimizing Religious Authority : Indonesian Gender-Just ʿUlamāʾ Amid COVID-19
    (MDPI, 2022-05-27) Eva F. Nisa; Farid F. Saenong
    Studies have highlighted the increased vulnerability of women during and after disasters. Thus, there has been a call for gender-aware disaster management—an approach which is certainly needed, especially when a patriarchal culture is embedded in a society. Unfortunately, studies on women as vulnerable agents are often not balanced against careful examinations of instances where women help women. Drawing on (digital) ethnography conducted between 2020 and 2022, this article focuses on analysing the voices and activities of gender-just ʿulamāʾ (Muslim scholars) in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected traditional religious gathering practices, has led to creative solutions to social proximity restrictions. Many ʿulamāʾ have been “forced” by the situation to adjust to digital religion. This article analyses how female religious authorities who colour the daily daʿwa (proselytization) landscape in Indonesia deal with the uncertainties brought on by the pandemic. The daʿwa scene in Indonesia has long been the site of contention among various competing ideological understandings. The pandemic and the proliferation of digital religion has led gender-just ʿulamāʾ to relegitimize their authority through an online presence so they can compete and counter the narratives of tech-savvy conservative Muslims.