The progressive female ulama : negotiating views in the public and domestic sphere

Abstract

This study focuses on the public and domestic negotiations of pesantren's progressive female ulamas. The interlocutors are six Nyai, a female pesantren leader, and women activist selected from several public organizations. This thesis indicates the two sides of domestic progressive negotiation, specifically "the changing and the unchanging" progressive perspective. The changing perspective indicate the lack of consistency in their progressive view (progressive in public life but yet conservative in their domestic sphere) while the unchanging ones show that those actors uphold their progressive view consistently both at domestic and public sphere. The factors that triggered inconsistency or "the changing progressive view" are culture, family background, and religious-dogma. Meanwhile, the consistency of the progressive view or "the unchanging one" is caused by education, social and family support, as well as other direct personal experience. I argue that these factors greatly influence the negotiation of progressive female ulama in domestic life.