THE AUTONOMY OF INDONESIAN MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE NOVEL ‘ADHRĀ’ JĀKARTĀ BY NAJĪB AL-KYLĀNĪ: A Feminist Literary Criticism Perspective

Abstract

This article reviews the novel 'Adhrā' Jākartā (Jakartanese Girl) by Najīb al-Kylānī. Through the approach of feminist literary criticism and the hermeneutic `method it"s aimed to express the autonomy of Indonesian Islamic women within the novel by interpreting the structure of symbols or texts in a number of language signs in the literary system. The results of the analysis revealed that the character of Fāt} imah is a symbol which represents the concept of autonomy of Indonesian Islamic women in the public and domestic sphere due to the universal and cosmopolitan Islamic values that Fāt} imah implements in personal, social, national, and civil life. This universal and cosmopolitan Islam illustrates an Islamic paradigm offered by the author to be translated into a unity in diversity of Indonesian context, so as to be able to present the figure of an autonomous Indonesian Muslim woman in a pluralistic and elastic Indonesian context.

Islamic Feminists’ Rejection of the Textual Understanding of Misogynistic Hadiths for the Advancement of Gender Justice in Makassar, Indonesia

“…68 The Islamic feminist movement through religious symbols has also delivered autonomous Indonesian Islamic women to the realms of personal, social, and political life. 69 Still, the struggle of Islamic feminism in Makassar City has never been easy. One respondent recalled, "Initially, Islamic feminist activities in Makassar City were suspected of being liberal ideas that were contrary to Islamic teachings.…”