Gender ideology of Muhammadiyah Muslim organization is actually storing fragmentation with the emergence of the double reality of the normative-theological gap which has gender ideology (male as head of household and wife in complementary subordinate role) and the practical reality that reflects the senior-junior partnership that gives a wider the role to women. The fragmentation has become more apparent with the strengthening of the progressive group which advocates equal gender ideology partnership (equal-partnership).
“The 46th Congress in the year 2010 can be interpreted as a step taken by Muhammadiyah to pass the age due to the shift of gender issue that is close to the of equality-partnership ideology occurring in the theological and practical realm at the same time," said Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin after her doctoral program examination in Sociology of UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Saturday (18/2) in Graduate Room of the Faculty. Ruhaini presented her dissertation entitled Muhammadiyah Gender Regime: Gender Contestation, Identity and Existence.
In the theological realm, recognition of women to lead prayers for men in certain cases has been able to undermine the absolute and omnipresent superiority of men. In the realm of praxis, the inclusion of women in Muhammadiyah’s central leadership is able to break the masculine exclusivity in the organization that has lasted a hundred years.
"Well, whether this regime shift will survive or not depends on the extent to which the progressive group, which is peripheral group, is able to mainstream gender equality idea in the organization," said the lecturer of UIN Sunan Kalijaga.
In her research, Ruhaini concluded that gender is a bridge connecting factors between Muhammadiyah and political power, even when they are opposed as ‘opposition-advertial’ way on the realm of formal ideology. This necessity, Ruhaini explained, is due to the proximity of the Muhammadiyah gender ideology and the national political culture with the fact that most of them open the discourse for women’s multiple roles in the 1980s, Muhammadiyah has a back-up reference of women being active productively-economically in the Kauman community as contained in the book: Adabul mar’ah fil Islam.
"Even in the New Order, gender regime shifted to be more conservative with the noble head complemented gender ideology, Muhammadiyah has a gender justification of noble head complement, Muhammadiyah has justification as stated in the book “Toentoenan Mendjadi Isteri Islam Jang Berarti," said the woman born in Blora, May 17, 1963.
She explained that the socio-historical facts in this study reinforce Taufik Abdullah’s thesis that modern religious organizations in Indonesia treat religious texts as a means of legitimacy to praxis movements that have been present before it. The conclusion, according to Ruhaini, gives credit to Muhammadiyah as an authentic movement that emerged from a unique and contextual awareness, simultaneously correcting the opinions of previous researcher, such as Alwi Shihab, who concluded that Muhammadiyah movement emerged because of the influence of transmittable Middle East reform.
Ruhaini’s research also concluded that patriarchy as a cultural ideology is not solid and permanent but ‘fragmented’ and distorted. This fragmentation depends on the availability of gender ideology contestation space in a collectivity. Ideological contestation occurs because of differing views on ‘socio-cultural modalities’ (social modalities) that are attached to the gender as a ‘social status’ determinant factor.
"In Muhammadiyah, fragmentation also exists in the presence of distorted double reality of written formal ideology that oriented on head-complement gender ideology which is a textualist group reference, however in the praxis realm it shows senior-junior partnership ideology of the moderate group," concluded the Indonesia Deputy for Human Rights Commissioner, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).