Abstract
This chapter delineates the ways in which the women’s neighborhood organization (or PKK) works to support cross-religious solidarity. After a brief overview of typical feminist approaches to the PKK, I then move to provide three series of cross-religious interactions related to the PKK network: the Islamic greetings, halal food, and the cross-religious home visits on the major religious holidays. I discuss the ways in which cross-religious adoptions of words and substances can materialize interpersonal trust, but note that cross-religious solidarity in the neighborhood does not exclude a sense of competition with, or even hostility towards, other religions.
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- 1.
This quote should not be read as the general situation before the war in Bosnia before the 1990s. In fact, Bringa has shown complex interactions between Muslim and Catholic neighbors, including a Catholic woman and a Muslim woman who are best friends.
- 2.
Field notes, June 13, 2013.
- 3.
See endnote 1.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
It would be inaccurate and misleading to describe the program of the PKK as aiming to create the subjectivity of a desirable “housewife” only. Most of the literature on the PKK so far has seemed to utilize the term “housewife” without sufficient cultural qualifications. Literally, ibu rumah tangga means “the mother of the household.” In contemporary American-English usage, a “housewife” means a married woman who does not have a formal job and stays at home. In Indonesia, however, ibu rumah tangga means something else. To put it simply, while ibu rumah tannga can refer to those who really are “housewives” in its English sense, it could also mean an ascribed status for all married women regardless of their employment status. Whether a woman is formally employed or not, once she is married and assumes some responsibilities over family members, she is entitled to the status of an ibu rumah tannga. In my field, career women almost invariably insist that “of course I am an ibu rumah tannga.” In fact, career women feel that their duty as “the mother of the household” is potentially overshadowed by their career and therefore there is an even greater need explicitly to reclaim the role of “the mother of the household,” so that they could not be criticized for neglecting their womanly duty.
- 7.
Alternatively, they believe that as long as the family is taken care of, women can pursue education, careers, or whatever they want. In this latter case, the precondition “as long as the family is taken care of” is often used as a conditional acceptance of women’s education and employment, rather than a prohibition against it.
- 8.
Statistically, female employment rates (usually underestimated, due to informal employment) in Indonesia since the 1970s have steadily increased (26.6% in 1971, 36% in 1990, and 51% in 2010) at a faster rate than that of males (Manning 1998, 233; BPS Indonesia 2010). The wage disparities associated with gender also declined in all sectors, particularly after 1990 (Dhanani et al. 2009, 18). Although there is no denying that the wages paid to young women in large multi-national factories remains low and wage discrimination in all sectors still renders women vulnerable (Wolf 1992), the majority of these jobs are still occupied by men, with other opportunities open for women (Manning 1998, 233). For example, there has been a higher percentage of all non-agricultural employment absorbed in government and social services among educated female workers than male (Manning 1998, 250). In the early 1990s, women held approximately one-third of Indonesian civil service positions (Robinson 2000, 153), particularly in the departments of education and health, although the more senior or top managerial and decision-making levels continue to be dominated by males. The 2008 women’s share in the labor force was nearly 38%. It was highest in employed domestic labor (76%), health and social work (57%), restaurants and hotels (56%), and education (55%).
In general, female participation in the economy and their wages have increased markedly both absolutely and relative to males, although their wages and conditions are still worse than males. The concentration of women in low-waged and low-prestige jobs is just a small part of the story of the larger picture of changing employment patterns and decreasing wage differentials by gender. In any case, there is no evidence that Indonesian women are more restricted to the home than in the past, and therefore one cannot assume that the PKK has resulted in a change that did not happen.
- 9.
Field notes, February 9, 2010.
- 10.
In Indonesian, the two names are Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga and Pemberdayaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga.
- 11.
My translation. The original lyrics of “Mars PKK” are quoted here:
Marilah hai semua Rakyat Indonesia/Membangun segera/Membangun keluarga yang sejahtera/Dengan PKK/Hayatilah dan amalkan Pancasila/Untuk Negara/Hidup gotong royong, makmur Pangan dan Sandang/Rumah sehat sentosa/Tata laksana di dalam rumah tangga/Rapi dan indah/Didiklah putra berpribadi bangsa/Trampil dan sehat/Kembangkan koprasi jagalah lingkungan/dan sekitarnya/Aman dan bahagia kluarga berencana/Hidup jaya PKK.
- 12.
This is not unlike the term warga negara Indonesia (Indonesian citizen) that, while literally being universal, practically has the implication of “Chinese Indonesian.”
- 13.
Her next sentence is: Wait…are you telling me that even you eat pork, too? That was a rare moment when I felt I could not deny my “pork identity,” since I am from Taiwan, a place where rice with minced pork with soy sauce gravy is among the most common dishes. I told Bu Eka the truth, and then she became a bit curious, despite her revulsion, about the flavor of pork and asked me if it was true that pork was delicious. Field notes, February 9, 2010.
- 14.
Not only is Chinese cuisine considered dangerous, but also the Manado dishes such as pork rica-rica. A Manado dog dish is also a delicacy among Christians in Salatiga. Out of a disapproval of Manado dishes, a Javanese saying even mocks Minahasa people as “eating everything except the foot of the table.”
- 15.
There are various angles for discussing the permissibility of saying “Merry Christmas” to non-Muslims, but a key issue in the public discourse is the potential violation of tauhid (tawhid, “the oneness and uniqueness of God”). One commonly cited Qur’anic verse among those who believe wishing Christians “Merry Christmas” violates tawhid is “Worship none but Allah; treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practice regular charity” (Qur’an Al-Baqarah 2:83). Those who disagree then respond with other verses such as “Those who believe (in the Qur’an) and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures) and the Christians and the Sabians and who believe in Allah and the last day and work righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve” (Qur’an Al-Baqarah 2:62). See https://remajaislam.com/296-fatwa-mui-seputar-perayaan-natal.html and http://www.voa-islam.com/read/liberalism/2010/12/21/12397/mengoreksi-prof-dr-sofjan-siregar-yang-membolehkan-ucapan-selamat-natal/ (accessed on October 9, 2015).
- 16.
An earlier fatwa was issued in 1981 to forbid Muslims’ participation in Christmas celebrations (Sirry 2013).
- 17.
Field notes August 18, 2010
- 18.
Field notes, June 13, 2013.
- 19.
Field notes, June 13, 2013.
- 20.
Indeed, the phenomenon was not unique to Salatiga, but also could be found in nearby places. In a neighboring town, Ambarawa, for example, it is reported that each year Christians organize visits to the house of Islamic leaders on the day of Idul Fitri, and Muslims visit their Christian neighbors’ houses to wish them Merry Christmas on Christmas Day (Nurhadi 2005).
- 21.
Although I have used Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia throughout the book, I disagree with a Bahktinian treatment of speech/social action as having relative autonomy in each movement. Rather, I believe social action is underpinned by the long-term generative embodiment of history, religiosity, gender, and ethnicity. This is why sometimes in the book I need to use Bourdieu’s habitus to underline this point.
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Chao, EC. (2017). Performing Pluralism. In: Entangled Pieties. Contemporary Anthropology of Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48420-4_6
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