KUPI’s Gender Campaigns, Digital Activism, and a Counterpublic in the Making
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Keywords
Women ulama, Islamic feminism, gendered counter-publics, women’s digital activism
Abstract
The expansion of the Internet and social media platforms over the past decades has empowered many progressive Muslim women’s groups associated with the Congress of Indonesian Women Ulama (KUPI) to leverage digital realms for their Islamic feminist campaigns. However, their digital initiatives often remain undervalued due to the marginalization of their gender discourses compared to the dominant conservative narratives surrounding women’s issues in the country. The aim of this article is to examine the last four years of the KUPI’s online feminist campaigns, especially those from after its second congress in November 2022. I focus on the KUPI’s creative endeavors to expand their feminist ideas through activities in online spaces and the potential of these endeavors to create an environment where they can articulate and increase their voices against the patriarchal discourses on women prevalent in Indonesian society. I draw my data from a combination of online observation from the KUPI's media networks, interviews with individuals involved in the KUPI's digital initiatives, and desk research on KUPI-related topics. I frame the data with a theoretical approach that examines the intersection of women’s digital activism and the creation of counterpublics in contemporary society. This framework acknowledges the capacity of these Islamic feminist activists to publicly discuss women-related issues, raise awareness about gender justice, and foster collective action aimed at improving women’s health and well-being.
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