ISLAMIC FEMINISM IN AISYIYAH'S WOMEN'S EDUCATION AS THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY OF AHMAD DAHLAN AND SITI WALIDAH

Ines Zilma Aolafasila; Muhamad Nur Rokhman; M. Budiman; Amalia Nurma Kinanti

doi:10.61677/satmata.v4i2.1069

Authors

Ines Zilma Aolafasila Department of History Education, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Yogyakarta State University
Muhamad Nur Rokhman Department of History Education, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Yogyakarta State University
M. Budiman Department of History Education, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Yogyakarta State University
Amalia Nurma Kinanti Department of History Education, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Yogyakarta State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61677/satmata.v4i2.1069

Keywords:

Islamic feminism, Aisyiyah, Ahmad Dahlan, Siti Walidah, women’s education.

Abstract

In the early 20th century, Indonesian women faced limited access to education due to a strong patriarchal culture and a lack of opportunities for public participation. This study aims to examine and analyze Islamic feminism in Aisyiyah’s women’s education as the intellectual legacy of K.H. Ahmad Dahlan and Nyai Siti Walidah, as well as its relevance to the development of gender-equitable Islamic education today. This study employs a qualitative method using the history of ideas approach and library research. Data were collected from the archives of the Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah organizations, biographies of key figures, and relevant journal articles, and were then analyzed using a descriptive-interpretive approach. The results of the study indicate that: first, Islamic feminism within Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah emerged as a religious response to gender inequality, not as an adoption of Western liberal feminism; second, the educational thought of Ahmad Dahlan and Siti Walidah positions women as equal subjects of education through the concept of the “four pillars of education”; third, the Aisyiyah tradition has translated these ideas into networks of formal and non-formal education as well as women’s empowerment programs that continue to this day. This study affirms Aisyiyah as a model of education-based Islamic feminism and a religious movement that integrates Indonesia’s sociocultural context with organizational practices. This intellectual legacy needs to be revitalized as the foundation for developing gender-responsive curricula and leadership development programs in Islamic educational institutions.

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