What Young Indonesians Who Have Never Encountered Hijab-Bullying Can Do About It
Throughout my time growing up in Indonesia’s Greater Jakarta area, I noticed that more and more women and girls were wearing hijabs but never thought it could be because of bullying and rules set out by certain public institutions. Most people I knew chalked up the “hijabers” phenomenon as a fashion trend or, when considering the case of adult hijabers, equated it to other traditional (albeit still problematic) social pressures like marriage. In hindsight, these presumptions were likely ripples of a concerning human rights issue in Indonesia. Hijab is a complex term but it is typically used to describe variations of veiling done by many Muslim women; there are myriad reasons why Indonesian Muslims don a hijab. For some, it is an expression of faith, a tradition during Eid, or a way of demonstrating respect to religious leaders and the dead. For others, however, adopting the hijab has more recently become a way of preventing harassment and avoiding punishment.
?A Short Background on the Issue
On March 18th, Human Rights Watch (HRW) held a virtual news conference to launch a report titled, "I Wanted to Run Away": Abusive Dress Codes for Women and Girls in Indonesia. The event was moderated by HRW researcher Andreas Harsono with a panel featuring HRW Australia Director Elaine Pearson, family psychologist and community organizer Alissa Wahid, and clinical psychologist and university lecturer Ifa Hanifah Misbach. The conference provided more context for those interested in the report’s contents.
Elaine Pearson was first of the three women to speak. She gave an introduction to the report, which reveals how certain government schools and offices have been requiring women and girls to wear the hijab. This raises alarms because Indonesia is constitutionally secular. Findings include some public school teachers cutting clothes that do not meet school standards, with one teacher occasionally carrying scissors to cut wisps of exposed hair. According to the report, “pressure to wear a jilbab [a type of hijab that covers one’s hair, ears, and neck] despite the absence of any campus regulation,” made one public university lecturer quit her job.
Ms. Pearson also answered journalists' inquiries on the research process and asked critical questions surrounding the implementation of a recent joint ministerial decree in Indonesia (SKB 3 Menteri) banning rules on religious attire in public schools.
The decree was announced in February following social media outcries over a viral video. In the secretly recorded clip, a Christian parent expressed his worry to public school officials in Padang over the enforcement of hijabs for all girls at school.
Second to speak was Alissa Wahid. Passionate about interfaith dialogue and peace, she is, among other things, the National Coordinator of GUSDURian Network Indonesia. The network serves as a platform and community to promote progressive Islam as well as other ideals held by her late father, former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid. Ms. Wahid's concerns lie not with the hijab itself but with it being mandatory in public spaces and institutions; loss of female self-determination is a serious impact to consider, she stressed. Further, she provided conference attendees with three factors to keep in mind surrounding the issue of discriminatory dress codes for women and girls in Indonesia, listed here:
- The rise of [Islamic] ultraconservatism in social and legal spheres
- Political populism or majoritarianism
- Decentralization (i.e. local governments)
Ifa Hanifah Misbach was the last to speak. She has worked with thirty seven hijab-bullying victims in her role as a clinical psychologist. She explained that, having been told by relatives that they are bad Muslims or that not wearing a hijab will drag their family members to hell, her clients exhibit symptoms such as high anxiety, body dysmorphia, loneliness, and identity loss. Two of them have had suicidal thoughts, she added.
Ms. Misbach is no stranger to some of these symptoms for she herself reports having been subjected to decades-long hijab-bullying. Mr. Harsono asked if she would be willing to share a poem she wrote on the subject as a teenager. She read aloud an english translation of it, and a number of attendees could not help but share heartfelt comments in the Q&A section—myself included. The poem was so achingly personal. And yet, it resonated with the fellow Indonesian women in attendance who grew up Muslim.
Looking Forward
Replace noise with voice. - Ifa Hanifah Misbach
According to Alissa Wahid, at the time of the conference, the SKB 3 Menteri was still awaiting judicial review by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. There is yet to be any news from the court. Regardless of the outcome, Ms. Wahid believed the decree is a sign that new perspectives are entering government.
Indeed, one of the decree's three sponsors, Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim, is a Brown and Harvard Business School alumnus; the 36-year-old co-founded famous companies like Zalora and Gojek. Another sponsor, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, was highlighted during his 2020 appointment for committing to prominent bridge-building between religious groups.
Where do you see young, more privileged Indonesians—whose lives may be very distant from the realities lived by girls [and women] in this report—being most helpful to ensuring this decree gets implemented and strictly enforced?
Her response to my question: Netizen engagement is key. She reinforced this statement by mentioning instances of Indonesians taking the internet by storm—the most pertinent being social media activism to pass a sexual violence draft bill (RUU PKS) in 2020. The draft bill is now one of thirty three included in the Indonesia's 2021 National Legislation Program.
Those who are more aware of their rights and have the opportunity to speak up should do so, she expressed. "Whatever social capital you have, use it to your advantage."
Ifa Hanifah Misbach concurred by saying something that sparked the very idea behind this article. She said, "Replace noise with voice... Mereka sudah terlalu lama bersuara di ruang kita. Kita sudah terlalu lama diam di ruang mereka." In English, this latter part translates to, “They have been making noise in our spaces for too long. And we have been silent for too long in theirs.”
What We Can Do
- Engage Personal Connections with Opposing Views
If you are Muslim, you probably know someone who shares hadiths, Quranic verses, or other Islamic content with people they know. When you find yourself on the receiving end—and the content at hand takes on a punitive stance against non-hijabi Muslims—consider inviting that someone to a lengthier conversation. I sometimes catch older family members in particular being delightfully surprised when younger relatives ask follow-up questions. You are already off to a good start by expressing interest in something they are passionate about. Though I recognize that there is more to lose when engaging difficult conversations with family and friends rather than strangers, there is likewise more to gain.
- Share Our Voices in New Spaces
You may be like me and have an Instagram feed that is full of the kind of activism you support. Sharing your ideas or findings there can feel like preaching to the choir. Social media algorithms in general can make it easy to forget that there is a silence of your ideals in other spaces. Take more time to ponder, though, and you may see that there is room to express your views on a different online platform or during in-person gatherings like family reunions. So, what do you think about: (1) The dress-code rules being imposed by local public institutions in Indonesia and (2) the mental health impacts of social pressure to wear the hijab?
- Reach Out to Friends and Family
Over the course of several years, more and more of my cousins started regularly wearing the hijab. I never asked them why for fear of seeming intrusive. After all, up until the time I read the HRW report, I had only ever worn a hijab on rare occasions. Yet, in truth, I have always been curious to hear their thoughts and feelings—and more so now knowing that many of them attended public schools and universities. The entanglements of public life, family, and religion make up a tale many, including myself, can still relate to. And regardless of whether my cousins made the choice to wear the hijab on their own, I want them to know I am here to listen. I want to fill the space with their voices, their stories.