USINDO Roundtable

With the Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah Delegation

Washington, DC, April 6, 2006

Dr. Sudibyo Markus, Chair of National Executive Board of Muhammadiyah; Dr. Atika M. Zaki, Aisyiyah Coordinator of Health and Environment; Dra. Daricha Yasin, Advisor of Aisyiyah Central Board, Health Division and Dr. Moetmainnah Prihadi, Vice Chairman, Health and Community Welfare Division

The delegation from Muhammadiyah and its women’s affiliate, Aisyiyah, made the trip to Washington, DC to highlight their partnership of 35 years with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The end of this partnership marks a “graduation,” more than a separation. The projects with USAID will be strengthened and will continue. Collaboration may continue with other important programs, such as tuberculosis treatment and vaccination projects.

Muhammadiyah, established in 1912, is Indonesia’s oldest Islamic organization.  Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah, while technically autonomous organizations, work closely together on their social programs. Dr. Markus prefers that Muhammadiyah not be thought of as an organization with finite interests and membership so much as a grassroots religiously-based movement. For example, some of the funding may come from Aisyiyah business enterprises but Aisyiyah also may work in hospitals funded by Muhammadiyah.

Aisyiyah is named for a follower of the Prophet and was established in 1917 by the wife of the Muhammadiyah’s founder. The objective of Aisyiyah concerns the rights of women, including religion and access to education, health services and social welfare. Eleven years after the founding of Aisyiyah, the organization began publishing a magazine, Voice of Aisyiyah, which is still in print. Through its activities, Aisyiyah has established orphanages and madrassahs for girls.

Aisyiyah began family planning programs thirty years before the government launched its own. When the government did begin family planning programs, it appointed Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah as implementing units to support these programs. Their programs are now considered successful. In 1970, the fertility rate in Indonesia stood at about 5.6 percent. In 2003, it declined to 2.3 percent. Their method was to encourage change in family behavior and to encourage “small, happy and prosperous families.”

The result of these programs was a “cascade effect.” The objective was to train a small group of people, who in turn are able to each train additional groups of people. In this way the group of knowledgeable and trained people is swiftly multiplied.

Q: It seems in places where Islamic law (sharia) is implemented women are not considered equal. There is no outcry when women are punished, for example, in recent incidents in Aceh.

A: Aceh is different; there the implementation of sharia is more politically motivated and is not administered fairly. People are talking about these cases, but perhaps not in public. But there have been changes, such as the marrying age for women and in women’s opportunities.  Muhammadiyah, however, does not support the imposition of sharia law, believing that religion first and foremost is an individual spiritual undertaking and properly is not propagated through normative actions of the state or in law.  This distinction, commented Dr. Markus, makes Muhammadiyah different from Islamic political and educational organizations that have become popular in Indonesia in recent years.  We have opposed the imposition of sharia law for 100 years and we will not change, he said. 

Q: Reproductive health is often a difficult subject in faith-based groups. What is the collision with religious policies and how does one deal with these?

A: It is a difficult subject and there are religious leaders who oppose family planning, but these are a small percentage. Family planning is mentioned in the Koran; there is a phrase related to increasing the prosperity of children that legitimizes family planning. If a family wishes to increase the prosperity of their children, they need to limit their family to a size where this is possible. Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah collaborate with other Islamic-based organizations on the implementation of family-oriented programs.

Q: Are Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah the only organizations to accept non-Muslim students in schools?

A: No; there are other Islamic schools that are open, especially in the more remote areas.

Q: What are the trends in medical care? Have you seen an increase in infectious diseases, such as polio, tuberculosis, malaria? Is this accurate?

A: It is not that the cases are increasing, but that the reporting is better. The providers are better trained today. In a sense, the statistics distort the reality.