Evi Eliyanah
This article discusses the struggle over masculinity as it plays out in recent Indonesian cinema. Although the end of the 1900s and the beginning of the 2000s saw the increasing participation of women in government, education, and other areas of the public life, it was also a period of increasing Islamisation. This article examines the efforts of Indonesian filmmakers to critique patriarchal norms regarding masculinity and to offer an alternative model of masculinity in the controversial film, Woman with a Turban [Perempuan Berkalung Sorban] (Hanung Bramantyo, 2009). The film promotes the figure of the “new Muslim man” who treats women as equals and supports their efforts to pursue education and employment. By examining the debates behind the production of the film, its socio-political context, and the narrative of the work, I argue that Woman with a Turban represents a milestone work of film Islami that provides a compelling model of gender equality within Indonesian Islam. This alternative ideal, however, is biased towards middle-class Indonesians and implies that lower-class Muslims are the ones responsible for holding back progress in gender relations. © 2019, Yonsei Institute for English Studies. All rights reserved.
State University of Malang, Indonesia
