To strengthen the position of women in civilization, the Indonesian Women Ulama Congress (KUPI) is being held again. This second congress will take place from November 23-26, 2022, in Semarang and Jepara, Central Java. KUPI II adopts the theme “Affirming the Role of Women Ulama for a Just Civilization”.
This event is a continuation of KUPI I, which was successfully held in Cirebon in April 2017. After the first congress, KUPI, which initially was a congress event, transformed into a grassroots movement within society. KUPI became a historic moment that united initiatives from communities and institutions working on women’s empowerment, including academics, activists from Islamic organizations, grassroots empowerment practitioners, and even gender activists.
Throughout this period, KUPI’s religious views have contributed to the emergence of various policies. KUPI’s 2017 religious view on the mandatory protection of children’s age from marriage has influenced various parties, both state institutions and civil society, to raise the minimum age for marriage, which was eventually ratified by the state to 19 years for both men and women.
Similarly, KUPI’s religious view on the prohibition of sexual violence also became a turning point in the awareness of various national elements, especially civil society. The cooperation of various parties, including the active involvement of women ulama in opening dialogue spaces with parliament members, yielded maximum results. On April 12, 2022, parliament finally ratified the Draft Law on Sexual Violence Crimes (RUU TPKS) into the Law on Sexual Violence Crimes.
At this 2nd Congress from November 23-26, the KUPI Religious Deliberation will discuss and decide on fatwas regarding five crucial issues: 1) the role of women in protecting the nation from extremism; 2) household waste management and processing for environmental sustainability; 3) protection of women from the dangers of forced marriage; 4) protection of women’s lives from the dangers of pregnancy resulting from rape; 5) protection of women from the dangers of female genital mutilation and injury.
IPAS Indonesia Foundation, as an organization with the vision that every woman and girl has the right and ability to determine her own sexuality and reproductive health, strongly supports the KUPI II fatwa. This is also a focus of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation’s work in advocating for the fulfillment of comprehensive service rights for rape survivors in accordance with Health Law No. 36 of 2009 and the 2022 Law on Sexual Violence Crimes (UU TPKS), which provide full protection for comprehensive services for victims of sexual violence. (*)
Source: KUPI II Press Release October 19, 2022