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Woman rejected as district head in Tangerang
Jakarta Post - February 16, 2014
Endang was inaugurated last week by Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, replacing the late Abdul Hijjah.
"The MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council], NU [Nahdatul Ulama] and the community leader here reject [Endang] because the law of Islam prohibits women from holding leadership positions," said Bai Tohawi, head of the MUI's Sindang Jaya chapter, in a rally on Saturday.
He said that a number of Islamic boarding schools were located in the district, which produced strict adherents of Islamic law who demanded a male leader.
"We have sent text messages and called the regent and the regional secretary [to replace Endang]. We will stage a rally on Monday if they don't respond," Bai said.
Commenting on the protest, Ahmed said he urged the Sindang Jaya community to be more open-minded. "Nowadays, there are many women leaders. As long as they can do their jobs well, what's the problem," he said.
This is not the first time local people have voiced an objection to a woman district leader.
Last July, demands were made for Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, subdistrict head of Lenteng Agung in South Jakarta, to step down from her post. The local community submitted a list of 2,300 names and photocopies of 1,500 identity cards to support their petition, arguing that it made no sense to have a non-Muslim leader in a Muslim- majority area.
Both Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama stood by their decision to hire Susan, saying that she had passed all the tests asked of her and was doing a good job.
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