Empowering Women Through Islam: Fatayat NU Between Tradition and Change

This article investigates the empowerment strategies of Fatayat NU, the young women's branch of the Indonesian Muslim mass organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). It raises the following questions: what instruments the women have used to realize their visions of empowerment and gender equality since the foundation of Fatayat NU, what programmes they have recently set up to advance the position of women in Indonesian society, and how they have addressed controversial topics such as female leadership, polygyny, and abortion. In Fatayat NU's early history male dominance confined its room for action. The young women have increased their influence step by step, although they still have to negotiate their status vis-à-vis male authorities. It was not until the 1980s that important changes occurred in the organization. Women's empowerment based on Islamic values has been a declared goal of Fatayat NU.