To strengthen the position of women in civilization, the Indonesian Women Ulema Congress (KUPI) is being held again. This second congress will be held on November 23-26, 2022 in Semarang and Jepara, Central Java. KUPI II takes the theme “Affirming the Role of Women Ulema for Equitable Civilization”.
This activity is a continuation of KUPI I which was successfully held in Cirebon in April 2017. After the first congress, KUPI, which was originally a congress activity, transformed into a movement that took root in the community. KUPI became a historical momentum that united the initiatives of communities and institutions engaged in women’s empowerment, both among academics, activists of Islamic organizations, grassroots empowerment practitioners, and even gender activists.
So far, KUPI’s religious views have contributed to the birth of various policies. KUPI’s religious views in 2017 on the mandatory protection of children from marriage have influenced various parties, both state institutions and civil society, to raise the age of marriage, which was finally legalized by the state to 19 years for men and women.
Likewise, KUPI’s religious views on the prohibition of sexual violence have also become a turning point for the awareness of various elements of the nation, especially civil society. The cooperation of various parties, including the activeness of women scholars in opening spaces for dialog with members of parliament, produced maximum results. On April 12, 2022 the parliament finally passed the Draft Law on Sexual Violence (RUU TPKS) into the Law on Sexual Violence.
At the 2nd Congress on November 23-26, the KUPI Religious Deliberation will discuss and decide on fatwas on five crucial issues: 1) the role of women in caring for the nation from extremism; 2) management and processing of household waste for environmental sustainability; 3) protection of women from the dangers of forced marriage; 4) protection of women’s souls from the dangers of pregnancy due to rape; 5) protection of women from the dangers of cutting and injuring female genitalia.
IPAS Indonesia Foundation as an organization with a vision that every woman and girl has the right and ability to determine their own sexuality and reproductive health, strongly supports the KUPI II fatwa. This is also the focus of the work of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation in fighting for the fulfillment of the right to comprehensive services for rape survivors in accordance with Health Law No. 36 of 2009 and the 2022 TPKS Law which provides full protection for comprehensive services for victims of sexual violence. (*)
Source: KUPI II Press Release October 19, 2022
