The Strong Paternalistic Culture is One of the Challenges Facing To women in Leadership and What is the Perspective in Islam

Women's leadership is a significant topic in political contests across the world, particularly in Indonesia and other countries where the majority of the population is Muslim. In the present political situation and everyday life, there are a lot of women holding key positions in the community, business, and government at all levels, from the local to the national. 

Unfortunately, the polemic on women's leadership is not that simple. Even while women can and should be nominated to positions of leadership within a democratic framework, there are numerous structural and even theological barriers that keep women from achieving these positions. Here, the term "leader" refers to a wide range of contexts, including social groups, places of worship, and government or official roles.

Then it comes to mind "Why are women in Indonesia considered inadequate to become the highest leader in an organization or company?" The answer is because of the paternalistic culture in the political system in Indonesia. Before we get into a deeper discussion, of course we need to know what Paternalism is. 

Quoting the book Beyond Borders: Communication Modernity & History, paternalism is an attitude that asserts that one group has authority or better knowledge and therefore has the right to organize or control other groups. One example of paternalism in sociology is the tendency to make men the leaders of the group. 

The strong paternalistic culture in Indonesia's political system has become one of the obstacles for women in leadership. This culture focuses on the role of men as leaders and views women as obstacles to self-actualization and promotion. Furthermore, women are perceived to have a harder time building networks and relationships. 

Women are also often seen as better off staying at home as housewives than working. In some cases, women are considered inadequate to be the highest leader in an organization or company due to stereotypes that assume they do not have the values necessary to be a leader.

Then, in this case, how does Islam deal with this paternalistic or paternalism issue? As we know, Islam places women in a high position. Some of the Jahiliyyah Arab social institutions that were discriminatory, even tended to disrespect women, were successfully corrected. Initially, women were not entitled to inheritance, even women in the Jahiliyyah era were seen as goods that could be inherited. This tradition disappeared after Islam was revealed and women got an equal position with men.

Islam's view on the role of women in politics is complex and multifaceted. Islam does not differentiate between rights and duties based on human anatomy; both are always equal in the eyes of Islam, regardless of gender. 

Islam promotes the concept of justice for everyone and to anyone regardless of their gender. Islam is a religion that has liberated the tyrannical shackles of slavery, equal rights and has never differentiated between men and women in matters of universal nature. 

In Islam, gender does not mean an absolute difference and does not mean an insurmountable difference. Gender differences only mean the differences that appear in men and women when viewed in terms of values and behaviors. In politics, many Muslim women participate in practical political activities. In battle, Ummu Aiman and Aisha were listed as members of the squad that helped the wounded and prepared the food and water for the troops. In fact, Aisha once led the troops in the battle of Jamal.

Islam provides opportunities for women who are involved in political activities, this can be seen in the many verses in the Qur'an that command amar ma'ruf nahi munkar. This shows that Islam is very cosmopolitan, rahmatan lil 'alamin for all human beings. The existence of men and women is for the benefit of humanity itself. 

In accordance with the main purpose of Islam is to improve humanity as said by Rasullah SAW: "I was appointed as an apostle solely to improve the noble character." This applies to all kinds of activities, not least in the field of politics and statehood. Women are also responsible for this.

Based on this, women in Islam also have the right to politics. The right to politics means the right to become a member of a representative institution, and to gain power, such as leading formal institutions, organizations, parties, and the president. Women's political rights will certainly be related to human rights in general. This human right is owned without distinguishing the basis of nation, race, religion, as well as gender, because the basis of this human right is that humans get the opportunity to develop in accordance with the talents of their ideals.

For Indonesia, where the majority of the population is Muslim, the equal status of women and their opportunities for political activity have been established in the 1945 Constitution. The political decision to provide 30% of parliamentary seats for them is an opportunity that should be utilized to the fullest.

From several reliable sources, it is known that compared to other countries. Indonesia has more respect for the role of women, even before Indonesia's independence, Indonesian women held the first women's congress on December 22, 1928. Which then every December 22 is celebrated as Mother's Day. At that time, it was the time of the national movement, the organization was led by the average Indonesian youth in their 20s, even some were still in their teens or teenage years.

In this case, religion does authorize a wide political space for women. The more massive presence of women on the structural political stage is expected to be able to formulate immediate policies that empower millions of their kind, eradicate discriminatory cultures and stop violence against them that still continues to take place escalatively, both in the family and public spheres.

To conclude this paper, the conclusion and suggestions for this issue are that to overcome the paternalistic culture, it is necessary to raise public awareness about the importance of women in leadership and reduce stereotypes that consider women unsuitable for leadership. Thus, women can more easily get the opportunity to lead and contribute to the decision process and still be in line with the principles of equality described by Allah SWT.

Anindita Rifa Farzana_20230510015_Class L_AIK 2_Universitas Muhammadiyah yogyakarta