By Alifatul Arifiati*
Islamic online recitations are still dominated by religious leaders and male ulama. In fact, there needs to be space for women ulama, especially in discussing the various experiences of women that are not experienced by men in an Islamic perspective. Such as the very complex process of women reproduction, to various fiqh laws that lead to women.
Realizing this, Rahima organized speech and recitation activities, namely Ngabuburit with Women Ulama and Ramadan Intensive Classes supported by We Lead. All of them were presented by women ulama from various regions in Indonesia and carried out online during the month of Ramadan. These two programs aim to introduce the thoughts of women ulama to be better known by the wider community, as well as a medium of da’wah that promotes the Islamic values of rahmatan lil alamin, with a gender justice perspective.
For 30 days, Ngabuburit with Women Ulama presented 30 women ulema Rahima who were alumni of the Women’s Ulama Cadre or Pengkaderan Ulama Perempuan (PUP). The issues raised were about fasting and its relation to women’s reproductive experiences. For example, issues regarding the law of fasting for breastfeeding mothers, how to qada fasting for pregnant and lactating women, how to educate children to fasting, reasons for having sexual intercourse when fasting is forbidden, and so on. This video is shown on Youtube Swararahima dotcom every day in the month of Ramadan at 16.30 WIB.
The second activity was recitation of the Ramadan Intensive Class with the theme “20 Days with 20 Women Ulama of the Archipelago: Happy Family Course from the Book of Manba’ussa’adah”. In carrying out this activity, Rahima collaborates with Mubadalah.id and the Fahmina Institute. Manba’ussa’adah is a book by Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir which discusses the relationship between husband and wife. For twenty days, no less than 200 participants attended the recitation via Zoom, Youtube Swararahima.com, and Mubadalam Fanpage. One of the participants of this activity said, “For 20 full days, there is a lot of knowledge about reproductive health, provisions to build a family that is sakinah mawaddah wa rahmah.” This activity is expected to provide a new discourse related to Islam that is just and considers the experiences of women.
*The author is a staff of Fahmina Institute
