GENDER MAINSTREAMING POLICY IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN INDONESIA: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON GENDER ROLES IN ISLAMIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

The Indonesian government has made a strong commitment to eliminate gender discrimination. To achieve greater gender equality and equity, President Abdurrahman Wahid issued the Presidential Instruction Number 9 Year 2000 to promote gender mainstreaming with the objective of achieving gender equality and equity in all sectors of life. This paper investigates gender perspectives of the students in three Islamic Primary schools: one state school and two private schools in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The data were gathered by using a number of techniques: group interviews, student drawings, listing famous people and selecting favorite person from their lists of famous people. Three main points emerged from the study: 1) the majority of students had gender-neutral views on sports/games, employment and a range of other social activities; 2) persistent gender stereotyping of some roles by students; and 3) the students from the three schools had divergent views on gender roles and gender identities.