Sufi Feminism in Action: Nahdliyah Women, Tarekat Authority, and Political Dynamics in Indonesia

Abstract

Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Nahdliyah women involved in Sufi orders (tarekat) in Indonesia, this article explores how religious practice becomes a site for the formation of gendered political agency. Through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and observation of ritual spaces  with ritual spaces such as dhikr gatherings and religious study circles, the study examines how women cultivate religious subjectivity and moral authority within Nahdlatul Ulama’s spiritual networks. The findings reveal that women’s political involvement emerges not through formal leadership positions but through everyday practices of piety, mediation, and relational influence that link spiritual authority to political interests. Acting as trusted intermediaries among religious leaders, followers, and political actors, Nahdliyah women translate Sufi-based moral legitimacy into culturally embedded, locally recognized forms of political participation. This ethnographic account challenges dominant assumptions that equate women’s political agency with overt resistance to patriarchal norms. Instead, it highlights a practice-based form of Sufi feminism in which agency is enacted through negotiation, ethical self-cultivation, and social trust. By foregrounding lived religious experience, the article contributes to broader anthropological debates on Islam, gender, and politics, positioning Southeast Asian Muslim women as central to rethinking feminist and political agency in Muslim societies.