Peace Journey
SRILI (Srikandi Lintas Iman) was established in 2015 as a follow-up initiative to a fellowship programme initiated by Ms. Wiwin Aminah Rochmawati, one of its co-founders. The first members of SRILI were 24 women who participated in an interfaith dialogue forum representing various faiths and religious organisations. This initiative was also a response to the trend of hostile identity politics in Indonesia, as indicated by the rise of an intolerant narrative during the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election and the closing of various religious places.
SRILI believes that a movement promoting religious tolerance is essential for achieving peace, and that women play a strategic role in this endeavour. Hence, the name “Srikandi” means a heroine figure in the Indonesian context. One example of women's role is their influence in raising tolerant children, which holds the key to future peace.
Two of SRILI’s members, Ms Erin and Ms Nana, had a different pathway to becoming activists. Ms. Erin became interested in joining a women's movement after being inspired by her college lecturer, who taught about women and religious issues. Ms. Nana, a catholic, felt the need to actively advocate religious tolerance, reflecting on the hostile identity politics during the Jakarta Gubernatorial Election, particularly against Indonesians of Chinese descent and minority religions.
Peace Journey
SRILI deals with religious intolerance or fundamentalism and related conflicts, including the forced closure of religious places by locals. To respond to these conflicts and others of a similar nature, it engages in dialogues with stakeholders, which include mediating between the conflicting parties and communicating with authorities to facilitate the conversations.
Furthermore, SRILI focuses on capacity building for women, particularly in areas such as gender sensitivity, religious tolerance, bias awareness, and conflict resolution skills. All members of SRILI are required to have such training and are expected to be able to respond to issues relating to religious intolerance or fundamentalism in their environment
Success Stories
As a women's movement, SRILI faces unique challenges, including internal ones, such as inactive members occupied with domestic care work. It also faces challenges from external parties, such as the reluctance of religious communities dominated by men to engage with it.
SRILI becomes a place where young women learn to become agents of change. One example is a member who built an interfaith dialogue forum in Sumatra. Additionally, SRILI also pointed out its choice to avoid practical politics, hence maintaining the appearance of objectivity and neutrality. This characteristic enables them to organise collaborative events and network with various parties, including other religious organisations and government agencies. For example, SRILI was invited by the General Election Commission to discuss tolerance regarding political choices.
Reflecting on their experience in SRILI, both Ms. Erin and Ms. Nana explained that women are often pressured to do their “role as a woman” in domestic and religious contexts. Others demeaned Ms Erin and Ms Nana’s participation in SRILI as the society perceived that volunteer work does not contribute to household finance and engaging with people of different religions may expose them to discrimination. Ms. Erin added that she had lost some friends for being active in SRILI because her participation was perceived as deviant to their religious teachings.
Ms. Erin and Ms. Nana highlight that confidently voicing their opinions is the key to responding to their challenges. They believe that women often feel they cannot express their views and thus suffer in silence. With such confidence, women will have the means to defend themselves in a society that often marginalises and oppresses them.