HALO JATENG- The afternoon atmosphere at the Landmark UIN Walisongo Campus 3, Semarang, on Tuesday (22/4/2025), was filled with a discursive and reflective spirit when hundreds of students gathered in a joint forum of the Jepara Semarang Student Family (KMJS) and the Rembang Semarang Student Family (Kamaresa).
They did not just remember the figure of RA Kartini as a symbol of emancipation, but also questioned the ironic contemporary reality in her homeland.
The discussion entitled “Kartini at the Crossroads: Between Emancipation and Exploitation” presented Dr. Muh Khamdan, an academic and lecturer at the Ministry of Law who is also a native son of Jepara.
Khamdan began his presentation by tracing the historical traces of Javanese socio-culture from the 18th to 19th centuries. According to him, the birth of Kartini in 1879 cannot be separated from the long residue of the Diponegoro War (1825–1830) which also changed the position of Javanese women systematically.
“After the great war, women who were originally part of the struggle were instead locked up in a seclusion system. Colonialism considered women to be tame, not to think freely, let alone be educated,” said Khamdan.
He emphasized that Kartini was an exception as well as a resistance to the patriarchal order, aristocratic feudalism, and religious dogma that were used as tools of silencing.
Khamdan said that Kartini’s intellectual courage was a continuation of the influence of her brother, Sosrokartono, a war journalist who lived in Europe for almost three decades.
“From the dialectic of correspondence with European figures, Kartini formed an intellectual diaspora network since her teenage years,” he said.
From there grew Kartini’s awareness of the importance of education as a path to independence.
The forum, which was sparked by Yusrul Rizannul Muna from KMJS and Najih Fawaid from Kamaresa, also discussed Kartini’s contributions in various sectors: the establishment of a native girls’ school, the compilation of a Pegon script interpretation of the Qur’an, the development of the tiger bracket motif in carving art, and the pioneering of the Jepara marine destination.
However, the reflection became bitter when the discussion touched on the conditions of contemporary Jepara women.
“Now, many young women in Jepara are not interested in going to college. They prefer to become garment factory workers after graduating from high school,” said Yusrul.
He added that this pragmatic choice occurred due to economic pressures and the lack of family awareness of the importance of higher education.
According to Khamdan, this phenomenon is a paradox in Kartini’s struggle.
“Kartini wanted women to be independent in their minds and economy, not trapped in exploitative repetitive work,” he said.
He called the garment industry in Jepara a form of new colonialism that ignores human dignity.
In addition to the exclusiveness of education, the massive urbanization process from outside Jepara triggered by the recruitment of factory workers also gave rise to social pathologies.
“The spike in divorces filed by wives, immoral practices, even cases of infanticide and sexually transmitted diseases are now serious issues in Jepara,” said Najih.
The discussion also touched on the critical point between the reality of development and social degradation.
Ironically, the carving craft sector that Kartini was once proud of as a cultural heritage is actually threatened with death because there is no regeneration.
“Young people are no longer interested in becoming carvers because there is no financial guarantee. They see the garment industry as more certain even though it is tiring,” said one of the discussion participants, a student from Tahunan District, Jepara.
Women, who were once encouraged by Kartini to think independently and become empowered through education and the arts, are now trapped in an inhumane industrial pattern.
“Here lies the betrayal of the times against Kartini’s spirit,” Khamdan said loudly.
The forum also quoted a number of Kartini’s letters sent to her friends in the Netherlands, such as to Stella and Abendanon.
“Kartini used to say, ‘I really want to see women become human beings before becoming anyone’s wife.’ But now, women are formed only to become production and reproduction machines,” said Najih.
Several participants from cross-city organizations also touched on the importance of regional policy reform, especially on access to vocational education based on local culture, so that women are not only directed towards industrial work, but also creative and social work.
The discussion was closed with the reading of a position statement from KMJS and Kamaresa containing five points of appeal, namely strengthening access to education for women in Jepara and Rembang, incentives for the regeneration of carving craftsmen, strict supervision of the garment industry, legal literacy training for female workers, and revitalization of Islamic interpretation based on the emancipation of Kartini and KH Sholeh Darat.
“When the state and the market fail to protect women, then the voices of new Kartinis must be born from campuses, from villages, from this movement,” concluded Yusrul, which was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the discussion participants as dusk approached.
Thus, the UIN Landmark that afternoon was not just a space for discussion, but also a space for resistance and a reminder that Kartini’s struggle was not over, even in the place where she was born. (*)
