Reporter: Ahmad Hadid
Dozens of students from the Biology Department Student Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Jurusan Biologi; Him-Bio) of the State Islamic University Syekh Nurjati Cirebon (Universitas Islam Negeri Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon; UIN SSC) visited Umah Ramah on Friday, June 7, 2024. The visit was a series of “Study Trip on Gender” activities which aimed to strengthen the perspective of gender equality for its members.
The visit’s spokesperson, Nur Faiqoh, clarified that the purpose of this off-campus activity was to learn about gender issues by visiting relevant institutions.
“This trip-like activity aims to educate participants about gender. The purpose of this program is to provide members of the biology student association with gender awareness,” she said.
The staff at Umah Ramah appreciated the visit. The Director of Umah Ramah, Asih Widiyowati, states that understanding gender is part of understanding sexuality. As per her assertion, it is imperative to cultivate a gender justice perspective in order to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses.
“Relationships free from sexual violence are one of the real manifestations of gender justice,” she said.
Asih added that Umah Ramah discovered that power dynamics and knowledge were the primary causes of sexual violence in a number of investigations into the topic. Understanding how these power dynamics function in society and knowing how to untangle them is crucial.
“Because society is frequently mired in a moral framework, it only views sexual assault as a moral transgression. This is also the reason it’s generally frowned upon to talk about sexuality,” she emphasized.
Umah Ramah is making efforts to erode these taboos by beginning to talk about them with young populations at the grassroots level, like in universities and Islamic boarding schools.
Sexuality is frequently taboo because it is mistakenly seen as limited to sexual intercourse. In actuality, knowing oneself is the foundation for understanding sexuality,” she concluded. []
This article was translated by Napol Riel.