Ms Aurora Nurhidayah Rifani

Aurora Nurhidayah Rifani obtained a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in  Jakarta in 2017 and a master's degree in Cultural Studies from the University of Indonesia in 2020. She is interested in women's issues especially media activism, pop culture, and religion.

Media Activism: Reinterpretation and Digital Sisterhood in Indonesian Social Media

Taking a Cultural Studies perspective, this presentation aims to problematise forms of negotiations and strategies of Islamic feminism in social media activism in Indonesia, specifically in three Instagram accounts: @mubadalah.id, @muslimahfeminis and @cherbonfeminist. The main focus is on Muslim women’s digital contestation of oppressive views on polygamy and sexual violence in Indonesia. I find there is a sense of digital sisterhood developed through social media activism by relying on personal narratives and the use of hashtags as a form of Islamic feminist counter-voice.