Beyond Gendered Boundaries: The Implications of Riffat Hassan and Simone de Beauvoir’s Thought for Islamic Education in Indonesia

Mutmainah, Rofikasari
Maimun, Agus
Jamilah

Khazanah Pendidikan Islam
Vol. 7 No. 3 (2025): Khazanah Pendidikan Islam

This article discusses the philosophical studies of feminists (Simone de Beauvoir) and Islamic feminist theology (Riffat Hassan) and their impact on gender-responsive Islamic education in Indonesia. This study integrates secular and religious frameworks in the context of inclusive and emancipatory educational reform. Hassan's rereading of Islamic texts and canons highlights the patriarchal bias of the dominant interpretation and calls for a theology of gender justice and equal values for all people. On the other hand, de Beauvoir's existentialism, particularly the idea of women as the "Other," serves as a critique of the educational philosophy of deconstruction and reconstruction of the education system that supports gender inequality. These thinkers problematize the nature and role of gender that is taken for granted, showing how these roles are constructed, maintained and, in many cases, legitimized through networks of cultural and religious practices. The use of comparative philosophical approaches and the integration of sociological and historical frameworks allows this study to illuminate the ways in which traditional education systems re-educate gender inequality in a hidden way, through formal and informal culture and institutional structures, to the curriculum. de Beauvoir's humanistic existentialism called for the liberation of the individual from social shackles, while Hassan's reformist theology articulated a radical position on equality and a moral agency grounded in faith. However, in the Indonesian context, the promotion of Gender Mainstreaming in Islamic educational institutions is still very reactive to culture and structural constraints. This article argues that education based on respect for human beings and gender-friendly is an absolute prerequisite for creating a safe learning space for women. Curriculum reform, reinterpretation of gender-biased religious teachings and strengthening critical awareness among educators are one of the many homework and strategic steps in realizing equitable and gender-friendly Islamic education.