Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Diaspora Studies: Australia: Indonesian Diaspora

The various identities of Indonesian Muslim women in diasporiccommunities—political, religious, migrant, and cultural group background—are examined in this entry through examples from Australia. An overview ofthe history of Indonesian migration to Australia is followed by a descriptionof the recent development of the Indonesian Diasporic Community. Thecontribution will then focus on Indonesian women in the diaspora who haveorganized themselves into groups with specific agendas, such as theinternational organization KPC Melati (Mixed Marriage Group throughMother’s Hand), which in 2006 achieved a change to Indonesia’s citizenshiplaw to grant citizenship to non-adult children of non-Indonesian fathers; anamateur dance group comprised of housewife marriage migrants in Perth,Western Australia, which represents and performs, often controversially, itsidiosyncratic version of Indonesian culture; the Indonesian Muslim women’sfriendship group in the Australian Capital Territory, and other cultural groups that promote Indonesia as a moderate and liberal Muslim community to counter negative stereotypes faced by members. Lastly, the case of Cocos Malay women and their marriage migrant spouses who reside on Home Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands of the Australian Indian Ocean Territory illustrates how marriage migration is shaped by a historical diasporic situation. Indonesian diasporic communities and processes are therefore discussed in relation to women’s roles at the center of issues of identity politics—as marriage migrants, bearers of cultural reproduction, and members of community organizations, and through religious affiliation.