Therefore, these days in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we start seeing many women walk around in public spaces without wearing a headscarf or hijab. Moreover, fashionable makeup on their hair is no longer a strange sight. The “relaxation” is intended to give women a more significant contribution to Saudi Arabia’s development program, Vision 2030.
Did what happened in Saudi Arabia contribute to the massive wave of protests in Iran that was triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini? Are Iranian women “jealous” of the freedoms their sisters have in Saudi Arabia?
There may be a correlation between what is happening in Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, it is still a bit difficult to be able to draw a firm common thread. We can only give a relative interpretation of women’s anger by symbolizing the burning of the headscarf and a lot of haircuts.
And what happened in these two countries, from Indonesia’s point of view, where most of the population is also Muslim, is unique. The current situation in Saudi Arabia is arguably moving closer to what has been manifested in Indonesia. Its people are free to carry out religious orders according to their respective beliefs. At the same time, some groups of Indonesian people want their country to be like Iran, for example, where the state must intervene in regulating and supervising the religion of its people. Meanwhile, with the burning of the headscarf and lots of haircuts, Iranians seem to turn to Saudi Arabia.
This triangular constellation illustrates what I mean in an article entitled “Hijab is a Right, Not an Obligation” on Duniasantri.co some time ago. In the eyes of Iranian law, the veil is an obligation, not a right. In the eyes of Saudi Arabia’s law, the hijab was originally an obligation. Still, now it is “relaxed” to become a right.
Unlike Iran or Saudi Arabia, since Indonesia is a Republic, we have placed the case of worship according to their respective religions and beliefs in the rights domain, not obligations. This has happened since the “seven words” in Jakarta’s Charter were crossed out before being made the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution.
Suppose the seven words are passed, namely “with the obligation to carry out Islamic law for its adherents”. In that case, today, Indonesia will undoubtedly be like Iran. Everywhere there will be moral polices to monitor all Muslims in the country so that they are obedient in carrying out the Shari’a. For example, suppose one day, a senile grandmother forgets to wear a headscarf when buying salted fish at the market. In that case, she will be taken to the police station, as happened to Mahsa Amini. Because, at the people’s market, the ones who are always on guard are not only parking attendants and palak builders but also the moral police.