Individual Paper
2. From Oceanic Crossroads: Empires, Networks and Histories
This presentation examines the discourse on Malay Muslim women in British Malaya, analyzing the column 'Women's Corner (Ruangan Kaum Ibu)' in the Malay newspaper Majlis, published in the 1930s in Kuala Lumpur.
In the early twentieth century, Malay nationalism developed in a multi-ethnic society under the British rule in the Malay Peninsula. With the expansion of publishing and the increase in literacy, Malay periodicals became a forum for a variety of political discourses. Majlis was one of the leading newspapers representing the Malay nationalism. The paper conveyed not only political opinions, but also contained a variety of news stories. In addition, the articles contained many letters from readers. These discourses reflected feelings of urban population under the colonial modernity.
One of the issues discussed there was the status of Malay Muslim women. The column 'Women's Corner' collected many letters from readers, which discussed the pros and cons of higher (English) education for Muslim women, marriage and relations with men for women, issues about prostitution, and much more. The early twentieth century saw an influx of Islamic reformist ideas as well as the spread of the modern Western values. The discussion about position of women oscillated between multiple values, including the Western modernity represented by nationalism, Islam and Malay local customs. Although gender issues have not received sufficient attention in previous Malay nationalism and historical studies, these controversies are important as they heralded issues about the status of Muslim women in the later period.
Yuji Tsuboi
Meio University, Japan