Women’s Leadership in the Light of Islamic Law: Normative and Contextual Perspectives
Abstract
This study discusses women’s leadership from the perspective of Islamic law through normative and contextual analysis. The background of this research is based on continuing differences of opinion regarding the permissibility of women occupying leadership positions, whether in domestic, social, political, or governmental spheres. Some perspectives understand women’s leadership textually as something limited, while others emphasize the values of justice, public benefit, and competence as the main foundations of leadership. The methodology used is normative legal research with conceptual, historical, and contextual approaches. Data were obtained through literature study of the Qur’an, hadith, scholarly opinions, and contemporary Islamic legal literature. The findings show that Islamic law does not absolutely prohibit women from becoming leaders, as long as such leadership is carried out based on the principles of trustworthiness, justice, consultation, capability, and public welfare. Differences among scholars are largely influenced by the social, cultural, and political contexts of particular periods. The study concludes that women’s leadership can be accepted within the perspective of Islamic law if it fulfills moral, intellectual, and professional requirements. Therefore, the assessment of women’s leadership should be carried out proportionally, not merely based on gender, but on capacity and public benefit.
References
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Piliyanti, I., & Alwiyah, N. (2025). Female leadership of Islamic philanthropic institutions in Indonesia. Ulumuna, 29(2), 851–875. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i2.1293
Ramli, M. A., Syed Jaafar, S. M., Md Ariffin, M. F., Kasa, A. R., Qotadah, H. A., Achmad, A. D., & Siswanto. (2024). Muslim-Malay women in political leadership: Navigating challenges and shaping the future. Mazahib, 23(1), 305–350. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v23i1.7500
Samier, E., & ElKaleh, E. (2021). Towards a model of Muslim women’s management empowerment: Philosophical and historical evidence and critical approaches. Administrative Sciences, 11(2), Article 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11020047
Saputra, A. M., Riskita, D., Syarifah, N. N., & Prilia, R. D. (2024). Kepemimpinan perempuan secara publik menurut perspektif Islam dan psikologi gender. Journal of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, 3(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.38156/gesi.v3i1.166
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Shahin, F. (2020). Islamic feminism and hegemonic discourses on faith and gender in Islam. International Journal of Islam in Asia, 1(1), 27–48. https://doi.org/10.1163/25899996-01010003
Shaykhutdinov, R., & Achilov, D. (2021). Assessing Muslim women’s power: Islamism, political engagement, and the gender gap. Digest of Middle East Studies, 30(3), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12243
Syahruddin, E., & Rohman, A. N. (2025). Women’s leadership in the Indonesian constitutional system and Islamic law. Al-Mazaahib: Jurnal Perbandingan Hukum, 13(1), 98–113. https://doi.org/10.14421/al-mazaahib.v13i1.4189
Tajali, M. (2017). Protesting gender discrimination from within: Women’s political representation on behalf of Islamic parties. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 44(2), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2017.1281570
Tariq, M., & Syed, J. (2017). Intersectionality at work: South Asian Muslim women’s experiences of employment and leadership in the United Kingdom. Sex Roles, 77(7–8), 510–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0741-3
Wahyudi, W., & Fadilah, N. (2018). Tinjauan hermeneutis terhadap hadis kepemimpinan perempuan dalam Islam. Fikri: Jurnal Kajian Agama, Sosial dan Budaya, 3(2), 277–288. https://doi.org/10.25217/jf.v3i2.350
Wang, Y. (2017). Muslim women’s evolving leadership roles: A case study of women leaders in an immigrant Muslim community in post-9/11 America. Social Compass, 64(3), 424–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768617713660
Yakar, E. E. (2022). Women’s political leadership: One question and two divergent fatwās. Journal of Law and Religion, 37(2), 332–362. https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2022.15
Akhtar, P., Jenichen, A., & Intezar, H. (2024). Gender, religion, and political violence: Lessons from Muslim women’s experiences in UK elections. Politics & Gender, 20(4), 834–857. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X24000175
Alfiyah, N., Barizi, A., Kawakip, A. N., & Muhammad, A. A. (2024). Women’s leadership, Sharia law, and Society 5.0: A review of Istibsyaroh’s thoughts. An-Nida’, 48(2), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.24014/an-nida.v48i2.32656
Anita, D. N. (2024). Kepemimpinan perempuan dalam perspektif hukum Islam: Analisis kritis terhadap peran dan tantangan di era kontemporer. Jurnal Review Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, 7(4), 19038–19044. https://doi.org/10.31004/jrpp.v7i4.41999
Barieva, N. Y. (2021). Psychological portrait of a leader on the example of Muslim women. Minbar: Islamic Studies, 14(3), 647–673. https://doi.org/10.31162/2618-9569-2021-14-3-647-673
Easat-Daas, A. (2017). The role of ‘European Islam’ in motivating Muslim women’s political participation in France. French Cultural Studies, 28(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957155816678594
Faralita, E. (2023). Kepemimpinan perempuan dalam perspektif hukum Islam dan gender. Sultan Adam: Jurnal Hukum dan Sosial, 1(1), 24–34. https://doi.org/10.71456/sultan.v1i1.160
Fuadi, A., Mustaqim, A., Bueraheng, I., & Efendi, A. (2024). Women’s leadership management model in Islamic higher education institution. Cendekia: Jurnal Kependidikan dan Kemasyarakatan, 22(2), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.21154/cendekia.v22i2.9843
Ghafournia, N. (2020). Negotiating gendered religious space: Australian Muslim women and the mosque. Religions, 11(12), Article 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11120686
Hannan, N., Huda, M. S., Firdaus, M. A., Afabih, A., & Musthofa, Y. (2024). Between adherence to madhhab and adaptation to context: Fatwās on female leadership in Nahdlatul Ulama-affiliated Islamic higher education institutions. Journal of Islamic Law, 5(2), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.24260/jil.v5i2.2725
Hidayah, S. N., Abdalla, M., Faris, N., & Kutieleh, S. (2025). Redefining leadership frames: Understanding the frames of female leaders in Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions. Ulumuna, 29(2), 1039–1070. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i2.1518
Hussaini, N. (2026). Intersecting barriers: Gender, religion and the political under-representation of Muslim women in local governance in Bihar. Studies in Indian Politics, 14(1), 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/23210230261429652
Ibrahim, S. (2018). Kepemimpinan perempuan di ruang publik dalam tafsir Al-Kasysyāf. Al-Ulum, 18(2), 459–480. https://doi.org/10.30603/au.v18i2.536
Kloos, D. (2021). Risky appearances, skillful performances: Female Islamic preachers and professional style in Malaysia. American Anthropologist, 123(2), 278–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13556
Koburtay, T., Abuhussein, T., & Sidani, Y. M. (2023). Women leadership, culture, and Islam: Female voices from Jordan. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(2), 347–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05041-0
Lashari, A., & Shah, W. A. (2026). Religious monoglossia/heteroglossia and discourses of women leadership in Pakistani higher education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 54(3), 968–985. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432241293244
Mahbuba, F., & Rabeya, S. (2023). Female leadership in Muslim societies: Theological and socio-cultural debates in contemporary literature. Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 8(2), 96–115. https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v8i2.541
Martinez-Cuadros, R. (2024). Negotiating Islam and feminism: The political and social participation of Muslim women in Barcelona. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 39(3), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2024.2405386
Mudau, N., & Mudau, T. J. (2026). Muslim women’s religious leadership in the digital age: How online platforms transform traditional authority structures. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development, 15(1), 209–229. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2026/v15n1a9
Mujtahid, Sadiyah, D., & Assidiqi, A. H. (2023). Perspective on Fatima Mernissi’s position of thought on Indonesian women’s leadership in the 21st century. An-Nisa’: Journal of Gender Studies, 16(2), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.35719/annisa.v16i2.175
Niam, B., Haromain, N., & As’ad, M. (2021). Women leadership in optics feminist interpretation. Diya Al-Afkar: Jurnal Studi Al-Qur’an dan Al-Hadis, 9(1), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.24235/diyaafkar.v9i01.8193
Piliyanti, I., & Alwiyah, N. (2025). Female leadership of Islamic philanthropic institutions in Indonesia. Ulumuna, 29(2), 851–875. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i2.1293
Ramli, M. A., Syed Jaafar, S. M., Md Ariffin, M. F., Kasa, A. R., Qotadah, H. A., Achmad, A. D., & Siswanto. (2024). Muslim-Malay women in political leadership: Navigating challenges and shaping the future. Mazahib, 23(1), 305–350. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v23i1.7500
Samier, E., & ElKaleh, E. (2021). Towards a model of Muslim women’s management empowerment: Philosophical and historical evidence and critical approaches. Administrative Sciences, 11(2), Article 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11020047
Saputra, A. M., Riskita, D., Syarifah, N. N., & Prilia, R. D. (2024). Kepemimpinan perempuan secara publik menurut perspektif Islam dan psikologi gender. Journal of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, 3(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.38156/gesi.v3i1.166
ehlikoglu, S. (2018). Revisited: Muslim women’s agency and feminist anthropology of the Middle East. Contemporary Islam, 12(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-017-0404-8
Shahin, F. (2020). Islamic feminism and hegemonic discourses on faith and gender in Islam. International Journal of Islam in Asia, 1(1), 27–48. https://doi.org/10.1163/25899996-01010003
Shaykhutdinov, R., & Achilov, D. (2021). Assessing Muslim women’s power: Islamism, political engagement, and the gender gap. Digest of Middle East Studies, 30(3), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12243
Syahruddin, E., & Rohman, A. N. (2025). Women’s leadership in the Indonesian constitutional system and Islamic law. Al-Mazaahib: Jurnal Perbandingan Hukum, 13(1), 98–113. https://doi.org/10.14421/al-mazaahib.v13i1.4189
Tajali, M. (2017). Protesting gender discrimination from within: Women’s political representation on behalf of Islamic parties. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 44(2), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2017.1281570
Tariq, M., & Syed, J. (2017). Intersectionality at work: South Asian Muslim women’s experiences of employment and leadership in the United Kingdom. Sex Roles, 77(7–8), 510–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0741-3
Wahyudi, W., & Fadilah, N. (2018). Tinjauan hermeneutis terhadap hadis kepemimpinan perempuan dalam Islam. Fikri: Jurnal Kajian Agama, Sosial dan Budaya, 3(2), 277–288. https://doi.org/10.25217/jf.v3i2.350
Wang, Y. (2017). Muslim women’s evolving leadership roles: A case study of women leaders in an immigrant Muslim community in post-9/11 America. Social Compass, 64(3), 424–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768617713660
Yakar, E. E. (2022). Women’s political leadership: One question and two divergent fatwās. Journal of Law and Religion, 37(2), 332–362. https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2022.15
Published
2026-07-31
How to Cite
MUHAMMADONG, Muhammadong et al.
Women’s Leadership in the Light of Islamic Law: Normative and Contextual Perspectives.
Matan : Journal of Islam and Muslim Society, [S.l.], v. 8, n. 2, p. 113-125, july 2026.
ISSN 2715-0119.
Available at: <https://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/matan/article/view/21941>. Date accessed: 23 aug. 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20884/1.matan.2026.8.2.21941.
Section
Articles
