Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Prominent pluralism campaigner Siti Musdah Mulia has been named the winner of the 2008 Yap Thiam Hien human rights award for her "courage and obstinacy" in pushing for civil liberties and "dialogic, inclusive Islam" in Indonesia.
On Thursday, senior lawyer and rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis, a member of the committee of jurors for the award, said Musdah had been singled out as a "bright, courageous and obstinate" female figure pushing for pluralism, women's rights in Islam, civil liberties and equal constitutional rights for all citizens.
"She is at the forefront of those rejecting the pornography law, which violates many individual rights. She has been fighting for shaded, dialogic and inclusive representation of Islam," Todung said during a press conference to reveal the recipient of the award, named in honor of a Chinese-Indonesian human rights activist.
"We decided to grant her the award not simply because we appreciate her struggle, but also to provide inspiration for her future steps and actions."
The award ceremony will take place on Dec. 10, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expected to attend.
Musdah was born on March 3, 1958, in Bone, South Sulawesi, and raised in a devout Islamic environment. She graduated from Makassar's Alauddin State Islamic University in 1982, before moving to Jakarta's Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), where she was introduced to the ideas of contemporary Muslim scholar Harun Nasution.
Musdah was relatively unknown before 2004, when the Religious Affairs Ministry's Gender Mainstreaming Team she headed published a counter legal draft criticizing the prevailing Islamic Law Compilation. The newly appointed Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni annulled the counter draft in 2005, and Musdah was banned from "spreading her thoughts".
Refused to be silenced, Musdah continued advocating women's rights, as well as those of minority groups such as "deviant" Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah and homosexuals.
Musdah, now a lecturer at the UIN's Koran Sciences Institute and Postgraduate Program, is the 13th recipient of the Yap Thiam Hien Award.
Previous recipients include slain labor activist Marsinah (1993), human rights group Urban Poor Consortium (2000), disappeared poet-turned-activist Widji Tukul (2002) and Kompas senior reporter Maria Hartiningsih (2003).