By: Zaenal Abidin
“BuKUPI serves as an effort to preserve historical memory and reaffirm the contributions of women ulama in addressing national, Islamic, humanitarian, and global issues.”
The Indonesian Women Ulama Congress (KUPI) is set to launch the 2026 Month of the Awakening of Indonesian Women Ulama (BuKUPI) on May 1, 2026, through an online event via Zoom. Carrying the theme “The Awakening of Women Ulama for a Violence-Free Indonesia,” this initiative aims to strengthen historical awareness, public knowledge, and the consolidation of the women ulama movement in Indonesia.
BuKUPI is KUPI’s annual program held every May, coinciding with Indonesia’s National Awakening Day on May 20. The program seeks to build collective memory around the struggles of Indonesian women ulama who have historically contributed to resisting colonialism, violence, discrimination, and various forms of social injustice.
KUPI itself is an intellectual, cultural, social, and spiritual movement that advocates for the recognition of women ulama while strengthening their roles in building a just and humane civilization.
The movement was established during the first KUPI Congress in April 2017 at Pesantren Kebon Jambu Al-Islamy in Cirebon, initiated by Rahima, Alimat, and Fahmina. During the 2022 KUPI Congress at Pesantren Hasyim Asy’ari in Jepara, AMAN Indonesia and Gusdurian joined as supporting institutions of the movement.
“BuKUPI serves as an effort to preserve historical memory and reaffirm the contributions of women ulama in responding to national, Islamic, humanitarian, and global challenges,” the organizing committee stated.
The 2026 BuKUPI Launching event will take place on Friday, May 1, 2026, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM (WIB) online. The event will feature dialogue sessions with prominent historians, including Ita Fatia Nadia, Dr. Zakiya Darajat, M.A., and Samia Kotele, moderated by Andy Yentriyani.
The discussion will explore the history of Indonesia’s women’s movement, Muslim women’s movements, and the development of Indonesian women ulama from a global perspective.
Beyond the launching event, BuKUPI 2026 will unfold in three phases. The first phase is the official launch on May 1, 2026. The second phase consists of an online discussion series from May 2–21, 2026, focusing on the biographies of women ulama from different regions and fields of service.
This serial discussion is jointly organized by KUPI’s five supporting institutions—Rahima, Alimat, Fahmina, AMAN Indonesia, and Gusdurian—along with their respective national networks.
The third phase will be the peak celebration of BuKUPI on May 24, 2026, at Cut Nyak Dien Mosque, Menteng, Central Jakarta. This event is designed as a tribute to Indonesian women freedom fighters, particularly Cut Nyak Dien, while also serving as a consolidation space for women ulama from pesantren, study circles, universities, communities, and youth groups.
During the culminating event, participants are scheduled to hold collective prayers, poetry readings, shalawat recitations, and public statements regarding current national and global issues.
The BuKUPI 2026 Launching is open to all KUPI networks across Indonesia as well as the general public. Through BuKUPI, KUPI hopes that the history of Indonesian women’s movements and women ulama will become more widely recognized, while also strengthening public understanding of how women and women ulama have responded to humanitarian and national challenges across generations. []
