Pious Girls: Young Muslim Women in Indonesia

This book, based on extensive original research, examines young Muslim women’s groups in Indonesia to show how a new type of young Muslim woman is emerging: pious and loyal to traditional Muslim ideas, whilst at the same time entrepreneurial, comfortable with the world of neoliberal capitalism, living modern, middle-class urban lives, and, above all, assertive and forward-looking. The book analyzes the different facets of this new approach to Islam, shows how the young Muslim women’s groups influence Indonesian society, politics and the economy overall, and highlights that it is young Muslim women’s ideas about improving themselves that is key in bringing about the new approach.

Annisa R. Beta is a lecturer in cultural studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia.