Recognition of women’s participation and the reinforcement of gender hierarchies in Masāʾil al-Nisāʾ: Judith Butler’s performativity perspective

Recognition of women’s participation in fiqh texts can coexist with reinforced gender hierarchies, requiring critical textual examination of participation, conduct, domestic responsibilities, and marital authority. This study examines how recognition of women’s participation relates to the regulation of conduct, domestic responsibilities, and male authority in Masāʾil al-Nisāʾ, drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity. A descriptive-interpretive qualitative approach combines close reading and thematic analysis of Javanese passages written in Pegon script, examining quotations, translations, context, and relationships among language, norms, and religious legitimation. Four patterns emerge. First, women’s education, employment, and entrepreneurship are recognized in line with individual needs and ethical requirements; participation becomes obligatory when communities require women to perform work prohibited for men. Second, appearance is regulated through gender differentiation, and hadith references invoking curses against women who resemble men. Third, household management and children’s moral, religious, and social education are associated with women’s nature and with their role in supporting male family members. Fourth, discussions of balance concerning women’s marital rights and obligations accompany assertions of men’s decision-making authority. The provisions discussed are supported by religious references and accompanied by warnings about the consequences of violations. The study concludes that recognition of women’s participation coexists with reinforced gender hierarchies, particularly through the naturalization of domestic responsibilities and male authority within normative formulations of marriage. It extends the application of gender performativity to Javanese fiqh texts in Pegon script and informs contextual, critical, and gender-sensitive approaches to teaching these texts.