Robin Davies speaks with Dr Tri Hastuti Nur Rochimah, Secretary General of the Central Board of 'Aisyiyah and a lecturer at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, about one of the world's largest women's organisations. Founded in 1917 as the women's wing of Muhammadiyah, 'Aisyiyah today has around 25 million members and sympathisers across Indonesia's 38 provinces, running more than 20,000 kindergartens, ten universities, 21 hospitals, 55 clinics, some 500 credit unions and 109 pro bono law firms. Tri Hastuti explains the organisation's faith-based identity, grounded in the Al-Ma'un theology of care for the poor, and how it operates as a "special autonomous" body within Muhammadiyah while contributing a gender perspective to its fatwas. She reflects on partnerships with government, Fatayat NU and donors including through Australia's MAMPU and INKLUSI programs, and outlines 'Aisyiyah's work on child marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, climate change, the MBG school-feeding program and youth engagement through social media.
Robin Davies speaks with Dr Tri Hastuti Nur Rochimah, Secretary General of the Central Board of 'Aisyiyah and a lecturer in communication studies at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, about one of the world's largest women's organisations. Founded in 1917 as the women's wing of Muhammadiyah, 'Aisyiyah today counts around 25 million members and sympathisers across all 38 Indonesian provinces and 465 districts, and has established special branches in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Egypt and elsewhere. Tri Hastuti sets out the organisation's identity as a faith-based women's movement whose service delivery — grounded in the Al-Ma'un theology of care for the poor — spans education, health, law, economic empowerment and social welfare.
The conversation maps the sheer scale of 'Aisyiyah's operations: more than 20,000 kindergartens, hundreds of primary and secondary schools, ten universities, 21 hospitals, 55 clinics, around 500 credit unions and some 6,000 community economic groups. Tri Hastuti explains how 'Aisyiyah operates as a "special autonomous" body within Muhammadiyah, sharing religious values and referring to Muhammadiyah policy — including its fatwas, to which 'Aisyiyah contributes a gender perspective — while retaining its own authority to own and manage enterprises. She describes how a hierarchy running from national to village level, supported by regular meetings, WhatsApp groups and Zoom, links Jakarta-based leadership with grassroots members, and how the organisation is funded through a combination of member donations, social enterprise revenue, government partnerships and international donor support.
Tri Hastuti reflects on 'Aisyiyah's relationships with government at every level, with Nahdlatul Ulama's women's wing Fatayat NU on shared concerns such as child marriage, and with international donors including through the MAMPU and INKLUSI programs supported by the Australian government. She argues there is no conflict between 'Aisyiyah's religious values and donors' secular frameworks: donor funding accelerates delivery and helps pilot models — for example on disability inclusion, husbands' roles in preventing domestic violence, and reproductive health — that 'Aisyiyah can then scale across its own networks.
The discussion turns to some of the most difficult issues facing Indonesian women and girls. Tri Hastuti outlines 'Aisyiyah's comprehensive response to child marriage, working with religious leaders, local government, young people and survivors, including through non-formal education for those who have dropped out of school. On female genital mutilation, she describes how Muhammadiyah's fatwa is used to counter cultural justifications, alongside engagement with midwives, nurses and local leaders. On domestic violence, she notes that 'Aisyiyah runs 109 pro bono law firms serving poor women.
Later in the conversation, Tri Hastuti discusses 'Aisyiyah's work with male religious leaders, its growing advocacy on climate change, its perspective on President Prabowo's MBG school-feeding program and the case for more locally led implementation, and how the organisation is harnessing young Indonesians' enthusiasm for social media as it looks to the decade ahead.
Tri Hastuti
Assalamu Alaikum.
I am Tri Hastuti Nur Rochimah, General Secretary of the National Board of Aisyiyah.
Aisyiyah is a Muslim women's organisation in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim women's organisation in Indonesia, the women's organisation of Muhammadiyah. Aisyiyah was established in 1917, yes, 109 years old today, this year.
Aisyiyah works in all provinces in Indonesia. Today we work in 38 provinces — so in all of the provinces in Indonesia, Aisyiyah is already working. And in around 465 districts, Aisyiyah works in those 465 districts in Indonesia.
And, of course, Aisyiyah works in many, many communities in Indonesia. We work in some areas, for example, in economics, education, social welfare, law enforcement, and leadership. And we work in the community, and with enterprise businesses. For example, Aisyiyah owns and manages hospitals and clinics.
Today we manage 55 clinics and 21 hospitals. Aisyiyah also has business enterprises in education, from kindergarten up to university. Today we have 10 universities, and we have orphanages, and we have a law firm to help women who have problems with the law. And we have— I mean, we work on many issues in Indonesia.
Aisyiyah also works in some other countries — we have special branches, including in Australia, in Canberra and in Melbourne, and in some other countries, in Japan, Malaysia, Egypt, and at least 1,000 special branches across those countries.
Robin Davies
Now, it's hard to think of an organisation in, let's say, Australia that is equivalent to Aisyiyah. It's a religious-based organisation, but it does a great deal of service delivery. Would it be correct to compare it to, say, the Catholic Church in Australia, which also runs schools and health clinics and so on? Is that a rough comparison that you would accept?
Tri Hastuti
I think, as religious values are central to our organisation, Aisyiyah is a faith-based organisation.
So religious values are the basic values for our action. When we act — for example, in services and education, health, law, social affairs, and the environment — Aisyiyah refers to religious values. Of course, we refer to the Qur'an and hadith when we act. As we learn from our history, for example, our founding figures in Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah always used the Qur'an and hadith as our source of values.
This is what's called the Al-Ma'un theology, from the verses in the Qur'an, Al-Ma'un. It instructs us that we should provide services to the poor. So it's very important that religion is not just a value, a static value, but that religion can address problems and should help overcome humanitarian problems. We should overcome problems based on religious values.
Robin Davies
To help our listeners understand where Aisyiyah fits within the NGO system in Indonesia — you mentioned the link between Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah. Muhammadiyah is one of the two very large Muslim organisations in Indonesia, the other being Nahdlatul Ulama. How does Aisyiyah fit within Muhammadiyah? What's the relationship between Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah?
Tri Hastuti
Aisyiyah is the women's wing of Muhammadiyah — Aisyiyah is Muhammadiyah's women's wing organisation. Of course, we refer to Muhammadiyah policy, because we are a special, autonomous organisation within Muhammadiyah.
For example, on religious values, we always align with the same values as Muhammadiyah, but for policy, we refer to Muhammadiyah's policy. Yeah. So they have a close relationship, and Aisyiyah has the same divisions as Muhammadiyah, but is different in one respect — the Fatwa Council exists only within Muhammadiyah. Aisyiyah has no Fatwa Council of its own. But members of Aisyiyah are members of Muhammadiyah's Fatwa Council. At least 35 of the members of that council are from Aisyiyah, participating as Aisyiyah representatives. So Aisyiyah can bring a gender perspective to the Fatwa Council in Muhammadiyah, because the fatwa is very important for Aisyiyah to refer to for religious values in both organisations.
And, of course, we cooperate and collaborate with Muhammadiyah from the national level down to the community level — we work together with Muhammadiyah to serve the community.
Robin Davies
And when Aisyiyah is involved in service delivery — health, education in particular — is that through facilities that belong to Muhammadiyah, or does Aisyiyah have its own schools and health clinics?
Tri Hastuti
Because Aisyiyah is a special autonomous body within Muhammadiyah — what does that special autonomy from Muhammadiyah mean? It means Aisyiyah has the authority to run enterprise businesses just like Muhammadiyah does.
It's the same. For example, if Muhammadiyah has a kindergarten or a school, Aisyiyah has the authority to manage its own kindergarten or school. For example, Aisyiyah's institutions, from kindergarten to university, are managed under Aisyiyah's own authority. The same is true for hospitals and clinics — we have the authority to manage our own hospitals, Aisyiyah hospitals, and Aisyiyah clinics too.
Robin Davies
And, just so that I can get a sense of the scale of Aisyiyah's operations, can you give me some numbers? How many people are involved? How many facilities do you manage?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, if you ask how many members Aisyiyah has, I always say around 25,000,000 in Indonesia — so, that's roughly the entire population of Australia. Yes. But now we also manage members and sympathisers of Aisyiyah separately. We now have an Aisyiyah membership card, and Muhammadiyah does too, but it's limited in purpose, because membership of Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah is voluntary.
For example, how many kindergartens does Aisyiyah have? We have more than 20,000 kindergartens from Aceh to Papua. We also have many hundreds of schools at elementary and secondary school level. For universities, we manage 10 universities in Indonesia.
For clinics, we have 55 clinics across Indonesia, and 21 hospitals. We also have many credit union cooperatives — around 500 credit unions. And we have many community groups for economic activity — almost 6,000 across Indonesia. This is our potential to support women in increasing their welfare.
Robin Davies
Some of these facilities operate as what we would call social enterprises — they make money, which is then reinvested in the business. But to what extent do you rely on charitable donations from your members?
Tri Hastuti
Yes. First, Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah are voluntary-based organisations. Yes. And what we call — how Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah stay strong — is that members donate. Yeah, donations. We collect donations from members to encourage and support service delivery on many issues in Indonesia.
And, of course, we collaborate with many organisations — with government, with international donors, with embassies. We collaborate to serve the community. There are many sources of support for Aisyiyah — member donations, collaboration, and the social enterprises run by Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah, of course. Even within those social enterprises, yeah, we combine profit-making and voluntary work. So it's a mix, but the greater portion is in the social enterprise side.
Robin Davies
Now, your structure really reaches from the Jakarta organisation, which itself is very large, all the way down into thousands of villages across Indonesia. So it's a very grassroots organisation as well as being a very complex one. How do you manage that? How do the needs at the village level get reflected in the policies and programs of the organisation?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, we have regular meetings at many levels, from the national down to the grassroots. And, actually, our hierarchy runs from the national level to province, to district, sub-district, and village, so it's very systematic. Every level follows the decisions made at the level above. We follow the regulations and policies set at the national level. So this makes it easier for us to manage the organisation.
Yes, sometimes we have problems, of course. For example, if there's a policy set at the national level, sometimes the information reaching the grassroots level is delayed, because at the district level information isn't always passed down quickly. Yes, this is a problem for us. But today, in the digital era, this is easier for us — we can coordinate and communicate because we have, for example, WhatsApp groups for coordination. For the Eastern Region, the Central Region, and the Western Region, we have many WhatsApp groups. And for coordination and communication we frequently use, for example, Zoom regularly with sub-district and district levels. So it's much easier for us now. Yes.
Robin Davies
I guess with an organisation as large as Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah within it, there's a risk that it might operate as a sort of closed ecosystem. How do you relate to local and district governments, and also, in fact, to the other large Muslim mass organisation?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, I think it should be. The principle should be collaboration and cooperation with government at many levels. At the national level, we have close collaboration with the ministries. We have many memoranda of understanding — MOUs — with several ministries, for example, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry of Social Welfare. We have many MOUs with them.
We also work at the sub-district, provincial, and district levels, and even at the grassroots level, we encourage our branches to cooperate and collaborate with local government, because this is very important. It supports how government policies are implemented on the ground. Yeah. It should be — I think government policy is very hard to implement without cooperation and collaboration with mass organisations or civil society organisations like Aisyiyah, Muhammadiyah, and others, many CSOs. I think it should be this way. For example, at the grassroots level, we always tell our branch committees, "you should go to local government, advocate to them, and collaborate with them" — for example, on the issue of child marriage, stunting, or, economic issues. Aisyiyah supports women to participate in decision-making at that level.
I think today, engagement with local government is very important for us, to bring beneficiaries closer to government development programs. This is very important for Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah, and it's very important that we encourage it, because the beneficiaries of development in Indonesia are the community itself.
Robin Davies
Yes. And the relationship between Aisyiyah and NU at the national and local level — how does that work? Is it just a division of labour, or is there active cooperation?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, there are some issues where we work together. For example, there's the INKLUSI program, funded by DFAT, involving Aisyiyah and Muslimat NU. And we cooperate on child marriage prevention. So we work together in some areas. That works best. But if the issue is cross-cutting, we'll coordinate and collaborate, particularly on women's issues, such as child marriage.
Robin Davies
Now, you mentioned one donor-funded program, INKLUSI, which is an Australian-funded program, and I know Muhammadiyah was also involved in the MAMPU program. These are just some recent examples, but I think Western donor funding for programs implemented by Muhammadiyah and NU began when I was in Jakarta — I was at the embassy there in the mid-2000s. I think that's when, for the first time, the two mass Muslim organisations accepted funding from Australia and some other donors, actually in the wake of the tsunami.
I'm interested in what impact that's had on your organisation. Has it been— well, put it this way: people might be concerned that your priorities could be distorted by donor funding, and that you'd just become an implementing agency, like a managing contractor. I don't think that's the case — I think the work you've been doing is very consistent with your own values and priorities — but I'm interested in your perspective on the impact that relationship between Aisyiyah and Western donors has had since it began, some ten to fifteen years ago.
Tri Hastuti
I think there is no conflict between religious values and the secular framework of international— for Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah.
And, for Aisyiyah, when we receive donor funding from international donors or embassies, actually, first, we should have mutual understanding on the principles involved. And what can a donor do for Aisyiyah? If we receive donor funding, it accelerates our program. And we can develop a model — develop the approach. If we already have that model, for example, a model for disability inclusion work, for example — that's what the funding is for. We develop the model on disability inclusion, and then we scale it up in other provinces ourselves, through Aisyiyah. Yes.
Another example is in modelling a program about how husbands should support their wives, to make things more equal in domestic roles and reproductive health. This was implemented in five districts, so Aisyiyah will scale it up on its own using the model developed with the donor, in larger districts. So this is one strategy.
And the other benefit is that it helps accelerate our program, because Aisyiyah is a large organisation — the donor's involvement may be limited to a district, but it can accelerate our organisational goals more broadly. So there isn't a conflict between religious values and a donor's framework, because Aisyiyah always uses religious values to serve the community.
Take stunting, for example. What is stunting? We refer to the Qur'an — for example, in fighting stunting, it's not just about halal food, it's also very important that food is nutritious. Nutrition matters, not just whether food is halal. So we promote that message. I don't think there's a conflict between religious values and a donor's framework.
On child marriage, we use religious values too. In Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah we have the concept of Keluarga Sakinah, the "sakinah family". What is a sakinah family? If somebody wants to marry, they should be mature — not just biologically mature, for example in age, but also economically and psychologically mature. So this is, I think, in line with the issues raised by international agencies.
And there's also the issue of female genital mutilation. Yes. Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah have a fatwa stating that female genital mutilation is not required, because it constitutes violence against women. So Aisyiyah promotes turning away from female genital mutilation, both from a religious perspective and from a human rights perspective. I think our values always align with human rights issues.
Robin Davies
Now, you've referred to the problem of child marriage, and you've also worked a lot on addressing violence against women — those two things are, of course, related. And you've talked about female genital mutilation. Can you give me a sense of the scale of those problems today, and what sort of interventions Aisyiyah runs in response?
Tri Hastuti
Yes. First, on child marriage. First, Aisyiyah works with religious leaders in Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah. Yeah. And we promote the guidance from the Muhammadiyah Council of Tarjih, which publishes the relevant fatwa.
We meet with religious leaders in many communities to promote the message that people shouldn't practise child marriage, because it has many harmful impacts — for example, on maternal health, stunting, and domestic violence. So family life suffers when this happens. We promote this message with religious leaders.
We also advocate to local government. For example, we support regulation at the local government level, and in villages too, we cooperate with local government, which educates communities and sets policy at the village level.
We also work with the young generation on this, because we educate them on sexual and reproductive health, which is very important for young people. Why does child marriage happen? Because of a lack of education on sexual and reproductive health. And young people often don't understand that if they have a relationship with boys they could fall pregnant — they don't have a comprehensive understanding of it. So we work on awareness, with religious leaders and with government.
And even if child marriage does happen, we still work with the family. We provide services after child marriage has already occurred — we should still support them. So we cooperate with primary health services on how to assist victims of child marriage. And we provide non-formal education for them, so their education doesn't stop. So we support them, particularly young women, to continue their education, because sometimes they drop out of school after just elementary or secondary school. So Aisyiyah, in some districts, runs non-formal education programs in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and local government, to help victims of child marriage continue their education. So I think Aisyiyah takes a comprehensive approach to fighting child marriage.
On female genital mutilation, yes, we promote this too. We work with local religious leaders, because some of the reasons people practise female genital mutilation are religious in origin. So we work with local religious leaders to make clear that female genital mutilation is not related to religion. It's a cultural practice, a practice within the community, not religion. Islam does not require female genital mutilation. Yes, we cooperate with religious leaders on this.
On female genital mutilation, Muhammadiyah also has a fatwa, from the Muhammadiyah council. We also work with health providers, such as midwives and nurses, because some parents believe female genital mutilation should be conducted by health providers. We say no, it shouldn't be done at all. So we educate and collaborate with health providers in the community. Indeed, the Ministry of Health has already banned and prohibited even health providers from performing female genital mutilation, so we collaborate with them. And we educate local leaders too, because local leaders have an important role in the fight against female genital mutilation in Indonesia.
Robin Davies
And on violence against women — does Aisyiyah operate case management or referral services for women who are victims of domestic violence?
Tri Hastuti
Aisyiyah, up until today, has around 109 legal aid posts — pro bono legal support for poor women. We assist them.
Our values refer to the Qur'an, which teaches that nobody should commit violence against another, whether women against men or men against women, within the family. The relationship between men and women in the family should be full of affection. We believe they should help each other, as partners. These are our values.
We also educate the community, because, in Indonesia, we already have a regulation on the prevention of domestic violence. It's been almost twenty-two years since that regulation was introduced in our country, but awareness of it is still limited. So Aisyiyah, through what we call centres for helping women and girls, supports women who have problems with the law without cost, pro bono. And we have educated the community about the regulations against domestic violence. And then, if it has already happened, we assist victims in going to court. And we have staff to counsel them, and we have — advocates to assist them.
Of course, we assist women who are victims of domestic violence economically too. We form groups and help them build economic independence. So we refer them to the Muhammadiyah Health Centre, or to a government health centre. For psychological support, we have counsellors. And legally, if they have a problem with the law, we assist them too. Economically, we support them as well. So our strategy and approach are very comprehensive in helping victims of domestic violence.
And, of course, we also work on education and outreach through social media, and education at religious meetings in local communities, using both digital and offline methods.
Robin Davies
So, in dealing with a lot of these issues affecting women and girls, you have to work with community religious leaders who are often male and often relatively conservative. Do you work with them?
Tri Hastuti
We have the mubaligh — the mubaligh is a religious leader in the community. And we have ulama, and mubaligh, within Aisyiyah.
We already teach them progressive Islamic values, because Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah are, fundamentally, progressive in our values. For example, on the issue of monogamy and polygamy, our fatwa states that the principle of marriage in Islam is monogamy. We also ban unregistered marriages — Muhammadiyah bans unregistered marriage because of its harmful impact on women. And, for example, if somebody wants a divorce — if a man simply says, "okay, I divorce you" — Muhammadiyah says no to that. If you want a divorce, you should go to court, and the judge will make the decision, not you. I think this is very progressive teaching from Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah.
This is upheld by Aisyiyah's ulama and mubaligh — the religious leaders within Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah. I mean, the women religious leaders in Aisyiyah. Aisyiyah has many women religious leaders teaching at the grassroots on many issues, grounded in progressive Islamic values.
And we have women ulama. As I already mentioned, some of the women ulama in Aisyiyah are members of the Muhammadiyah council that issues fatwas. I think this may be the only organisation in the world that brings together men and women as ulama who deliberate together to issue fatwas grounded in progressive values.
Robin Davies
Okay. Aisyiyah has been very involved in recent years in advocacy on climate change action. Why has it become involved in that area, and how do you actually try to achieve your goals?
Tri Hastuti
Yes. I think Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah exist, and were established, to contribute to a new civilisation. What does that mean? It means equality between women and men, and a world that is peaceful and provides welfare for everybody.
On climate change, Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah refer to the verses in the Qur'an stating that humans should not exploit the earth. Humans should protect the earth — that's one verse in the Qur'an. And the Muhammadiyah council, through its own guidance, has already set the reference for Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah to work on climate change and care for our environment.
And so we should respond to the problem. This is a big problem — the environment and climate change. For example, today, we work with women, women farmers in particular. This is where the direct impact of climate change is felt, because their livelihoods depend on weather conditions. So Aisyiyah works with women farmers, and also with fisherwomen, on adaptation and mitigation around climate change.
This is very important for us, and we run many programs in response to climate change. For example, we have "green mosque" — our mosques save water during wudu, the ritual washing before prayer. We should be saving water when using so much of it. And then there's electricity too — how mosques can save on electricity use. Schools too — we have "green school". And we also run campaigns in markets — in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, for example, working with sellers to use less plastic. That's our campaign, because in Indonesia we have many issues with waste, and this is a problem for us. So Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah are concerned about climate change and the environment, because we refer to Islamic teaching that we should protect and preserve our earth. Yes. Okay.
Robin Davies
The problem of childhood stunting and undernutrition is very persistent in Indonesia, and very substantial. One of the election commitments of President Prabowo was to establish a school feeding program, Makan Bergizi Gratis. That's very ambitious, operating across the entire country, and it has run into some problems in its first year. Is Aisyiyah involved in the implementation of that program?
Tri Hastuti
The program, yes. Yes, actually, the MBG program provides and fulfils the nutritional needs of children through schools.
Yeah. And it requires proper management, and we should be careful about food safety standards and the safety of the beneficiaries, the students.
Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah are involved in the program too — we want to set a good example of how to provide a professional service for children in the MBG program.
But we suggest to government that there should be regular monitoring, and every program should have a nutritionist. This is very important, to make sure the program is managed professionally and safely, from the provision of raw materials right through to the school.
And the other thing is that this program should use the opportunity to build a local food security ecosystem and support economic empowerment for micro-economic groups. I think it's a good opportunity for us — particularly for how women could participate in this program through micro-economic groups. And, of course, we should use local food, managed by women's groups, including local farmers and women's economic enterprises.
So I think we need to first look at the kitchen — make sure the standard there is very professional, safe, and nutritious. Second, support the local economic ecosystem — food security for local farmers and micro-enterprises, so women can participate in the program. So these are the two points I think are very important to support, to make the program more professional.
Robin Davies
So, essentially, making the program's design and implementation more locally led, in terms of supervision of food production and safety — is that what you think could make the program operate more effectively?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, I think more professional. Yes. For the MBG program, first, there should be a regular monthly meeting to carry out regular monitoring. And we should check every kitchen — whether it meets the standard or not, from the raw materials through to distribution to the children. Everything should be safe and nutritious. And then the second element is about how to support women's participation in this program, so it can support the local food security ecosystem.
Robin Davies
And would you like to see Aisyiyah more directly involved in the delivery of the MBG program?
Tri Hastuti
some model kitchens that are very professional. And I think, in some areas, Aisyiyah could be held up as a good example of how to run the program.
Robin Davies
Alright. For my final question, I wanted to ask about the future. Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah clearly have a very progressive set of values around human rights and climate change, and, it's my impression that you use modern communication tools very effectively. How do you see Aisyiyah evolving over the next decade? Over the next ten years, what will be your main priorities for service delivery and advocacy, and how will you go about achieving your objectives over that period?
Tri Hastuti
Actually, we work on many issues, so I think this is important — every problem facing the community is a priority for Aisyiyah. But going forward, I think economic issues — the economic issue is very important — and violence against women too. That's an important issue.
And supporting women's participation in development programs, from planning through to monitoring, is also very important. What else? I think the issue of the environment. Responding to climate change, as we've already discussed. And on the environment, we should take part in this, because all of us are already affected by climate change and environmental issues.
So that is our priority. And, of course, our strategy for contributing to these issues starts from our values. We always begin with our values, and those values guide us to act.
Our strategy is always to collaborate — multi-stakeholder collaboration with government, the private sector, other CSOs, and academia, universities for example, and we will continue to engage with embassies and donors. Aisyiyah will build a bigger network. I think a bigger network is very important for us in overcoming problems. And we want advocacy to remain an important focus for us, even at the local government level.
And, lastly, knowledge management. Today, Aisyiyah is 109 years old, so we already have a great deal of experience. But we're aware that we should strengthen our documentation and knowledge management, to produce good documentation that we can share with each other. Because why, after more than 100 years, are we still here, and even growing? So we want to make our knowledge management more professional — that's our homework, of course. And in the digital era, we need to respond to this.
Aisyiyah's internal management already has the capacity to respond digitally. For example, all of our branches, at the national, provincial, and district levels — every branch already has a website. And this is very important, to help promote progressive Islam to the world — that Islam is peaceful, inclusive, and that Islam supports a good civilisation for everybody in the world. So this is very important, and we should keep adapting to the digital era.
Robin Davies
Young Indonesians are among the world's most enthusiastic users of social media. How do you harness that enthusiasm for your advocacy work?
Tri Hastuti
Yes, in Aisyiyah, one pillar is cadre building — developing the next generation. We have programs for young people. For example, our reproductive health program, we run in collaboration with young people — with the youth wing of Muhammadiyah, the Muhammadiyah Student group and the Muhammadiyah Student and University Group. We collaborate with them on reproductive health issues.
On environmental issues too, we work with youth groups, because that's very important. And on social media, Aisyiyah's biggest following is among young people — almost 65% of followers on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are from the younger generation. So this motivates Aisyiyah to create programs that connect with and stay close to young people, because it's very important for us to work hand in hand with the younger generation and develop real programs together with them.
Robin Davies
We'll be sure to collect your social media handles when we publicise this conversation.
So, thank you very much — I really appreciate you giving me so much time. All the best for the rest of the conference.
Tri Hastuti
Thank you. Thank you.