Madura Culture and Woman Education
Sudarso Sudarso
Sociology Department, FISIP, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Airlangga 4-6, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Woman, Madura, Education.
Abstract: Purpose of this article is to describe condition of Madurese, especially woman equality to get education.
There are some details of the problem that need to be analyzed. First, “How is the Madura culture give
meaning to education concept for woman?”. Second, “How is the treatment and access of education to
Madurese woman?”. The main theory that is used to analyzed is Davis & Gergen. This first theory sees that
identity establishment and the role of woman are product of cultural construction and dominant ideology
value in certain group. Human development and individual identity is more influenced by culture. Second,
the main theory is Herbert Mead, it is well-known as symbolism interactionist theory that explains more
about communicative activity that is done by individual human and understanding the meaning in its
culture. Qualitative method is approached in this research. It is done in Pamekasan. First result is education
conception for woman is always related to domestic doctrine. Second, Madura woman feels a cultural
pressure and structural in education access.
1 BACKGROUND OF THE
STUDY
Most of Madura society who live in Madura are in
East Java Province, administratively. Compared to
other area in East Java, social-economic of the
civilian who live on Madura island still backward.
Poverty problem, for example. Based on data of Biro
Pusat Statistik (Central Bureau of Statistics), poverty
is highest in 2012 and 2015. The proportions are
28% in 2013, and 26% in 2015. Meanwhile, income
percapita of Madura society is the lowest in East
Java. It is around 9 until 15 million rupiah per year.
It is so far from 30 million rupiah per year
(BPS,2016).
Educational level in Madura is low. Participation
number of school (APS) in Mandator secondary
level is 69% in Pamekasan, 5.7 percent in
Bangkalan, and 55.33 in Sampang, lower than the
average number of education in East Java. 70.4%
Madura woman participate in education, mainly in
Senior High School level (16-18 years old). In
average, it is 63% lower than men participant (80%)
(BPS, 2017).
Based on the statistical data, it shows that
Madura society is still backward in social-economic
life. There is a phenomenon of low woman
participant in taking education in the Senior High
School Level compared to man.
In order to find the answer of inequality
phenomenon in education, there are two research
questions made. First, “How does Madura culture
give meaning about education concept for woman?”
and second, “How is the treatment and access to
have education for coast woman in Madura?”.
2 RESEARCH METHODS
The research location is in Desa Pagagan (Pagagan
village), Kecamatan Pademawu (Pademawu
district), Kabupaten Pamekasan (Pamekasan town).
It is a coast place. In average, Madura has low
education. Most of people in Madura has a job that
relates to sea such as fisherman, fish organizer, and
fish seller.
This researcher that approaches qualitative
method has some steps to do. First, doing review to
some literature and study about education, especially
that relates to woman education problem in coast
area. This review is important to be done to get
framework to understand the position of Madura
woman in Madura culture, especially in education.
Second, technique of data collection is done by
using interview guidelines. It is used for digging
Sudarso, S.
Madura Culture and Woman Education.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 339-342
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reser ved
339

information from sources. The number of sources
that are interviewed around 25 people. They are poor
little girl, poor old people, teacher, and some society
figures. Observation method is done by watching the
daily life of coast people.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Conceptual of Woman Education
Madurese are known as people who obey Islam
religion. They also keep original tradition and
custom that have been value of Madurese behavior.
Relation between man and woman is still in
patriarchal logic that puts man as a superior
component compared to woman. Because of this,
logic is always approached in Madura social-culture
that woman is placed in the identity who are needed
to be watched, protected, and guided.
Teaching dialectics and culture toward Madurese
woman can be treasured in Niehof (1985) entitled
“Women and fertility in Madura”. Madurese are
known as entity that sticky viscous and fanatic to
religion doctrine. How is the strategy of Madura
woman culture to face this social scope? Based on
this questions Niehof do research of two Madura
woman entities who lives in coast area and out of
everywhere and also mountain area. Relation is
created among coast society, for example Patondu
village. It is different from the activity that happens
to people who live in around mountain, for example
Tambang village. In very close social relation,
Niehof (1985) often finds some Madura men who
represent women opinion, husband as a delegation
of wife’s opinion when he is interviewed Niehof.
This social relation cannot be separated from
Madurese background that still look woman as a part
of family who has to be protected, maintained, and
as a man struggle for being honorabled by society
(Wiyata, 2002). Because of this, society of Madura
places woman in a pure place and separated from
man. This dimension shows that room is translated
as part of tradition. It depends on religion doctrine
with humanity dialectics in society.
In this reality, religion is understood as social
phenomenon that is not single. Religion can be a
doctrine and behavior in a cultural scope. This
shows to traditions that depend on religion doctrine
(Islam) to Madura society. In the other side, religion
is a place to be depended in the social activity,
culture, economic, and relation intersociety. Woman
also translates social doctrines about religion into
reality and social reality. (Raday,2003).
Phenomenon that happens in Madura coast is a
mix of Madura culture and Islam understanding that
can make patriarchal culture get stronger (placed
man in higher social position compared to woman).
One of the examples is the case of early married.
This proof is from interview that some women are
married in the school age around 13-15 years old.
There is an opinion in Madurese coast if man
proposes woman it is an obligation for woman’s
parent to accept that although the woman is still in
the school age. Woman is always in waiting
position, so when there is a man who purposes, it is
like a fortune. No longer they will get married and
the family does not think about the mental condition
of the woman.
This condition is happening until now. It is
because the fear of parent about the social-culture
punishment, like there is a “curse” to the woman. In
the other side, there is a reason about doing rules in
Islam to prevent the sin.
This condition is a factor to give an educational
conception for girl. Girl in coast Madura get
education not to get knowledge for having good
carrier in the future, but it is because to be a mother
of their children. In research village, it is found that
almost all girls study in two places. They are formal
institution like school in the morning and informal
institution like reading Quran in the afternoon.
Formal school is to get knowledge in the long
period. When they have children it is also used for
teaching their children such as explaining to them
the way to do their homework like math and other
general knowledge. Informal religion school is for
giving them knowledge about Islam.
Contemporary anthropology is approached
because the theories are about explanation of ‘the
real society’. It explains that identity making and the
act of woman and man are cultural construction and
dominant ideology values certain group. The
development of human behavior and individual
identity is influenced by culture. In cultural
perspective, the difference of gender is understood
as instrument in the society in the certain time
(Tripathy, 2010).
Patriarchal system in gender history is a system
that places man authority higher than woman in
every life aspect. Out of the domestic field, man
controls and limit public space of woman. This
symptom is patriarchal production mode by Sylvia
that give woman disadvantages.
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3.2 Educational Access by Woman
Around Madura coast area, educational institution
takes part such as pondok pesantren. It has important
influence in socialization about position. Woman is
compared to man in a religion problem and their life
in the society. The strong refraction of gender in
Madura culture get an approval from religion values
that are thought in pondok pesantren.
Pondok pesantren in Madura is being a
primadonna for family in coast area because in this
place children are taught knowledge about religion
and general knowledge. Another benefit is cheaper
than other educational institution.
Educational institution like school and pondok
pesantren are the powerful agents for gender
socialization. Role and status are taught in school
and they open to new people, including ourselves
(Carter, 2014). Woman roles and man roles in
schools and what treatment children get will lead
how social system works. People who have higher
status than other will be seen. School reflects about
society understanding about gender and other
different social roles between man and woman.
Condition and environment are important to identify
and evaluate educational system about gender
refraction. It is because education is the important
agent that contribute fragment about gender
refraction more.
The finding of this research is interesting
because boy who live in coast area is free to choose
the school. They do not need to study in two
different schools, general school and religion school.
Boy has more opportunity to study outside his
hometown, even in another province.
Freedom for boy to choose school is the
patriarchal form. It means that boy has to be
accustomed to their public role by approaching their
skill to get undomestically experiences. It aims to
keep and protect his wife and children when he has
married.
Actually, country has given guidance about
inequality case of education for woman through
Undang-Undang (UU) Number 18/ 2014. It clearly
shows that every woman has right to get protection
of their rights, it means same chance to reach justice
and prosperity in life including to get good
education. The statement above shows that
government has obligation to protect woman for
getting same chance with man in reaching prosperity
in life.
In other data of case, some children from poor
family are still not be able to continue study because
their function is earning money for family living. In
some communities, girls often get discrimination in
gender and education like being someone who has
sacrifice life because of family poverty. For certain
families, they feel that girls do not need to get high
education. They are still shackled to marry their
daughter in the early age.
Herbert Mead (Gillespie, 2005) wrote about
symbolic interactionism theory that explained about
communicative activity by human individuals. He
also explained the meaning of it in society cultural
life. In this theory, communication is the main
process where human can feel who we are, people
who talk to us about who we are, what we should do,
and what kind of behaviour that we cannot accept. A
lot of researchers show that gender is told by parent.
It is told by using their response to their children
through playing activity with their peer and
interaction between teacher and student. In this
communication activity, indirectly happens changing
cultural values just from one side. It is bias to the
character development or individual identity, mainly
in subordinate of group that has certain authority.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Understanding woman educational concept in
Madura coast society cannot separated from two
main unsure, they are culture and religion. Education
for Madura woman is seeking general and religion
knowledge to fulfill her domestic concerns when
they will have their family by marriage.
Poverty factor is not a dominant obstacle for
Madura woman to access education because there
are a lot of scholarship from government and
priceless education through pondok pesantren. So,
inequality for girl in Madura coast area is more
because internal factor from society that relates to
patriarchal culture. It has rooted and successfully
hegemonize the thinking pattern and behavior of
Madura society. In the other side, the power of
hegemony is supported by approving patriarchal
values and religion value. It makes it easier to
internalize patriarchal culture in daily life of Madura
coast people.
The solution to decrease inequality of education for
children in Madura starting from giving explanation
about gender. This explanation should be given
intensively to religion figure such as kyai to make
him has a lot of knowledge about gender more
comprehensive, so it can be socialized to his
students (santri).
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REFERENCES
Carter, M. J., 2014. Gender socialization and identity
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Gillespie, A., 2005. GH Mead: Theorist of the social act.
Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 35(1),
pp.19-39.
Niehof, A., 1985. Women and fertility in Madura
(Indonesia).
Raday, F., 2003. Culture, religion, and gender.
International Journal of Constitutional Law. 1(4),
pp.663-715.
Tripathy, J., 2010. How gendered is Gender and
Development? Culture, masculinity, and gender
difference. Development in Practice. 20(1), 113–121.
Wiyata, A. L., 2002. Carok: konflik kekerasan dan harga
diri orang Madura, PT LKiS Pelangi Aksara.
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