Emansipasi dan Nasionalisme dalam Politik Wanita Melayu Pra Merdeka: Sorotan Memoir Khatijah Sidek, Aishah Ghani dan Shamsiah Fakeh (Emancipation and Nationalism in Pre Merdeka Politics of The Malay Women: As Told in The Memoirs of Khatijah Sidek, Aishah Ghani and Shamsiah Fakeh)

Abstract

ABSTRAK: Lembaran baharu politik masyarakat Melayu pasca Perang Dunia Kedua menyaksikan penentangan Malayan Union 1946 yang mencetuskan fenomena baharu penyertaan politik wanita Melayu. Wadah politik wanita Melayu ketika itu ialah sayap parti politik berideologikan nasionalisme iaitu Kaum Ibu UMNO di bawah United Malays National Organization (UMNO) dan Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS) yang dinaungi Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM). Perjuangan kemerdekaan tanah air secara tidak langsung telah menenggelamkan citra ‘emansipasi wanita’ dalam naratif politik wanita Melayu. Maka, artikel ini menyingkap citra emansipasi wanita dalam politik wanita Melayu dengan menggariskan tiga objektif. Pertama, menjelaskan sebab utama politik wanita Melayu ditenggelami naratif nasionalisme. Kedua, menghubung kait pengalaman peribadi tokoh politik wanita Melayu dengan perjuangan mendapatkan dan mengisi kemerdekaan tanah air. Ketiga, menjelaskan sifat hubungan emansipasi wanita Melayu dan nasionalisme. Sehubungan itu, sumber kajian ini menggunakan sepenuhnya memoir yang dikarang oleh Khatijah Sidek, Aishah Ghani dan Shamsiah Fakeh. Kajian ini mendapati memoir sebagai sumber sejarah menawarkan sudut pandang emansipasi wanita yang sebelumnya itu kurang jelas dalam dokumen rasmi kerajaan dan parti politik. Berdasarkan memoir Khatijah Sidek, Aishah Ghani dan Shamsiah Fakeh, pengalaman peribadi berdimensi gender telah dipolitikkan dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan. Sehubungan itu, ia memperlihatkan hubungan agenda emansipasi wanita dan nasionalisme bersifat dua dimensi iaitu (i) harmoni dan (ii) konflik.

Kata kunci: Emansipasi wanita; nasionalisme; memoir politik; Aishah Ghani; Khatijah Sidek; Shamsiah Fakeh

ABSTRACT: Malaya’s post Second World War politics had witnessed political resistance against Malayan Union since 1946. The political landscape acted as a primary factor for political involvement of Malay women which was a new development in the post-war era. Kaum Ibu UMNO and Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS) played its role as woman wing in the nationalist political party named as United Malays National Organizations (UMNO) and Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM). Consequently, the struggle for independence significantly blurred the image of women emancipation. This article aims to highlight women emancipation issue in the Malay women political narrative based on three objectives. It is first to explain the main factor contributed to a dominant nationalist perspective on Malay women in politics. Secondly, to demonstrate the politicization of women’s personal experience in the national independence struggle. Thirdly, to explain the dimensions of interaction between women emancipation and nationalism. Memoirs of Khatijah Sidek, Aishah Ghani and Shamsiah Fakeh as primary sources for this research shows that as a historical document, memoirs seem to be the main important source of data that offers women emancipation dimension. Besides that, the politicization of personal experience was one of the political motivation for the Malay women. Finally, women emancipation and nationalism are interrelated to each other in two dimensions; (i) harmony and (ii) conflict.

Keywords: Women emancipation; nationalism; political memoirs; Khatijah Sidek; Aishah Ghani; Shamsiah Fakeh