Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Reader Response to the Violence Against Women in the Movie 'Perempuan Berkalung Sorban' by Hanung Bramantyo

Reader Response to
the Violence Against Women in the Movie
‘Perempuan Berkalung Sorban’ by Hanung Bramantyo

Yunita Paulina Pita

ABSTRACT

Adapted from Abidah Al Khalieqy’s novel, Hanung Bramantyo brings up the issue of
violence against Moslem women in a Boarding School in East Java through his movie
Perempuan Berkalung Sorban. The movie portrays domestic violence towards a Javanese
Moslem woman done by her own husband. Using reader response criticism, the study tries to
find out Moslem Javanese women responses towards the violence against Moslem women in
the movie. The research was conducted in order to gather Javanese Moslem women’s feeling
and thought about violence against women. Another aim of this research is to explore
participants’ thought about the rule in Islam of men as leader or Imam of family, women’s
oppression in Islam, and gender inequality in Islam. It finds that all of the participants
disagreed with the violence against women either in the movie or in the real life. From their
responses, they assumed that violence against women in Islam might be related to the
misinterpretation and misuse of the rule of men as Imam. It is suggested that Moslem men
should respect and treat Moslem women well, so that there would be no more violence

against women done by Moslem men.
Keywords: reader response approach, domestic violence, feminist, Islam feminism, women’s
oppression, gender inequality, Javanese Moslem women.