Gender relations and women's agency: Indonesia – India comparison

What can we learn from a comparison of Islam and its gender effects in India and Indonesia, home to two of the world's largest Islamic populations yet far from the Middle eastern 'heartland' of Islam? Paraphrasing Marilyn Strathern, what kinds of knowledge can such a comparison produce?[1] Cross-cultural and trans-historical comparison are significant research strategies in gender analysis, and key elements of formulating challenges to gender regimes and gender ideologies. The claims of the natural or ontological, and hence universal, status of gender differences that are deployed to validate patriarchal forms of power are challenged by cross-cultural and transhistorical comparison. This issue of Intersections brings a comparative perspective to issues relating to gendered power in India and Indonesia, particularly among their respective Islamic populations.