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| The speakers and the attendees discussed Siti Walidah's personality (Photo: Yafi PR of UMM) |
The wife of Ahmad Dahlan, Siti Walidah, has brought a remarkable impact. She also played an essential role in women's emancipation and empowerment, besides being the founder of Aisyiyah. In this case, on 18th November, the University of Muhammadiyah Malang collaborated with the head centre of Aisyiyah to do a soft-launching and book review of Menapak Jejak Siti Walidah (Translated: Imitating the Footsteps of Siti Walidah). Also, several public figures attended the event to join the book discussion and review.
One of the attending figures was Prof. Dr Siti Chamamah Soeratno, expressing that Siti Walidah is a role model in her life. Prof. Dr Chamamah said that Siti Walidah inspired her to improve her self-quality, especially Siti Walidah's actions and attitude can respond to the demands of times. From Chamamah's perspective, the kind personality of Siti Walidah came from Walidah's family prioritising education.
"Not only that, the values from the family were applied by the wife of Ahmad Dahlan in daily life. She was also an expert in encouraging other people when the situation turned impossible," she explained.
Dr dr. Siti Fadilah also shared a similar idea, formerly serving as the Ministry of Health. She said that Siti Walidah inspired her to make an effort to contribute to the nations, especially in terms of health, in which she is studying.
The book tells Siti Fadilah's struggle when becoming the Ministry of Health. One of her actions was when she encountered a feud with The World Health Organisation (WHO) related to avian influenza. She insisted that the vaccine for bird flu did need to be done because the disease cannot transmit from one individual to another. It is not entirely her opinion but is supported by scientific studies.
Fortunately, Fadilan's effort is not useless because the deadly avian influenza does not significantly grow into a pandemic since she can prove that there is no human transmission related to the disease.
Dra. Yuli Mumpuni Widarso also attended the talk show, who served as the great ambassador of Indonesia to Algeria and Spain. She started knowing Aisyiyah from her mother, who joined the organisation. Moreover, her mother is one of Muhammadiyah's senior high school teachers.
Yuli perceives that the modesty of Muhammadiyah's people gives her additional societal values. She even believes that it drives her to commit firmly to improving the quality of education in Indonesia without taking advantage of personal. She asserted, "I always cling firmly to the values and apply them in daily life even when I was entrusted as a great ambassador."
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Siti Walidah has been acknowledged as a national heroine. She supported her husband's effort to generate Muhammadiyah in 1912. One of her actions was to equalise women's education in some villages such as Kauman, Leumpuyangan, Krangkajen, and so on.
The book of Menapak Jejak Siti Walidah also presents the red thread of Walidah's effort, which aligns with the present women's potential, how women imitate her footsteps and create work in their preferred area. (imh/wil)
