In this episode, we have a special interview and conversation with one of Indonesia’s fiercest female Muslim hijabi stand-up comedians, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf! Hailed as one of the first female Muslim comics in Indonesia (a “technicality,” as she said), Sakdiyah has been doing stand-up comedy in both English and Indonesian for several years now, starting off initially by winning a talent competition on Kompas TV. Since then, she has gained deserved recognition for her work, including being featured as one of the faces of the Moral Courage Project as well as winning the 2015 Vacláv Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent, handed out each year by the Oslo Freedom Forum for individuals who have championed human rights & potential in their own creative way. Sakdiyah’s comedy touches on sensitive topics such as sexuality, Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism, and domestic violence, but she always finds a way to cut through the tension of such heavy topics without blunting her message of free speech and women’s rights.
We’re very excited to have her on the podcast, not only to share a few laughs (eco-terrorism, anyone?) but also to talk about what it is like to be a female Muslim comic in Indonesia in this day and age, especially given the rise of extremism at home and Islamophobia abroad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed having it!
Thanks for listening!
For those interested in learning more about the topic, we’ve provided links to resources as well as other recommended readings.
Young Muslim Comic Takes on Fundamentalists — Sakdiyah’s episode on the Moral Courage Project
Young Muslim Comic Takes On Fundamentalists — courtesy of the Daily Beast
2015 Vacláv Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent — Sakdiyah’s speech in Oslo
The Bravest Coward — Sakdiyah’s TEDTalk at TEDxUbud (also where we got the jokes for this episode)
Comedy Jihad — Sakdiyah on SBS Viceland
Extinguishing Extremism with Comedy — Sakdiyah’s conversation at Griffith University’s 2016 Integrity 20 Conference
MUSIC CREDITS:
KEEP IT TIGHT by JOHN DELEY
CURIOSITY by LEE ROSEVERE
THE GREAT by BROKE FOR FREE