Female brokers : mobilising voters within Indonesia's Majelis Taklim Network

Many recent studies on Indonesian politics are characterised by analysis of patronage and electoral brokers. This paper explores how female electoral brokers mobilise voters through female Majelis Taklim(MT), an Islamic prayer group in Indonesia. The paper draws on in-depth interviews with female electoral brokers sitting in different positions in the community. One in the position of MT leaders and the other as an RT (the lowest administrative division in Indonesian) head. MT members, politicians and online documents were also included to support the primary data. It reports on how female electoral brokers interact with politicians and appeal to MT members by using religious identities, rituals and their positional power to garner political support. A lack of tangible government support and poor public services were identified as the underlying motives for female leaders to become brokers and to mobilise voters in female MT groups. The paper also reveals how politicians may reward and/or punish the female brokers depending on their success or failure in fulfilling their promises/commitments.