Portal ruang publik bagi muslimah Jawa untuk beribadah awalnya sangat elusif. Kultur dan struktur sosial yang mengakar kuat, terutama dalam komunitas Muslim Jawa, menyebabkan posisi perempuan termarginalkan. Keterpinggiran perempuan merupakan salah satu realitas sosial dalam konteks Jawa Islam sejak abad ke-18. Dominasi laki-laki dalam berbagai lini yang selanjutnya memunculkan demarkasi ruang publik bagi kalangan mereka; berbeda dengan perempuan yang lekat dengan ruang privat. Terlebih pada operasionalisasi masjid yang awalnya cenderung hanya diperuntukkan bagi laki-laki. Sedangkan masjid ditafsirkan agar “terhindar” dari perempuan, akibat benturan diktum dalam teks Islam, serta kultur Jawa saat itu.
Pawestren muncul sebagai sendi eksistensial bagi akses peribadatan di ruang publik bagi muslimah Jawa. Pawestren sendiri merupakan salah satu bagian yang dapat dijumpai di masjid-masjid tradisional Jawa, yang mana difungsikan untuk ruang ibadah perempuan. Eksistensi pawestren, dinilai menjadi implikasi penting dalam roda sosial, utamanya terkait relasi antara laki-laki dan perempuan.
Melalui paparan tersebut, muncul postulat bahwa pawestren lahir sebagai bentuk inisiasi kolektif berupa negasi perempuan atas superioritas laki-laki. Peneliti mengajukan pertanyaan tentang (a) mengapa eksistensi pawestren signifikan dalam mewadahi peribadatan Muslimah Jawa?, dan (b) bagaimana dialog Muslimah Jawa dalam memperoleh akses peribadatan publik yang setara?
Penelitian ini disusun melalui metode analisis-deskriptif dengan kerangka fenomenologi. Peneliti menelusuri aspek yang mengorbit tentang pawestren di Masjid Pathoknegaran, Yogyakarta. Peneliti mengaplikasikan pendekatan komunikasi ruang publik, gender dan sosial-budaya. Ketiga perspektif ini dinilai mampu mengeksplorasi temuan di lapangan.
Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa pawestren tidak hanya menjadi produk arsitektural, melainkan indikator bergeraknya dinamika bagi muslimah, baik spiritual maupun sosial. Perempuan juga aktif sebagai aktor dalam spektrum sosial, dengan menggalang opini atas ketimpangan yang mereka alami di bawah hegemoni kuasa laki-laki, hal ini termanifestasi salah satunya melalui pawestren.
Kata Kunci: Pawestren, Akomodasi Muslimah Jawa, Ruang Publik
 
ABSTRACT:
The public space for Javanese Muslim women to worship was initially elusive. Deeply rooted culture and social structures, especially within the Javanese Muslim community, marginalized women. The marginalization of women has been a social reality in the context of Javanese Islam since the 18th century. Male dominance across various spheres led to the demarcation of public spaces for them, unlike women who were associated with the private sphere. Particularly, in the operationalization of mosques, which were initially predominantly for men. Mosques were interpreted to be "protected" from women due to clashes between Islamic texts and Javanese culture at that time.
Pawestren emerged as a cornerstone for women's access to public worship spaces for Javanese Muslim women. Pawestren is found in traditional Javanese mosques, serving as spaces for women's worship. The existence of pawestren is considered an important implication in social dynamics, especially regarding the relationship between men and women.
Through this exposition, a postulate emerges that pawestren was born as a collective initiation in the form of women's negation of male superiority. The researcher poses questions about (a) why is the existence of pawestren significant in accommodating Javanese Muslim women's worship?, and (b) how Javanese Muslim women engage in dialogue to obtain equal access to public worship.
This study was conducted using a descriptive analysis method with a phenomenological framework. The researcher explored aspects orbiting around pawestren at the Pathoknegaran Mosque in Yogyakarta. The researcher applied approaches from public space communication, gender, and socio-cultural perspectives. These three perspectives were deemed capable of exploring findings in the field.
The study concludes that pawestren is not just an architectural product but also an indicator of the dynamics for Muslim women, both spiritually and socially. Women are also active actors in the social spectrum, voicing opinions on the inequalities they experience under male hegemony, manifested in part through pawestren.
Keyword: Pawestren, Accommodation of Javanese Muslim Women, Public Sphere