E-ISSN : 2963-4946

Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 https://ajosh.org/

Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1305

Yuni's Resistance in Yuni's Novel By Ade Ubaidil and Kamila

Andini

Hidayah Budi Qur’ani

, Tuti Kusniarti

, Desy Rufaidah

Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

1,2

, Universitas Sarjanawiyata

Tamansiswa Yogyakarta, Indonesia

E-mail: qurani@umm.ac.id

, kusniarti@umm.ac.id

, desy.rufaidah@ustjogja.ac.id

*Correspondence: qurani@umm.ac.id

KEYWORDS

ABSTRACT

Women; Youth;

Resistance; Stigma.

Resistance is a defensive attitude, trying to fight, oppose, or

other opposition efforts in general. Resistance or resistance

to something suppressed in everyday life is natural, from the

inferior to the superior. A defensive attitude is also shown in

the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini through

the main female character, Yuni. Yuni's character struggles

because of the stigma that exists in the community where she

lives so that women cannot develop positively. Yuni is a

teenager who dares to fight directly when she experiences

injustice. Yuni's resistance or resistance allowed her to do

what she thought was right. Yuni's resistance is in line with

James C. Scott's theory. The data source in this study is the

novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini. The research

data is excerpts of sentences and phrases describing Yuni's

character's resistance. The results of this study are depictions

of resistance forms, including (1) refusing to marry young,

(2) liking purple, (3) giving up virginity, and (4) the role of

parents in decision-making for Yuni's figure.

Attribution- ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Introduction

Stigma arises due to discrimination against individuals or groups based on

characteristics that differ from members of society in general. Stigma is generally related

to culture, gender, race, socioeconomic class, age, sexual orientation, body image,

intelligence or disability, and health.

Stigma can be interpreted as a representation or view of life (personal and social).

Stigma can be interpreted as constructing social relationships as a form of social relations

and reality. Stigma is challenging to conceptualise because it reflects a social form,

categorisation, and affective state process.

Stigma is not only portrayed in people's lives. In literary works, stigma is also

experienced by figures considered deviant, not by expected social behaviour. The image

of stigma appears in the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini. This novel tells

the story of a character named Yuni, a teenage girl who lives in a lower-middle-class

Hidayah Budi Qur’ani, Tuti Kusniarti, Desy Rufaidah

Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1306

neighbourhood. The condition of Yuni's living environment, which has low economic and

educational levels, causes the mindset of the people depicted in the novel very narrow.

This can be seen from the way they perceive the position of women.

In the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini, the position of women is

considered unimportant. It even raises the stigma that women do not need to be highly

educated to become wives and mothers. So, if a woman behaves differently from other

women, there will be a sneer to the woman.

Sneer and negative stigma experienced by Yuni Character. Yuni is described as a

female figure who goes against the community's mindset in her neighbourhood. One of

the resistances made by Yuni's character was his rejection of proposals twice when he

was still in high school. The behaviour described by Yuni's character is very contrary to

the social conditions of the community where Yuni lives, causing a sneer against her and

even the assumption that if she rejects the proposal more than once, she will never marry.

Yuni's resistance is also depicted when she likes purple. The colour purple is identified

in society with the colour of widows, but it does not shake Yuni's interest in purple; she

even dyed her hair purple as a self-expression.

Resistance or resistance can be interpreted as an effort made by the weak party

against the powerful party. States that resistance focuses on forms of resistance that exist

and occur in everyday life. Thus, Scoot divides resistance into two forms: (1) open

resistance, which is organised, systematic, and principled. Open resistance manifests as

rebellion, and (2) closed resistance is rejecting things forced on society—gossip or

slander.

(Rahmawati et al., 2021) You are positing that Resistance does not necessarily

mean resisting in the sense of undermining power. The form of resistance itself, according

to James Scott, can be manifested in two forms, namely (1) open resistance (public

transcript) in front of many people, such as girls, against the dominance of the firm

(parents and husbands), and (2) closed resistance (hidden transcript), outside the "stage"

such as girls against secretly or hidden against the strong.

So far, research that raises the object of study of Yuni novels by Ade Ubaidil and

Kamila Andini has been carried out, namely by (Lestari & Meliasanti, 2022) entitled "The

Image of Women in Yuni Novel by Ade Ubaidil (Marxist et al.)". This study describes

the position of female characters, forms of women's injustice, and women's efforts to

release the shackles of patriarchy in Ade Ubaidil's Yuni novel. This research focuses on

women's positions, such as education, career and status. Women in society have a position

as a family need, are willing to sacrifice, have independent attitudes, and have self-

esteem. At the same time, forms of women's inequality include arranged marriages, not

having the right to vote, marrying at a young age, differences in the treatment of women

and counter-feminism actions. Finally, it is about efforts to release the shackles carried

out by women, namely daring to express opinions and make decisions for themselves.

Other studies that discuss women's resistance include (Muftiandar, 2021),

(Susilastri, 2020), (Intan, 2020), (Nugraha & Suyitno, 2019), (Susilowati & Indarti,

2018), dan (Harjito, 2019) which examines related to resistance carried out by women.

Yuni's Resistance in Yuni's Novel By Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini

Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1307

The resistance women practise is depicted in novels, short story collections, folklore, and

women from a cultural perspective. These studies explain that women's resistance occurs

as a result of injustice or inequality that occurs in women. The injustice experienced by

women does not make them resigned and weak, but tries to fight back to defend their

rights (Intan, 2020).

This research focuses on the forms of resistance of a female character named

Yuni, a teenager who grew up in an environment full of social stigma. Thus, the

formulation of the problem and the purpose of this study is to describe the forms of

resistance of Yuni characters in the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini. The

social stigma that always corners women does not necessarily make Yuni give up and

give up. However, Yuni fights against the stigma. With this research, it can be a learning

for adolescents. The learning gained as a teenager is to become a human being who never

gives up and can fight if you get injustice, especially women.

Research Methods

This type of research is qualitative, using the theory of resistance proposed by James

C. Scott. The source of this research data is the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila

Andini, published by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama in 2022 (Firdausa & Mahyu, 2023).

This research data is in words, phrases, and sentences that describe Yuni's resistance. Data

collection techniques use documentation techniques. The classified data is then analysed

interpretively with a descriptive method based on a resistance theory.

Results and Discussions

This section discusses the forms of resistance of Yuni characters in Yuni Novel by

Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini. Yuni figures carried out the resistance as a protest

against the stigma in his neighbourhood. The resistance carried out by Yuni's character is

open. Yuni's open resistance includes (1) refusing to marry young, (2) liking purple, and

(3) giving up virginity. The findings of Yuni's forms of recession are described below.

Refusing to Marry Young

Young marriage is one of the problems that often occur in Indonesia. Child marriage

often occurs due to economic factors. A married daughter is not her parents' responsibility

but her husband's. Therefore, marrying girls from an early age can reduce the burden of

family expenses.

Young marriage is also depicted in Yuni's neighbourhood. In Yuni's

neighbourhood, it is common for women to be married off at a young age. One example

is Yuni's friend Tika, a member of Cilegenk. Tika was married to the son of her father's

friend, a truck driver. Tika was forced to drop out of school because she had to accept a

proposal from her future husband. Although Tika wanted to refuse, the assumption in her

village that the proposal was part of sustenance forced Tika to undergo a young marriage.

Young marriage is indeed something that should be avoided. This is so that women

do not become victims. Whether it is a physical victim or a psychological victim,

physically, a woman's body will become a victim because she has not experienced sexual

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Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1308

maturity, so she will experience a high risk if you have sexual intercourse and gets

pregnant at a young age. From a psychological point of view, women will experience

emotional shocks because they have to become wives and mothers at a young age. Girls

also need to pay attention to their future. This is in line with the opinion (of Jayadi et al.,

2021), who states that the situation that must be of common concern is to prioritise the

best interests of children in providing the right to education, the right to growth and

development, the right to play, the right to get protection from violence, all forms of

exploitation, and discrimination. The most important thing is to place the child's position

in the child's world to develop according to the child's developmental age.

Although it depicts a young marriage, Yuni's novel by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila

Andini depicts Yuni's character as having the courage to fight. Yuni's character fights the

stigma of society that thinks women are better off getting married than high school

because, later, women will take care of the kitchen. Yuni Figures carried out a form of

resistance to fight the stigma of society by refusing to marry young. Yuni rejected the

proposal because she wanted to continue her studies and dreams.

Yuni's rejection when she got the proposal was not without reason. In the first

proposal, Yuni refused directly when she met Iman. Iman is a man who proposed to Yuni

through his grandmother. Yuni rejected Iman's proposal because she did not like Iman's

behaviour of bragging to her boyfriend that she could get Yuni. Yuni is angry at Iman's

attitude that women are goods so that they can be contested. Yuni rejected the second

proposal when Mang Dodi proposed to her. Mang Dodi is Yuni's best friend Sarah's uncle.

Yuni rejected Mang Dodi's proposal directly because she felt that Mang Dodi considered

women only limited to virginity. When Mang Dodi proposed to Yuni, he gave money as

a sign of seriousness and promised to add as much as 25 million if Yuni was a virgin.

Knowing this, Yuni rejected Mang Dodi's proposal and said that she was no longer a

virgin, so in the end, Mang Dodi discouraged her intention to marry Yuni.

The third proposal was rejected when Yuni wanted to be married to her teacher, Pak

Danar. Pak Damar is an Indonesian teacher at Yuni's school. Pak Damar also introduced

Yuni to poems by Sapardi Djoko Damono. Pak Damar proposed to Yuni right when he

was 17 years old. The proposal from Mr. Damar made Yuni hesitate. At first, Yuni liked

her teacher. However, when Yuni learned that Mr Damar is a cross-dresser (someone who

likes to wear clothes of the opposite sex). Pak Damar married Yuni because his student

had caught him wearing women's clothes. Pak Damar marries Yuni, so Yuni keeps her

mouth shut and does not tell her mother. Seeing such conditions, Yuni chose to run away

on her wedding day because she did not want to be a victim in her marriage.

Young marriage is a form of tradition perpetuated by the environment that has the

assumption that women must marry immediately so as not to be labelled as "old women".

So, parents are competing to marry off their children at a young age immediately.

However, parents do not see the impact of young marriage. One of the effects of young

marriage is internal conflict between the couple. Young couples' immature physical and

psychological condition results in frequent disputes, resulting in quarrels between the

couple. Usually, parents will be involved in solving problems that occur and can indirectly

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Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1309

worsen.

The images of rejection depicted by Yuni's character are an open resistance. It was

seen when Yuni felt unwilling and unprepared to marry at a young age. Yuni feels that

marrying young is not her dream. Yuni's dream is to become an independent woman and

decide to marry when she is ready. If there are circumstances that harm him, he

immediately puts up a fight with the person who dominates him. Yuni did this because

she wanted to end the injustice she experienced. However, he got a sneer from the

surrounding environment. Open resistance is an organised, systematic, and principled

activity. The activities carried out can manifest in the form of rebellion.

Love Purple

Colour can be interpreted as a specific spectrum contained in a perfect light (white

colour). The identity of colour is determined by the wavelength of that light. In fine art,

there are primary colours and secondary colours. According to (Fajriani & Liana, 2019),

Primary colours are the basis of the formation of all colours, and we can form many types

of colours from the combination of primary colours. The Secondary Color is the second

colour, the colour of a combination of two primary colours.

The understanding related to the colour purple is not directly proportional to the

meaning of purple in society. Indonesian people often consider purple with widows. So,

there is often a strange view if someone likes purple. It also happened to Yuni. Yuni, who

likes purple, gets a sneer from Mrs. Lis, one of Yuni's teachers. Also, Mrs. Lis's strange

view of Yuni, who likes purple, caught Yuni off guard. He tried to digest the words of

Mrs. Lis, who thought purple was a disease.

The stigma of purple represented by widows is not valid. Indonesians have assumed

that the purple or widow colour is a myth developed in society. The colour purple

represents a woman grieving because of loss (PPID Diskominfo, 2021). This was also felt

by Yuni's character, who abandoned her parents to migrate to Jakarta to make a living for

Yuni. Yuni likes purple because her mother gave her a purple headband the day before

deciding to migrate to Jakarta. Mother's word "beautiful" pinned to Yuni made her admire

the colour purple. That is where Yuni felt that purple was part of her life. The purple also

strengthens Yuni when she feels lonely and misses her mother.

Purple is a secondary colour formed from a mixture of blue and red. Purple colour

is associated with the descendants of kings. This colour symbolises strength, nobility,

luxury, and ambition. This colour can mean wealth and royalty. Purple is also associated

with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

Yuni's penchant for purple is very totality. This is depicted in jackets, earphones,

motorcycle scotlets, bags, and other accessories that are always carried. Even when Yuni

saw purple objects, she wanted to have them. Sometimes, he quarrels with his friends

because of the purple object. His love for purple is a form of escape because he misses

his parents. In addition, according to Yuni, purple is not unusual, so there is no need to

mess with colour.

The strange stigma obtained by Yuni's character, because she likes purple, does not

make her leave her favourite. Yuni's character is getting bolder in voicing her preferences

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with purple. This can be seen from the image of Yuni, who connects her hair to purple.

When she was in the salon owned by a friend of her acquaintance, Yuni expressed herself

in purple, ranging from her hair to her clothes. In addition to connecting her hair, she also

put on her makeup with purple shades of makeup. Yuni fights back by showing others

she is not ashamed of what she likes.

Yuni's bold character matches the purple symbol. The colour purple is a symbol of

courage. According to (Priyambodo et al., 2024), In the United States, purple hearts are

one of the highest honours given by military service to soldiers of great courage. This

purple colour symbolises courage and courage. In Western culture, purple represents

wealth and luxury. Pale purple and lavender heads are connected to Easter. In Roman

times, only emperors could wear purple (Herlianto, 2023).

Removing Virginity

Yuni's novel by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini tells the story of Yuni, who

chooses to give up her virginity. It was described when Yuni invited her underclassman

named Yoga to have sexual intercourse in an unused hotel. In the novel, Yuni consciously

chooses to give up her virginity. She does not feel afraid and burdened because virgins or

not virgins are not what determines the quality of women. Virginity, according to Health,

is symbolised as a ring of skin located at the end of the vagina that appears so clear and

white it is called a blood membrane if the blood membrane bleeds the first time during

sexual intercourse.

Yuni invites Yoga to have sexual intercourse, not without reason. He felt

disappointed and angry because when Mang Dodi proposed, he felt humbled. It was seen

when Mang Dodi talked to Mrs Ndek (grandmother) Yuni, who said that if Yuni were a

virgin during the first night, then Mang Dodi would add 25 million to the virginity price.

At that time, Yuni just kept silent because she did not want to add trouble to her

grandmother. However, after receiving such degrading treatment, Yuni is determined to

avenge the treatment from Mang Dodi.

In terminology, virginity or virginity in the Big Dictionary Indonesian is a woman

who has never had intercourse with a man. Several opinions link virginity with the

hymen. Therefore, virgin means a girl whose hymen is still intact; if it has been torn,

either due to intercourse or because of other things, then she is no longer a virgin and

many other definitions. If referring to the second understanding, that the indicator of

virginity is the preservation of the hymen, then, for now, it is no longer something scary

because, medically, there is already technology that can patch, replace or restore the torn

hymen. However, if virginity is defined as a girl who has never had intercourse, then no

matter how many hymen surgeries are performed, if she has had intercourse, she is still

no longer a virgin, as is the case with trace status (Rahman et al., 2021).

After giving up her virginity, Yuni went to Mang Dodi's workplace to cancel Mang

Dodi's proposal. Yuni honestly said that she cancelled her marriage to Mang Dodi because

she was no longer a virgin. This makes Mang Dodi prejudiced against Yuni and makes

him feel lucky because he has avoided lousy luck. In the society where Yuni lives, the

assumption of marrying a woman who is no longer a virgin is a misfortune.

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The actions taken by Yuni's character are resistance or resistance. Yuni's resistance

is an act to end the injustice experienced by women. This aligns with an opinion

(Susilastri, 2020) that open resistance presents communication between parties (superior

and inferior), concrete/tangible and observable, carried out openly and immediately

recognised by the superior or marginalising party. Open resistance is rational. This

resistance aims to counter acts of domination and oppression from the ruler and tends to

have a social impact. The resistance can be organised and systemised by social protests,

rebellions, demonstrations, or treason, but it can also be swearing, rudeness, and direct

facial expressions.

The open interaction between subordinate classes and superdominant classes

usually characterises open resistance. At the same time, stealth resistance is characterised

by closed, indirect interactions between the subordinate and superdominant classes.

Resistance is defined as something organic, systematic, cooperative, principled, selfless,

has revolutionary consequences and includes ideas or intentions that negate the back base

around family life.

The Role of Parents in Yuni's Decision Making

Yuni's open and resistant figure has the full support of family members. The fact

that Mom and Dad are willing to listen to her complaints makes Yuni comfortable.

Although he and his parents were separated, communication still went smoothly. For

example, when Yuni and her parents discussed Yuni's plans after graduating, her mother

and father listened to her plans without interrupting or forcing Yuni to follow their will.

Yuni can determine her future, and her parents are pretty considerate of her choices.

In addition to discussing her future, Yuni's parents' role was also influential when

Yuni was about to marry Pak Danar, Yuni's teacher. At that time, Yuni's parents went

home to prepare for their son's wedding. Yuni, still hesitant about his decision, talked to

his father. Yuni and her father had a heart-to-heart talk about the picture of the household.

Yuni's father did not force Yuni to marry young. Her father gave Yuni input to reconsider

her decision to get married. Yuni's happiness is the most important thing for her father

compared to the sneers from neighbours.

A figure that is no less important to Yuni is Bu Ndek or grandma. Yuni and Mrs.

Ndek live together at her house every day. Mrs. Ndek is a grandmother figure who has an

open mind. Although Ms Ndek lives in an environment full of female stigma, it does not

make her have narrow thoughts regarding women. One is allowing Yuni to decide

whether she accepts proposals from men who come to her grandson. Mrs. Ndek did not

decide unilaterally but returned her decision to Yuni so that her grandson could determine

his future.

Conclusion

Women's resistance is an act to end the injustices experienced by women. Injustice

against women is not only experienced by adult women but also by adolescent women.

This is illustrated in the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini. This novel tells

the story of Yuni, who lives in an environment full of stigma against women. The stigmas

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Asian Journal of Social and Humanities, Vol. 2 No. March 6, 2024 1312

women attach make them unable to develop and increase their potential in Yuni's

environment. Thus, women can only surrender and accept every injustice they experience,

such as marrying young, dropping out of school, and deprivation of women's rights. The

Yuni character depicted in the novel Yuni by Ade Ubaidil and Kamila Andini is a teenage

female figure who dares to speak out and fight against the stigma experienced by women.

Yuni's character dared to reject three proposals addressed to her. Yuni rejected her

proposal because she was still young and had gone to school, so she did not want to bury

her dreams. In addition, Yuni rejected the proposal because she felt that the marriage she

would live in was not based on love but for reasons of male arrogance. In addition, Yuni's

resistance is depicted by how she likes a colour with a negative stigma, purple. The purple

colour, synonymous with widows and strange, does not make Yuni stop liking the colour.

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