Sinta Nuriyah Wahid (also Sinta Wahid; 8 March 1948) is the widow of former

Indonesian President The president of the Republic of Indonesia () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the In ...

Abdurrahman Wahid Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islam in Indonesia, Islamic Kyai, religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indone ...

. She was

First Lady of Indonesia First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

from 1999 to 2001.

Biography

Sinta was born in the

Jombang Regency Jombang Regency (; ) is a regency of East Java, Indonesia, situated to the southwest of Surabaya. The capital of the regency is the town of Jombang. The regency has an area of 1,159.50 km2 and a population of 1,202,407 at the 2010 censusBiro ...

in 1948, the eldest daughter of 18 children. She attended an Islamic boarding school, where, at age 13, she fell in love with Wahid, who taught there. After her father, a professional calligrapher, refused to approve the marriage, Wahid, whose father was the leader of

Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 40 million in 2023, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as or ...

, went abroad to study. When Wahid proposed again from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Sinta accepted, marrying him three years before he returned to Indonesia in a ceremony where Wahid's grandfather stood in as a proxy. After Wahid returned in 1971, Sinta finished a degree in

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law. She helped support their four children by making and selling candies. In 1992, Sinta was in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. It took a year of physical therapy before she was able to move her arms. She then finished her

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

graduate degree at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...

by having university staff carry her on a stretcher up to the building's fourth floor. Since her husband's impeachment in 2001, Sinta has been an outspoken defender of moderate Islam. She has pursued a tradition of holding inter-faith meals during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. She has praised the bravery of Governor

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Chûng Van-ho̍k''; born 29 June 1966) is an Indonesian businessman, politician, and former governor of Jakarta. He is colloquially known by his Hakka Chinese name, Ahok (). He was the first ethnic C ...

and has criticized

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

as unfair. After she was threatened by extremists, the Banser militia mobilized to protect her events. She was included in

TIME 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...

list as one of The Most Influential People in 2018.

References

{{s-end 1948 births First ladies and gentlemen of Indonesia Living people Indonesian Muslims People from Jombang Regency Wahid family