WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR ECONOMIC ROLES DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE: A CASE OF BENTOR DRIVERS IN GORONTALO, INDONESIA

The objective of this research is to examine and reveal the impact of the adoption of LargeScale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar PSBB) in Gorontalo province on the roles of women working as drivers of pedicab motorcycle (Becak Motor – Bentor) in addition to being a housewife. This study is qualitative research that gathered data through interviews with the drivers and related parties. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach with a thematic study of the Qur'an and Hadith. The results revealed that the family's economic needs became the main reason for women choosing to be Bentor drivers. The implementation of working hours and quantity controls, as well as the prevalence of staying at home, had decreased their income; however, their household duties were still performed, despite the worst economic conditions. Another fact is that the implementation of PSBB has succeeded in decreasing the introductory reproduction rate (R0) of the transmission of Covid-19. In addition, the Qur'an and Hadith allow women who want to work outside their houses but still follow religious instructions always to protect themselves and their dignity and not to ignore their household duties.


INTRODUCTION
In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, Indonesia's government, on 16 March 2020, insisted on not choosing an alternative lockdown as a solution. The government has only urged the public to adopt health protocols such as to use a mask and avoid the crowd, in addition to working; studying, and worshiping are carried out from home, including the approval of ministry-level policies to support the campaign according to their respective fields and authorities (Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia, 2020). Seeing the case of Covid-19 spread leading to an epidemic, the President of the Republic of Indonesia then released a Government Regulation covering the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar -PSBB). It applies to all provinces or cities through a referral process to the Health Minister as stipulated in Government Regulation Number 21, 2020.
In Gorontalo province, an area known as "Serambi Madinah," when the Covid-19 Task Force announced the existence of the first positive patient on 10 April 2020, its Governor immediately suggested the implementation of PSBB by releasing Gorontalo Governor Regulation No. 15 of 2020 and Governor's Decree No. 152/33 / V/2020. Some of the points are restricted in the Decree that public activities are allowed only until 07.00 pm, closing traditional markets and limitations on public transport modes (Kompas, 2020). So far, the type of job involving many Gorontalo people is bentor driver, especially in the mid-to-low economic community. According to the Head of Bentor Drivers Association, up to August 2020, the number of drivers in Gorontalo reached 30,000 people. If each driver bears four people in their households, about 120,000 people depend on the bentors' income; this number is approaching 10 % of Gorontalo's population.
There has been a long debate on gender equality regarding women's role in the public domain career. First, the theory of nature argues that given biological differences between men and women, different roles in society are necessary and natural (Rajab, 2009). Second, nurture theory only positions the different roles between men and women as a result of social construction so that the general understanding of role division is not standard and can be remodeled (Coleman & Hong, 2008). This theory brings the principle of perfect gender equality in social roles (Khuza'i, 2012). Third, equilibrium theory is regarded as a mediator of the two previous theories with the principle of compromise to create balance. A biological distinction is a fact that definitely involves differences in roles between men and women, but the distinction in roles can also be undermined by mutual consent in order to create peace between men and women (Aldianto, 2015;Rocca, Mielke, Vemuri, & Miller, 2014;Kamri, Ramlan, & Ibrahim, 2014). Those three theories are not yet entirely representative, and each one has the same side as Islamic teachings. It is possible that the concepts of Qur'an and Hadith will be in line with one of the three theories mentioned above or that they have their own concepts that are different from the three.
Several studies regarding the impact of covid-19 on the Indonesian economy have been conducted recently. For instance, the works entitled "The Economic Impact of The Covid-19 Outbreak: Evidence from Indonesia" by Albab Al Umar, Pitaloka, Hartati, and Fitria (2020); "Impact of Covid-19's Pandemic on The Economy of Indonesia" by Susilawati, Falefi, and Purwoko (2020); and "the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Indonesian Economy by Nasution, Erlina, & Muda (2020). More specifically, the impact on specific regions and business fields has also been conducted, such as "the Socio-Economic Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Bandung City by Supriatna (2020); and "The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Business and Online Platform Existence by Taufik and Ayuningtyas (2020).
These studies, however, are limited to only providing an overview or mapping of the effects of a pandemic on general economic growth. Their findings provide an initial picture for other researchers to develop further studies on different occasions. Therefore, our study focuses on Gorontalo people's efforts in maintaining their families' economy during the PSBB time. In particular, we seek to understand the role of female bentor drivers in supporting their families' economy. In the last part, we compare the results with an Islamic perspective. This study focuses on seeking the answers to the following questions: what reasons make housewives in Gorontalo choose to be bentor drivers? What is the impact of applying PSBB on their daily income? And, what is the Islamic perspective upon this phenomenon?

RESEARCH METHOD
This study is a qualitative research that explains the privileges of social influence that cannot be measured through a quantitative approach (Saryono, 2010;Ibrahim, 2020). Meanwhile, this research method is based on the postpositivism philosophy, used to examine the condition of natural objects, where the researchers are the key instrument, the triangulation collection technique, inductive data analysis, and research results emphasize meaning rather than generalization (Sugiyono, 2012). In gaining data, we interviewed and built an emotional relationship with the respondents. We also explored the problem using in-depth observation.
In addition, we also employed a phenomenological approach to understand and interpret the informant's experiences related to research phenomena (Ghony & Almanshur, 2012). There are three concepts of phenomenology: each symptom that appears consists of a series of participants that surround it; it is the root of qualitative research, and the problem in question is caused by the subject's views (Sujarweni, 2015). In this study, the researchers dug up any information regarding the imposition of large-scale social restrictions due to efforts to eradicate Covid-19 transmission, which ultimately affects the income of the dual role of women whose jobs are bentor drivers.
This research is undertaken in the "Bumi Serambi Madinah" which is designated for Gorontalo Province. Bentor is a typical vehicle that is commonly used as reliable transportation in this area. Gorontalo province, during the pandemic period, had implemented large-scale social restrictions for three periods. It has been chosen as one of the three initial areas for implementing the new normal in Indonesia by the Covid-19 Task Force. The informants in this study are the housewives who also work as bentor drivers in Gorontalo. In addition, the thematic study method of Qur'an and Hadith was also used by tracing the related verses or hadiths and then drawing a conclusion from the verses and hadiths.

Overview of the Research Location
Some sources explain that the name of Gorontalo came from the word Hulontalangi (Lembah Mulia), which was also a kingdom. Gorontalo is also derived from the word "Hulondalo" as the Dutch call Gorontalo (Apriyanto, 2006). Gorontalo since 400 years ago has become an old city in Sulawesi besides Makassar, Pare-pare, and Manado (Batubara, 2016). Along with the emergence of regional expansion concerning regional autonomy in the reformation era, this province was formed based on 22 December 2000 through Law Number 38 of 2000, and thus, became the 32 nd Province in Indonesia (Amin, 2013). The area of Gorontalo province is 11,257.07 km², while the 2019 population projection figure is 1,202,631 million people with a growth rate of 1.45% (BPS, 2020) "Serambi Madinah" is inseparable from the history of the decisive role of Gorontalo in the spread of Islam in Eastern Indonesia. The spread of religion that developed in Gorontalo also opened Gorontalo into a center of education and trade. One version of the local history states that the Gorontalo plain stood the Limboto kingdom, preceding the Gorontalo kingdom. Due to one and other things, there was a civil war between the two from 1485 AD to 1672 AD. The civil war was finally successfully resolved through peace negotiations in 1673 AD Popa (representing Limboto), and Eyato (representing Gorontalo) became the main actors in the incident. Eyato, who was originally a Khatibida'a (great preacher) after being successful as a diplomat and negotiator, was then crowned as the King of Gorontalo. Of course, not only because of that, but mainly because he was intelligent, his knowledge of religion was broad and deep. The leadership relay then shifted to Sultan Botutihe, where Islamic values at that time were further strengthened. So that the customary philosophy of "Adati hula-hula to syaraa, syaraa hula-hula to Quruani," which translates to "Adat is based on sharia, sharia is based on the Qur'an (Christianto, 2009).
Islamic values, which have long been a pillar of government, have brought Gorontalo to be the center of Islamic culture in eastern Indonesia as proclaimed by then Indonesian Minister of Religion, Said Agil Al-Munawar, in 2002. Currently, Gorontalo's nickname is "Serambi Madinah," a special designation due to its role in promoting Islamic values since the beginning of its heyday (Botutihe, 2003). Apart from that, it is also because of its people's traditional philosophy and religious life. Therefore, the nickname cannot be separated from the Gorontalo community, which is predominantly Muslim. Even Serambi Madinah has become a tourism brand that has started to be recognized by the public.

Becak Motor (Bentor)
Becak Motor or abbreviated as "Bentor" is paratransit that was first discovered in Gorontalo and is even very easy to find in remote areas of Gorontalo villages. This Gorontalo's bentor is quite similar to a rickshaw however is powered by a modified motorcycle, and that the two passengers sit in front. Although bentor is not yet worthy of being public transportation, it is still the leading transportation choice due to its high accessibility and mobility. In addition, it has been entrenched among the community and even able to contribute to employment (Moha, 2014). The founder of bentor is Ferry Hasan, a workshop owner who experienced an economic crisis in 1998. Inspired by the rickshaw, he modified a motorcycle and created bentor (Terrajana, Syam, Basri Amin, Jamil Massa, 2011).
This modification was unlawful as it is not in line with the regulation of Road Traffic and Transportation, Number 22/2009. Therefore, the province traffic and transportation authority, DLLAJR, has not issued their operating licenses. Nonetheless, these types of vehicles were increasing day by day and jammed the roads in Gorontalo Province. The potential for bentor as transportation in an urban and rural area in some cities in Indonesia shows significant improvement. It happens because of the increasing need for facilities freight and also service areas transportation that cannot be served by other means of transportation. The existence of bentor as local transportation reduces unemployment both in urban and rural areas because many unemployed people use these means as an alternative job. When viewed from the results of the frequency survey, the use of bentor is frequent and based on comfort and security levels. Most respondents declared safe and comfortable using motorized rickshaw transport in urban and rural areas (Mudana & Heriwibowo, 2018).

Findings
The role of women in boosting their families' economy is now no longer a hot topic due to the necessities of life. It is increasingly complex in the modern era and needs a solution more than just debating the issue of equality itself (Kartika Qori & Kanada Rabial, 2017;Zuhdi, 2018). From the results of the study, the researchers got several facts which are presented in Table 1. She is a widow who has to support her two small children alone.
Income before PSBB IDR200,000 per day. After PSBB IDR100,000 4 SH (53) Her husband is a palm sugar farmer, and they have to support the family in her old age in modest conditions. Some of their children are married but remain in need.
Income before PSBB IDR25,000 per day. After PSBB IDR25,000 Source: Data Processed (2020) It is clear that the decline of their family income is the impact of PSBB, and it mostly impacts the families that do not have any permanent jobs. In the next session, the researcher discusses the reason for being a bentor driver, the contribution to support the family, impact on household tasks, and impact on family

Reason for choosing to be Bentor Driver
The respondents in this study simultaneously answered that the economic factors that pushed them to finally decided to take the profession that was viewed belong to men. Several reasons have been acquired to be justification for the women in Gorontalo to be a bentor driver. First, to support the inadequate income of the husband. SI, a respondent, stated that: Based on their experiences, most respondents admitted that being a bentor driver was actually not an easy decision for a woman in Gorontalo. This is relevant to the common stigma--which may be driven by religious or social norms--that women's responsibility is to take care of domestic duties (Pieters & Klasen, 2020). Performing two roles at once to run well requires more effort.
Although it is very prone to sacrifice one of them, it is a life risk that must be faced. However, the opportunity to get through it well is very wide open; some can play both roles equally.

Impact of PSBB on Female Bentor Driver in the Family Economy
Working as a female Bentor for the women in Gorontalo undoubtedly has contributed to boosting up family income. Some of them see this as an effort in helping the husband gaining additional income for the family: "Pas kita so bawa bentor paitua so tabantu sadiki kasiang. Jadi so lumayan no itu penghasilan". (After I became a bentor driver, I can reduce my husband's burden." However, as it is supposed only to support the family, for those who are a single worker, the income from this job was not enough although they have worked all day long, a respondent (MM) stated that: "Untung ada keluarga yang ikhlas babantu biar cuma kase makan tu ade, sala-sala so nyak ada paitua." (Fortunately, there are families who are willing to help, even though they only feed children, I am a single parent) For some of them, the job as bentor driver can reduce their transportation cost fo going somewhere, as it was stated by SH: "Saya bawa bentor hanya misalnya mo pigi babalanja ka pasar, ke kios atau ngantar anak kemana bagitu. Supaya tidak kaluar ongkos transportasi." (I drive the bentor only to go shopping at market or drive the children to somewhere, so that I no longer need to pay transportation costs)

Impact of PSBB on Female Bentor Driver
The In order to avoid the continuing declining incomes, she tried to create a new market system through her cell phone by accepting the transfer of goods, services, and courier services. This idea is apparently worked, and her income increased 25%.
Another respondent, RL, experienced a similar case as she was no longer able to help her husband to earn a living: She added that during PSBB, a bentor was only allowed to carry one passenger only though compared to the normal situation that was usually up to three passengers at a time.

Women Workers in Islamic Perspective
The Prophet's described women's creation came from Adam's rib. If they are forced to change, they will be broken. If left alone, they stay bent as narrated by Imam Bukhari in the authentic hadith book number 5186 (Al-Bukhari, 2002). The Prophet also described women as one of the two weak parties, praying to God to defend their rights (Al-Nasa'i, 2001). However, family insistence and guidance finally made them strong in heart and compassion.
Nevertheless, as a woman, whether she chooses to be active in the domestic or participate in working in the public domain, she can still adjust to the rules outlined in Islamic teachings. Among them, the most important things are as follow: 1. Leave the house after getting permission from and have discussed with the husband or guardian based on QS. Al-Ahzab ( The aforementioned review indicates the limitations that must be considered in regulating the activities and movements of women's lives; of course, this is not in the context of discrimination against women's rights but instead leads to preventive measures to protect women's dignity. In Islamic history, the role of reliable women cannot be denied. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the Khulafaurrasyidin and even to the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, several female figures have played essential roles in the public domain (Mazaya, 2014). Women in Islam get a place to take part as their wishes, and there is absolutely no specific prohibition from the text of the verses of the Qur'an or the Hadith of the Prophet to take part in the public domain (Ibrahim, 2015). However, they have to maintain the norms and corridors explained in the Qur'an and Hadith (Nisak & Ibrahim, 2014).

Discussion
Women who work as bentor drivers are not common in Gorontalo. This kind of job is viewed as belonging to men. However, due to the economic pressure, the view has to be changed. Allah SWT has provided a vast and airy nature as a field to earn a living, of course, by working and being patient for the test of the Creator as in QS. Al-Baqarah (2): 177. This ayat is the basic that motivates them to choose to keep working when other people choose to stay at home.
The fact showed that Gorontalo Province was the last area infected by the Covid-19 outbreak in Indonesia. The first case was confirmed on 9 April 2020, which was experienced by residents of Tumbihe Village, Bone Bolango Regency. When this study was conducted, the covid-19 outbreak continues.

Implementation of PSBB
Gorontalo is one of the provinces where the Indonesian Minister of Health granted the proposal to implement the Large-Scale Social Limitation (PSBB) through the decree number HK.01.07/Menkes/279/2020 dated 28 April 2020 (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, 2020). Since it was first applied on 4 May 2020, it is proven that the PSBB application has succeeded in reducing the rate (R0) of Covid-19 transmission from 2.74 to 2.12. This number had continued to decline to 1.5 when PSBB extended to the second phase. For this reason, the government then extended the PSBB from 3 to 14 June 2020 (Kompas, 2020). After the period, Gorontalo became one of four provinces in Indonesia that would apply the new life order called as new normal (Bialangi, n.d.) Community movements in all sectors were restricted during the PSBB period. Consequently, the province's economy is suffering. It impacts all sectors, including micro, small-medium enterprises (MSME) (Wardiah & Ibrahim, 2013). Concerning the bentor driver, it is impacted their movement as it only allowed to carry only one passenger in one trip. It causes them a higher fixed cost.
However, Islam asked people to obey Ulil Amri (government) as it was stated in the Qur'an and Hadith, such as QS. An-Nisa (4): 59. The social restrictions imposed are viewed as a collective effort to prevent a more significant danger that harms the existence of human beings. This statement is consistent with Prophet's advice which at that time was advised to stay away from people tainted like animals as HR. Ahmad Number 9722 (Hanbal, 1997). Obeying this PSBB, theologically, is a form of obedience to leaders who then, as a form of concrete efforts to suppress the spread of Covid-19, the plague that hit the community. Of course, with arrangements that still consider the survival of all levels of society.

Women and Family Division
Islam divides roles between a man and his wife. It also makes the role complementary in many cases. The right of a party confers an obligation on the other and vice versa. This shows how far Islam respects women in the community of mankind and makes their impact a must-be-felt in society. Men are not given absolute power in their homes. Women also enjoy some power that can check that of the man despite the appellation given to man by Allah (qawwamun), which is the poles. This is epitomized in the life of the Prophet with his wives. He used to help them carry out house works and give them the honor that is rightly due. Marriage contract gives both the husband and wife the ability to satisfy their human desire and gain blessings of almighty Allah, and have children that would help when the parents become old and help in the flow of future generation in a regulated manner. For the success of this contract, the parties have duties to abide by, which the Islamic family highlighted, such as duties of husband, duties of wife, and the duties compulsory on both of them.
It is not strange that many women used to work to support their families, but not as freely as now, where even women can replace men's role. Except within the family system, women can do both their public and domestic tasks without men (Budiman, 1985). These housewives are encouraged to work despite the heavy burden of performing this activity or even seemingly impossible.
3. Women's role in the family economy and housewives' duties Change in family structure and function is currently a subject of much interest to students of the family. Familial change cannot be fully understood without considering the economic role of women. There is a good deal of evidence to support the view that the impetus for these social role changes may be dissatisfaction with and the consequent attempt to reinterpret economic roles, particularly the economic roles of women. Certainly, some of the most distinguishing characteristics of the present social movement are deeply rooted in economic concerns: redistribution of responsibility for household tasks between spouses, the issue of paid versus unpaid productive roles for wives, the interest in day-care as a substitute for home care of children are all expressions of points of view about how economic roles of women may be carried out.
Viewed from a structure-function conceptual framework, change in the family as a social system may result from the need to support change in the family as an economic system. It is a central premise of this paper that the impact of these changes cannot be fully assessed apart from their impact on the economic welfare of families (Fakih, 2001). Nevertheless, the measurement of the economic activity of wives has received little attention, particularly as it is viewed from a lifespan perspective. This may be due to the lack of an adequate conceptual framework for organizing data about the complex set of factors related to the economic role behavior of wives. In his review article on the state of family theory development Broderick reports negligible advancement in this area (Astute, 2007).
A complex range of economic and social factors has driven the changes in women's participation in the paid workforce and help to explain the features of their involvement in paid work. Among the economic factors that have been identified in the now extensive literature on the topic of changing' participation rates of women are the need to supplement the family income and changes in the employment and wage-earning opportunities available to women (Solihatin, 2017).
The family is an institution of society, and every institution needs to have order and discipline, without which it cannot run or even survive. The institution of the family is run with the mutual collaboration and cooperation of husband and wife. In the classical view, the Islamic scheme for a family's management is that the woman should be relieved from all other responsibilities to focus on the family's internal discipline and stability (Zuhdi, 2018). At the same time, the man should take the burden of meeting economic needs. The woman's food, clothing, and shelter are counted among the family's economic needs; if both partners are well-off, a servant or helper for household chores is also included in these needs. The man has to arrange for the expenses of healthcare as well. This is the legal position of Islam on the responsibilities of the husband. In addition, as encouraged in Islam, good moral conduct demands that a man treat his wife as well as he can and do everything possible for her comfort and happiness (Jasruddin & Quraisy, 2017).
Although women have not been born responsible for family finances and primarily tasked with domestic matters, they also have the right to do other things (Al-Naisaburi, 2006). Islamic history shows that, along with paying their duty to family and home, Muslim women have rendered great services outside their homes as well (Al-Thabrani, 1983). They have also been involved in economic activities according to the situations in which they found themselves.

CONCLUSIONS
Generally, the situation where both husband-and-wife works to meet the family's needs is generally seen in the working middle class. However, a highly educated, professionally trained, and skilled woman may find herself in a difficult situation that demands her to work and earn. If she adopts a lawful occupation, she has every right to do this. However, when a situation demands that a wife support her husband in earning for the family. Likewise, being a bentor driver for Gorontalo women was also due to the economic pressure of the family.
The economic conditions they experienced worsened after the government implemented the PSBB in Gorontalo area and urged all citizens to stay at home. Consequently, the economy weakened, and the driver's income dropped dramatically due to the decreased number of passengers. The actions of women in Gorontalo are not against Islamic teaching. Many studies show that Islam is not the culprit in preventing women from being active in the labor market, but rather the cultural attitude shapes labor force participation decisions.
1. Women can adopt any occupation or business according to their situation and circumstances, abilities, and inclinations. They can seek jobs as well as invest in trade, industry, or agriculture. They can manage and supervise the ventures in which they invest or which they own. They can even create new opportunities for themselves. However, this must be done in accordance with Islamic teachings. Thus, finances are necessary, but a woman should not engage herself in economic activities at the cost of the family system and discipline. She should not give herself up to economic struggle at the cost of the warmth of relations.