Abstract
This study aims to analyse women's leadership in education as a form of cultural revolution both locally and globally. The formulation of the problem in this study is compiled using the PCC formula (Population, Concept, Context), where P (Population) refers to women leaders in education; C (Concept) is women's leadership as the main variable; and C (Context) is the social and educational conditions in the local environment (Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia) and globally (world educational activism). The approach used is the Systematic Literature Review (SLR), with a systematic search strategy through academic databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Search results are reported using PRISMA diagrams. Nyai Hj. Masriyah Amva, the head of the Kebon Jambu Islamic Boarding School in Cirebon, West Java, as a concrete example of a local figure who promotes gender equality in the Islamic education system. At the global level, the figure studied is Malala Yousafzai, an activist from Pakistan and founder of the Malala Fund, who actively fights for women's education rights through policy advocacy and cooperation with international institutions. The results of the study show that women's leadership is able to increase inclusivity, fight for gender justice, and accelerate social transformation. Local leadership like Bu Nyai stands out in adapting cultural and religious values, while global leadership like Malala focuses on policy-based structural change. Integration between local and global approaches is believed to be a sustainable strategy to create a more equal and transformative education system.
References
Adnani, K., & Mahbub, M. (2021). The Power of Nyai in The Development of the Pesantren Kholifatullah Singo Ludiro Sukoharjo. DINIKA: Academic Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(1), 263–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.234
Alshdiefat, A. S., Lee, A., Sharif, A. A., Rana, M. Q., & Abu Ghunmi, N. A. (2024). Women in leadership of higher education: critical barriers in Jordanian universities. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2357900
Arifi, A., & Fathurrohman, R. (2023). The Role of Women’s Leadership in the Traditional Muslim Religious Movement (New Paradigm in PBNU Leadership 2022-2027). PALASTREN: Jurnal Studi Gender, 16(1), 59. https://doi.org/10.21043/palastren.v16i1.18622
Arwani, S., & Hannase, M. (2024). Kupi II Congress and Results of Religious Views on Contemporary Women’s Issues in the Perspective of Islamic Anthropology. Journal La Sociale, 5(4), 908–919. https://doi.org/10.37899/journal-la-sociale.v5i4.1223
Babaii, E. (2022). ELT as necessary evil: resisting Western cultural dominance in foreign language policy in the context of Iran. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 19(4), 355–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2022.2090363
Bunkar, R. C., Chauhan, L., Verma, A., & Vamshi, M. (2024). Case Studies in Women Empowerment. Bridging The Digital Divide Development, 2(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jfas.v8i3s.192
Creswell, J. (2017). Qualitative Inquiry Research Design Choosing Among Five Approaches.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Mixed Methods Procedures. In Research Defign: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed M ethods Approaches.
Dewi, M. P., & Wajdi, M. B. N. (2022). Evaluation of the Islamic Boarding School Empowerment Program in East Java Province. Al-Hayat: Journal of Islamic Education, 6(2), 535. https://doi.org/10.35723/ajie.v6i2.457
Ercantan, O., & Eyupoglu, S. Z. (2024). Encouragement of green behaviour: a study based on green human resource management and environmental transformational leadership. Middle East Journal of Management, 11(6), 683-703. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243450600565746
Faizah, N., Meidina, A. R., Chadziq, A. L., Iqbal, M., & Umam, M. S. (2024). The Role of Indonesian Women Ulama Congress (KUPI) in the Search for Gender Equality-Based Islamic Law. Al-’Adalah, 21(2), 323–346. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v21i2.23698
Gheli. (2020). Case-Based Lessons on Violence Against Women and Girls I. Incubator at Harvard University, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1806036John
Hilal, Y. Y., Mifsud, D., & Hammad, W. (2024). Female educational leadership in the Arab world: a systematic review of published research literature. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 01(02), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2024.2316655
Korotayev, A., & Zinkina, J. (2022). Handbook of Revolutions in the 21st Century. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86468-2
Liao, W., & Luo, L. (2021). Gender, education, and attitudes toward women’s leadership in three east asian countries: An intersectional and multilevel approach. Societies, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/SOC11030103
Maheshwari, G., & Nayak, R. (2022). Women leadership in Vietnamese higher education institutions: An exploratory study on barriers and enablers for career enhancement. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 50(5), 758–775. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220945700
Massouti, A., Shaya, N., & Qareiny, S. M. A. (2024). Exploring the nexus between female school leaders’ perceptions of distributed instructional leadership, socio-cultural dynamics, and student achievement in the Arab world. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2024.100372
Maunah, B., I, A. S., & Yuhana, N. L. (2024). Intellectual Stimulation of Women’s Transformational Leadership in Improving Institutional Brand Image. Journal of Instructional and Development Researches, 4(5), 380–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1529818.
Mualimin, J., Aziz, A., Nursyamsiah, Ghofar, A., & Mubarok, A. H. (2022). Knowing the Figure of KH. Munawar Al Badri Sang Paku Bumi, Da’wah Fighters from the North Coast. Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Bestari, 1(7), 553–578. https://doi.org/10.55927/jpmb.v1i7.1450
Ningrum, E. P. (2022). Kuasa Perempuan : Peranan dan Kedudukan “Bu Nyai” dalam Memimpin Pondok Pesantren di Kabupaten Banyuwangi. Jurnal Pendidikan Budaya Dan Sejarah, 27(2), 58–66. https://doi.org/10.31227/osf.io
Nugroho, A. D. (2024). Empowering Voices from Pesantren: The Emergence of Female Spiritual Leadership in Indonesia. Al-Tanzim: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 8(2), 703–716. https://doi.org/10.33650/al-tanzim.v8i2.8167.
Priatna, D. K., Farooq, K., Yusliza, M. Y., Muhammad, Z., Alkaf, A. R., & Siswanti, I. (2025). Employee ecological behavior through green transformational leadership: the mediating role of green HRM practices and green organisational climate. Journal of Management Development. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230210433436
Reyes-García, V. (2024). Local studies provide a global perspective of the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Sustainable Earth Reviews, 7(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42055-023-00063-6
Rika Widianita, D. (2023). Rethinking Leadership in a Complex, Multicultural, and Global Environment. AT-TAWASSUTH: Jurnal Ekonomi Islam, 8(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.61104/jq.v1i2.63
Smith, S. G., & Sinkford, J. C. (2022). Gender equality in the 21st century: Overcoming barriers to women’s leadership in global health. Journal of Dental Education, 86(9), 1144–1173. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.13059
Sri, N., Amannie, A., & Shinta, A. (2024). The Malala Fund ’ s Strategy to Fight for Women ’ s Right to Get Education in. Malikussaleh Social & Political Reviews, 5(2), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.32332/akademika.v22i2.953
Stajkovic, K., & Stajkovic, A. D. (2024). Ethics of Care Leadership, Racial Inclusion, and Economic Health in the Cities: Is There a Female Leadership Advantage? Journal of Business Ethics, 189(4), 699–721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05564-0
Ullah, A. (2023). Analysing Global and Local Media Representations of Malala Yousafzai. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 25(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4935089
Unterhalter, E. (2024). Soft power in complicated and complex education systems: Gender, education and global governance in organisational responses to SDG 4. International Review of Education, 70(4), 547–573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-024-10098-2
Watterston, B., & Ehrich, L. C. (2024). Women’s leadership development is everybody’s business: if not now, when? School Leadership and Management, 44(2), 159–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2023.2299942

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.