Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Family Waqf: A Qualitative Study from Madura

Abstract

Women’s contributions to Islamic social finance are on the rise; however, in the development of family waqf, they have thus far been studied primarily as beneficiaries, donors, or managers, rather than as agents of institutional change. This study aims to explore how women social entrepreneurs act as institutional entrepreneurs in developing sustainable family waqfs within the socio-cultural context of Madura. A multi-case qualitative study design was employed, involving female family waqf initiators, family members, nazhirs, religious leaders, and community beneficiaries selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The findings reveal a three-stage institutional process consisting of the construction of legitimacy, institutional work, and institutional transformation. The women established legitimacy through religious commitment, kinship-based trust, moral authority, and community engagement before mobilizing family assets, coordinating stakeholder networks, and negotiating socio-religious norms to institutionalize productive family waqfs. These processes transform family waqfs into sustainable socio-economic institutions, characterized by governance innovation, community empowerment, intergenerational succession, and long-term social impact. This study proposes a Women’s Institutional Entrepreneurship Model for Sustainable Family Waqf, which demonstrates that religious legitimacy and kinship-based trust are distinctive institutional resources that enable women to drive institutional change. This model expands Institutional Entrepreneurship Theory within the context of Islamic philanthropy while providing practical insights for developing gender-inclusive family waqf governance in Muslim communities.