Sakdiyah Ma’ruf is the first Muslim female stand-up comic in Indonesia whose comedic routine advocates for individual rights and challenges Islamic fundamentalism. She uses humor to voice her concern about rising Islamic conservatism, violence and discrimination against women, and threat to freedom of expression in Indonesia as a young democracy. Ma’ruf utilizes comedy as a way of self-expression, and of promoting women’s empowerment, as for some Muslim women, laughing, in its own respect, is a form of resistance. Sakdiyah is a 2015 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent Laureate, one of BBC’s 100 Women of 2018, one of BBC’s 12 Artists That Changed the World in 2019, and a recipient of many other national recognitions for her work.