FEAR OF SUCCESS AMONG MUSLIM WOMEN IN ISLAMIC ORGANIZATION X IN MAROS REGENCY

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the dynamics of fear of success among Muslim women who are actively involved in Islamic Organization X in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi. Fear of success is understood as a tendency to restrain oneself from achievement because success is perceived as potentially producing unpleasant social, psychological, and relational consequences (Amelia et al., 2025). This issue is important in the context of Muslim women because women’s success in Islamic organizations is not only related to individual competence, but also to norms of piety, social propriety, family relations, organizational culture, and the expectations of religious communities (Jati et al., 2024). This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach because fear of success tends to appear through hesitation, discomfort, refusal of responsibility, and reluctance to appear publicly (Creswell & Creswell, 2023). Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation involving Muslim women who were active in Islamic Organization X. The informants were selected purposively, particularly those who had experience accepting, rejecting, or negotiating organizational responsibilities. The data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and thematic conclusion drawing (Miles et al., 2020). The findings indicate that fear of success among Muslim women may appear in the form of refusing leadership positions, avoiding public roles, minimizing personal achievements, fearing being perceived as ambitious, and hesitating to accept strategic responsibilities. The factors influencing this condition include family-organization role conflict, insufficiently supportive organizational culture, previous social experiences, limited female mentoring figures, and religiously framed concerns about women’s success. This study recommends strengthening Muslim women’s leadership mentoring, ensuring fairer distribution of responsibilities, developing a healthy culture of appreciation, and reframing success as a socio-religious responsibility.