Soeratno's involvement with Islamic organizations began early in her life. She attended a Muhammadiyah high school and became the chairwoman of Aisyiyah's youth wing in 1965.[1] She is a proponent of the Islamization of knowledge, promoting the view that the adjective "Islamic" should refer more than to strictly religious practices and should include all aspects of life and referring to democracy, equality, justice and the human norms of liberty as "Islamic values."[3]