Women Educating [liberating] Women: Examination of the Experiences of Women Educational Leaders during Armed Conflict in Aceh, Indonesia

• In Event: Virtual International Session

Abstract

The conflict in Aceh, Indonesia had hurt women and girls disproportionally, and such conflict had created a gap for Acehnese women and girls to access education. Despite living in this challenging situation, women leaders felt the need to fill this educational gap in women by providing them with any means of possibilities. This study examines the educational priorities of women leaders in education during the conflict in Aceh, Indonesia (1976-2005). It sheds light on the approaches utilized by female leaders in rural areas of Indonesia as they maneuvered their educational objectives for women and girls amidst the turmoil. Women’s educational activism here is confined to the activities pertaining feminist popular education. Insights from eight women leaders supported by observation and relevant documents were analyzed to gain a better understanding of educational activism for women and girls during the conflict. The findings reveal that women leaders encompassed their education agendas for their fellow women in the form of consciousness-raising. Such consciousness-raising activities occurred underground, in secretive forms, informal, and formal through existing organized groups. In addition to organizing and educating their fellow women, these women leaders extended their influence to reach into the wider community and thereby inform public consciousness. By educating the public, the hope was that both women and the public could be mobilized to take political action to generate solutions to end the violence in Aceh.

Author

• Elizarni Elizarni, Independent Researcher