Women's labor force participation in insurgency and ethno-religious conflict: the cases of Aceh and Ambon

This article explores changes in patterns of labor participation in two types of conflict settings in Indonesia: the insurgency in Aceh and the ethno-religious conflict in Ambon, Maluku. It brings into view interactions between gender on the one hand, and religion, age, social class, and ethnicity on the other, while also taking into consideration regional economies. I show how intersectional dynamics set in motion by different types of conflict create different patterns of labor force participation. Women increased their economic activity in both conflicts but became breadwinners only in a few specific contexts. Moreover, their increased economic activity was sometimes experienced as hardship and sometimes as empowerment. After the conflict, many women in Aceh returned to the domestic sphere in the name of Sharia law, whereas many in Ambon remained economically active. I argue that different types of conflict in different economic contexts and the associated differences in the relationships between gender, religion, age, social class, and ethnicity help to explain this variation in outcomes.