IPAC Report: The Consequences of Renouncing Extremism for Indonesian Women Prisoners

Ika Puspitasari, a former hardline extremist, speaks at a meeting of the Central Java provincial branch of Dharma Wanita, an association of civil servants’ wives, after her renunciation of violence. Semarang, 18 August 2022. Source: Ika Puspitasari

“Assistance for women extremists must consider their personal trajectories and relationships with their significant others,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “Persuading a woman to disengage from extremism may depend in part on the strength of her ties to extremist networks and degree of support from family members, but also on her own self-confidence to withstand social pressure.” 

If they try to disengage, women may be taunted and treated as traitors by their extremist peers. If they refuse to renounce violence, they may be stigmatised as terrorists by their communities at home. Either way, they may be ostracised or face crises in their personal relationships.

The plight of women within Indonesian deradicalization programs in detailed in a new report from the NYSEAN partner Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. Attempting to withdraw from different extremist organizations brings two-pronged rejection, both from the network they aim to leave and from the larger society that brands them as terrorists.

While they can gain amnesty from their crimes for declaring loyalty to the state, social programs to support them as they rehabilitate into society are even scarcer than those for men, a contradictory policy choice when these women are so often the breadwinners in their circles after their release.