Teuku Muzaffarsyah, Bobby Rahman, Naidi Faisal, Fidhia Aruni, Rifki Elindawati

FROM PEACE AGREEMENT TO POLITICAL ARENA: WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS AFTER 15 YEARS OF THE MOU HELSINKI IN ACEH

Introduction

From peace agreement to political arena: women’s participation in politics after 15 years of the mou helsinki in aceh. Aceh women's political participation remains low 15 years post-Helsinki MoU. Despite quotas, patriarchal norms, limited support, and weak enforcement hinder empowerment.

Abstract

The Helsinki MoU is the peace agreement signed on August 15, 2005, between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) in Helsinki, Finland. In the context of political participation, the MoU urges Acehnese to increase women's participation in politics through affirmative action, particularly a 30% quota in legislative bodies. However, after 15 years of the MoU, Acehnese women’s participation in politics is still yet far from the quota. Thus, this study aims to examines the effectiveness affirmative action policy through the landscape of gender and the persistent gaps between policy intent and outcomes. This study used a qualitative reseach method with post-positivist approach. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with members of the Aceh People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Aceh, DPRA), political party representatives, and women's empowerment officials. The secondary sources were derived from legislation, reports, and media. Findings reveal persistent structural, cultural, and institutional barriers, such as patriarchal norms, limited political support, insufficient resources, and weak institutional enforcement—that hinder the effectiveness of affirmative action policies. As the result we found that while legal frameworks exist, the actual empowerment of women in Aceh’s political sphere remains constrained and symbolic.

Review

This study addresses a critically important and timely subject: the effectiveness of peace agreement provisions for women's political participation, specifically examining the case of Aceh 15 years after the Helsinki MoU. The research clearly identifies a significant gap between policy intent – the 30% quota for legislative bodies – and actual outcomes, where Acehnese women's political participation remains well below targets. This focus on a specific post-conflict context offers valuable insights into the challenges of institutionalizing gender equality commitments, making the paper highly relevant for scholars and policymakers interested in peacebuilding, gender studies, and comparative politics. The stated aim to examine the effectiveness of affirmative action through a gendered lens is commendably direct and pertinent. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative research design with a post-positivist approach, employing in-depth interviews with key stakeholders including members of the Aceh People’s Representative Council, political party representatives, and women's empowerment officials. This rich primary data, complemented by secondary sources such as legislation and reports, provides a robust foundation for analysis. The findings powerfully reveal persistent structural, cultural, and institutional impediments, such as deeply ingrained patriarchal norms, a lack of consistent political support, inadequate resource allocation, and weak enforcement mechanisms. These barriers collectively explain why the affirmative action policy has largely failed to achieve its intended impact. The conclusion that existing legal frameworks for women's political empowerment in Aceh remain "constrained and symbolic" is a profound and sobering finding, underscoring the complexities of implementing gender-sensitive policies in post-conflict settings. This study makes a significant contribution by moving beyond simply identifying the failure to meet quotas and instead dissecting the multifaceted reasons behind it. The research provides a strong foundation for understanding the limitations of top-down affirmative action policies without concurrent efforts to transform underlying societal norms and institutional practices, offering crucial lessons for similar contexts globally. Its insights are invaluable for policymakers aiming to translate legislative quotas into genuine political empowerment.

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