Environmental Issues, Climate Change, and Gender in Post-Tsunami Aceh

Abstract

The massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquakes and tsunami devastated Aceh in Northern Sumatra took place twenty years ago. Physical reconstruction has been completed; new infrastructures have been in place. Most efforts and programs for reconstruction and rehabilitation ended around 10 years ago. However, long-term environmental impacts affecting women and other marginalized groups do not receive sufficient attention. This paper addresses the continuing environmental impacts and women’s activism in addressing the problems within the context of the precarious Acehnese social and political environments that elevate the risk for women. Using the concept of risk scapes and the Feminist Political Ecology approach to analyze the multidimensional risks affecting women’s positions and abilities to address climate change and environmental issues, we argue that Acehnese women continue to struggle to reconstruct their positions and agency. Based on the interviews with Acehnese women activists in 2022 and during the reconstruction era between 2004-2014, this paper also discusses the complex interconnections of the long-term impacts of political conflicts, disasters, and women’s environmental activism in a society where Sharia law has been implemented.