Khairani Arifin

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Starting Point 

From the 2000 Duek Pakat Inong Aceh (DPIA) forum, the Balai Syura’s name emerged and was officially established in 2001. As a women’s and peace organisation, Balai Syura has four mandates: promoting equitable Islamic Sharia, implementing women's fundamental rights, addressing environmental issues, and empowering survivors and former female combatants.

Currently, Balai Syura organises 82 women's organisations in Aceh and actively promotes changes to laws governing women's empowerment and protection. This large number of organisations is enabled, as only Aceh has a pan-Aceh women’s organisation, before the peace negotiations started. Through DPIA, Balai Syura was the first organisation to advocate for peace when many others were still fixated on prolonging conflict and violence.

Peace Journey

Balai Syura has played a significant role in challenging discrimination against women in Aceh. It pushes the inclusion of a gender and women's perspective in Aceh’s environmental policies. During this period, women's participation in policy formulation, research, and related activities was minimal.

It also contributes to the regeneration of women's organisations by hosting inter-generational sharing sessions for activists and creating a political space for young women. This forum encourages women to get involved in politics. All its events must involve young people. Moreover, it provides internship opportunities for interested students.

Success Stories

A major challenge in running an organisation focused on women's empowerment is the influence of religious interpretations that hinder women from participating and holding leadership positions. It is also difficult for women to get support from their families and social circles. 

Through these challenges, Balai Syura survived and became the first forum in Aceh to discuss peace. It also persuaded the ulama to abolish articles of Aceh's regulations that discriminated against women. Funding for women's empowerment organisations in Aceh has increased thanks to its advocacy efforts.