Women-led Organizations on the Frontlines of Preventing Violent Extremism: A Collaborative Governance Model from Indonesia

“Women-led Organizations on the Frontlines of Preventing Violent Extremism: A Collaborative Governance Model from Indonesia” highlights the strategic role of women-led organizations as governance actors in advancing gender-responsive and community-centred approaches to Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). Developed as a position paper for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week Side Event, Beyond Tokenism: Women Leading Prevention, Justice, and Policy in Counter-Terrorism, held in New York on 26 June 2026, the paper argues that the next challenge in implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy is no longer ensuring women's participation, but institutionalizing their leadership within PVE governance systems. Drawing on AMAN Indonesia's experience in establishing the Working Group on Women and PCVE (WGWC) and the post-terrorism recovery process in Sigi, Central Sulawesi, the paper demonstrates how collaborative governance, community-based knowledge, and women's leadership can strengthen social cohesion, rebuild trust, and translate lived community experiences into public policy. It presents Indonesia's experience as a practical model for operationalizing whole-of-society approaches by positioning women-led organizations not merely as programme implementers, but as strategic partners in governance capable of strengthening institutional collaboration, policy effectiveness, community resilience, and sustainable peace.