Recent terror attacks in Indonesia have involved women, but examinations of and responses to violent extremism too often neglect gender analysis.

A new joint ministerial decision banning forced religious clothing in schools has been welcomed by activists. But in an increasingly conservative society, will headscarves continue to be viewed as compulsory?

One out of nine Indonesian adolescents are sexually active. But as Lies Marcoes writes, lack of knowledge and limited access to contraception among Indonesian adolescents is contributing to growing rates of underage marriages and unwanted pregnancies.

Indonesians were stunned over the weekend by photos of kindergarten students dressed as violent extremists. Lies Marcoes writes that while the choice of costume was disturbing, the fact that something like this could happen in an Indonesian kindergarten was not a surprise.

Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, faces accusations of blasphemy over a speech in which he quoted a verse from the Qur'an. The hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has said it will continue to protest until Ahok is taken to court. Lies Marcoes examines the verse in detail, and writes that views on whether Ahok was at fault are largely dependent on how the Qur'an is interpreted.

More than a year after 1,000 Rohingya asylum seekers arrived on the shores of North Aceh, few have been resettled in western countries. The fact that many Rohingya are poor and illiterate means they are not considered a priority. Lies Marcoes found that the global indifference to their plight may be driving them to join the Islamic State.

Many analyses of women's involvement in fundamentalist groups depict these women as naive victims of more powerful or charismatic men. But as Lies Marcoes explains, young women have distinct political and ideological motives for participating in violent extremist movements. Photo by Armin Hari.