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Agence France-Presse

Qurrata Ayuni owns what she claims is the only woman-run cafe in the capital of Indonesia’s most conservative province.
The 28-year-old opened Morning Mama in 2023 to create a space that caters to women in Banda Aceh, known as the city of 1,001 coffee shops.
She and her baristas provide an alternative to rowdy, smoke-filled male haunts. “I thought why not open a place that is comfortable for women?” she said.
While the province has long been known as the site of the world’s deadliest tsunami and a decades-long separatist insurgency, Aceh’s draw for visitors is often the coffee.


The traditional sanger latte, mixed with condensed milk, is a popular staple.
Aceh’s strong connection to coffee started hundreds of years ago with Dutch colonial rulers. Now, in its lush highlands, farmers cultivate coffee beans known around the world for their high quality.
Aceh still draws attention for its ultraconservative values, including by-laws that require Muslim women to wear hijabs.
While women are not banned from working in the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law, running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job.
“It’s extremely difficult for women in Aceh to pursue education or a career, facing not only legal restrictions but also social bullying,” said Andreas Harsono of international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch.

Despite widespread criticism, public whipping remains a common punishment for a range of offences in the province, including gambling, alcohol consumption and relations outside marriage.
Independent career paths are mostly viewed as out of reach for Aceh’s young women, but Qurrata was undeterred.
Qurrata, who owns her cafe without a business partner, saw a demand for a space for women to work or meet friends.
She and her team of baristas pour fresh coffee to mostly hijab-wearing customers, with children’s books and menstruation pads available for use nearby.
“There’s no cigarette smoke, it’s not noisy, it’s really cosy,” she said, adding that some men also have coffees at her shop. “It’s a statement that women can own businesses, make decisions and lead. Now is the time for change.”

The entrepreneur says women are stepping up, pointing to at least 1,000 applying for a barista job.
“I want to offer them the chance to change the course of their lives,” she said.
Caca, a 23-year-old barista, said it was a “really cool job” rare in Aceh.
The cafe’s regulars hail Morning Mama as a spot where women can be themselves.
“I feel more connection if I ask something from a woman barista,” said 21-year-old student Meulu Alina. “I don’t feel any nervousness. It’s more like talking with your sister.”

Before starting her business, Qurrata overcame the loss of her parents at the age of eight in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 200,000 people.
Her village near Banda Aceh was destroyed, but she survived and was raised by her aunt and uncle.
Qurrata said she wants to channel her grief into helping other women. “It’s a platform to help others find their own resilience, much like I did,” she said.
Photography jobs allowed her to build savings and confidence; she took a leap into business after her uncle encouraged her and helped financially. Other women were still “afraid to start”, she said, for fear men will say bad things.
“People here tend to believe that women should stay at home,” she said. But “the older generation understands that times have changed”.

The owner of popular Aceh coffee shop Solong, Haji Nawawi, said he would not employ women but residents had accepted them making coffee elsewhere, calling it “normal” as values “from outside” Aceh had entered the province.
Qurrata employs five women alongside two men.
Revenue fluctuates, but Qurrata says her ultimate aim is to inspire other women.
“Women are capable of so much more than we’re often given credit for. We can be leaders, creators and innovators,” she said. “So don’t just sit back. Don’t be afraid.”


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Cafe owned and run by women, for women, in Indonesia’s most conservative province, Aceh

Qurrata Ayuni (centre), owner of Morning Mama, a coffee shop in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province, with two of her staff. The cafe creates a space for women in a city where coffee shops have long catered to men. Photo: AFP

Morning Mama owner Qurrata Ayuni at her cafe in Banda Aceh. She says it is the sole woman-run cafe in the capital of Aceh province. Photo: AFP

Qurrata makes a coffee at her cafe. Qurrata saw a demand for a space for women to work or meet friends. Photo: AFP

A barista receives orders at Morning Mama. Photo: AFP

Qurrata (right) makes a coffee. The cafe’s regulars hail Morning Mama as a spot where women can be themselves. Photo: AFP

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‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job


‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job.


Gender

Women and gender

Indonesia

Cafe owned and run by women, for women, in Indonesia’s most conservative province, Aceh

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job

‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job