Our research responds to a limited understanding of the agency of female leaders in a context of Islamic politics and society, in post-war and post-tsunami Aceh province in Indonesia. Drawing on empirical ethnographic data, we aim to provide a more nuanced perspective on the 'strategic space for manouevre' of women's agency in Islamic boarding schools in Aceh. Our paper focuses on female educational leaders and teachers at female "dayah," or Islamic boarding schools [for girls] in Aceh. The study explores the grassroots roles and motivations of female education leaders, and analyses how a range of contextual (political, economic, socio-cultural and religious) factors play a role in their sense of agency and engagement in (re)producing or challenging societal inequalities and tensions. These factors include women's own experiences of the conflict and post-conflict period, the influences from their direct networks and kinship, and their opportunities to participate in 'outside' trainings and public life.