This study examines the extent to which gender equality is given a democratic space within the communitarian-based democracy architecture in the context of local regulations and daily life practices, specifically in the management of natural resources. This study also questions the roles of cultural puritanism ideology, which has become the main buffer for communitarian-based democratic structures in controlling and maintaining gender equality, stability of the natural resource system, communal socio-economic and power relations among citizens and institutions as well as with external actors and institutions. We found that these roles are subject to continuous power negotiations as indigenous peoples respond to challenges brought about by social and economic processes, political dynamics, demographic change, and the impact of catastrophic shocks and climate change. The indigenous community of Tenganan Village, which adheres to a rigid puritanical ideology, is on the one hand still able to maintain human genetic purity, social identity, territory, and the preservation of natural resources. On the other hand, the ideology of puritanism excludes and simultaneously eliminates the political, social, and economic rights of women in managing natural resources.

Keywords: Gender inequality, Puritanism, Communitarian-based democracy