Lockdown Ibuism: Experiences of Indonesian Migrant Mothers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand

When it comes to the question of how non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as lockdowns have impacted upon practices of care and relations of caregiving, research published during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic has made two things abundantly clear. The first is that reconfigurations of everyday life and social contact needed to slow the spread of the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (for example, via the implementation of 'lockdowns') have confronted people the world over with economic, personal and relational challenges that have been, for many, unprecedented in their duration and intensity. In particular, the very truncation of social networks that makes lockdown measures effective at diminishing viral transmission between households risks depriving those households of the support they usually rely on to meet care needs. These forms of support could be formal, such as day-care centres and schooling, or informal, such as care provided by neighbours or extended family. Households in lockdown thus face the challenge of meeting care deficits with their own resources. In the context of school closures, many households face additional challenges such as needing to 'homeschool' children. While these circumstances can make lockdowns stressful and demanding for many, it is nevertheless far from certain that such difficulties are experienced equally. Indeed, the second thing that has become clear from research on the pandemic to date is that the burden of responding to these challenges has fallen disproportionately upon women.This article contributes to ongoing conversations about gender and inequality during the pandemic by exploring the experiences of Indonesian migrant mothers residing in Aotearoa New Zealand (hereafter 'NZ') as they lived through the nation's first countrywide lockdown, implemented by NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on 25 March 2020 and lasting in various stages until mid-May 2020. We explore multiple questions: What happened to gender roles within families during lockdown? What impact did increased childcare responsibilities have on mothers and fathers, especially during Alert Level 4 (25 March–27 April), when schools were closed and NZ residents were required to stay in their 'bubbles' (exclusive social groups, usually coterminous with a single household). Moreover, we consider how the experiences of Indonesian migrant mothers both paralleled and diverged from that of other mothers in NZ: a nation currently renowned for it