Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia – The Women’s Parliamentary Caucus of the Republic of Indonesia signed a declaration today to “condemn any form of gender-based violence that hinders women from fulfilling their equal rights” and to urge all groups to allow women to safely participate in politics.

Domestic responsibilities and social constructs are the biggest hurdles to improving women's participation in politics, a researcher at the University of Indonesia's Politics Review Center (Puskapol UI), Beni Telaumbanua, has said.

"Women encounter a domestic challenge in the form of their responsibility as a wife or a mother," he noted at a webinar on 'Ensuring Women's Participation in the General Election', streamed live on YouTube here on Tuesday.

Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani) Chairwoman Giwo Rubianto called to address the issue of low women's participation in national politics, especially the national legislature, by promoting participation and boosting political education among women.

Speaking at the panel as the inaugural speaker, minister in the prime minister’s office of Singapore, Indranee Rajah, said the country has not been able to solve all gender issues but has made great strides since 1965.

Indonesia's new parliament elected its first female speaker, Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala, granddaughter of the country's first president, after members of the House of Representatives were sworn in on Tuesday amid continuing protests against several new or proposed laws.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) released a report on its official Twitter account about women’s representation at the Indonesian parliament, which the commission deemed the highest in the post-reform (pasca-reformasi) era.

The infographic shows that women’s representation in the House of Representatives (DPR) in 2019 reached 118 seats.

The race between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto might have captured most of the media attention, but tomorrow nearly 8,000 candidates will also be competing for 575 seats in the national legislature (DPR). About 40 per cent of these candidates are women, the highest proportion of female candidates ever. But what do the numbers really tell us about women’s representation in Indonesian politics?