Indonesia

Indonesia's women legislators are aiming to get more involved in international forums in their bid to become the best female parliamentarians in Asia. "The Indonesian Parliamentary Caucus for Women (KPPRI) must improve its relationship and cooperate with all parties, the government, NGOs and international institutions," said A.P. Andi Timo Pangerang, the chairwoman.
To read the complete story please visit The Jakarta Post.

“The caucus will continue fighting for the proposed 30 percent quota for legislative candidates for women in the next legislative elections,” said GKR Hemas, DPD Deputy Speaker, citing an example.
To read the complete story please visit The Jakarta Post.

Women are profoundly underrepresented in peace negotiations around the globe. In 2009, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) reviewed 21 major peace processes held since 1992 and found that women constituted less than 8percent of delegates to talks and less than 3 percent of agreement signatories.This is a shameful record given that the United Nations specifically called on the world, through a Security Council resolution, to promote the role of women in peacemaking a decade ago.

Pramono revealed this when explaining the preparations for the PDI-P congress on April 6 in Nusa Dua, Bali.A total of 471 branch administrators and 33 provinces, including 25 parted regions, said Pramono, have finished their meetings.The four branches that have proposed Guruh Soekarnoputra as Chairman are Asahan, Pulau Bintan Island, Puncak Jaya, and Punca.“Around 98 percent of support is for Megawati Soekarnoputri,” said the Deputy Head of the House of Representatives.

Indonesia’s political parties and legislators have not strongly supported women in politics, despite a law that requires that women comprise 30 percent of all candidates, say researchers.

“The 30 percent quota has not yet been achieved,” said Adriana Venny, a gender researcher for the legislature, at an event on Friday for a book on the status of women legislators in the 2004-2009 legislative term.

Women's representation in Indonesia's parliament has seen its ups and downs but has improved over time overall. For some years, the proportion of women in Indonesia's parliament was dismal. Despite affirmative action, it hovered around 10 percent. With democratization beginning in 1998, however, the movement for women's representation has picked up momentum and visibility. (After the resignation of President Suharto from office in 1998, Indonesia embarked on democratization.

The resilience of women helps communities stay together in times of crisis because they shield their children and family from hardships and have the will to survive. Irine Hiraswari Gayatri from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that women were important in peace-building because women were able to create connections between conflicting groups. To protect women, the government adopted United Nation resolution 1325 on women, security and peace and has been drafting a National Action Plan to implement the resolution.

Amen's organizaion advocating gender equality was launched in Jakarta on March 17, 2011, giving women an unlikely ally in the battle against male dominance. The New Men Alliance (LLB) aims to promote awareness of women's rights among Indonesian men, according to the group's chariman, Nurhasyim. The group had around 50 members from Jakarta, Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara. The LLB would advance its cause by using social media, including Facebook and Twitter and their Web site, lakilakibaru.wordpress.com. 

There are 100 women for every 103 men among West Java’s 43 million people, the biggest province in the country. The figure may seem equal, but discrimination against women is still out there. “Women are still barely represented in politics, at 12.5 percent in the West Java Legislative Council,” Titik said after a recent gender equality discussion with West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan. With the low representation, the political process of pushing for gender equality within the budget will be a big issue, she added.