Indonesia

With three weeks having passed since the elections, and accusations of discrepancies in the ballot-count being lodged by more than a dozen districts, the KPUD has finally tallied up the votes from all five electoral districts. Of the 94 seats in the city council, 32 went to the Democratic Party, 18 to the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and 11 to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), data from the Jakarta General Election Commission (KPUD) shows.

Indonesia’s direct legislative election in April was a resounding success for women candidates. But instead of rejoicing, activists and political observers say it is unlikely to help the cause of women’s rights.

Indonesia’s direct legislative election in April was a resounding success for women candidates. But instead of rejoicing, activists and political observers say it is unlikely to help the cause of women’s rights.

Indonesia’s direct legislative election in April was a resounding success for women candidates. But instead of rejoicing, activists and political observers say it is unlikely to help the cause of women’s rights.
To read the full article please visit the IPS News website.

Unsupportive regulations and culture have not prevented the increasing representation of women in local legislative councils, election results revealed Monday.
To read the full article, please visit the The Jakarta Post's site.

On special occasions in this rural Javanese town, women cover their heads, wear long flowing clothes and, according to Muslim custom, sit separately from the men in a place where they are barely seen and certainly not heard.But no one seemed to mind when the district leader, Rustriningsih, addressed an audience not long ago (the men in front, the women off to the side) in a green uniform that stopped at the knees and with her glossy black hair on show for everyone to see. Nor did they mind when she earnestly lectured them about the responsibilities of living in a new democracy.

The Empowerment of Female Heads of Households Program (Pekka) initiated by the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) in 2000 is a response to requests from widows living in conflict situations across Indonesia.
To read the full article, please visit The Jakarta Post Website.

As the country prepares to elect its new president next week, Indonesian activists are trying to push gender issues onto the political agenda.Three candidates will contest the presidential election on Jul. 8. The incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a strong favourite to win, but neither Yudhoyono nor his challengers - current Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri - have presented a platform for dealing with women-specific problems.
To read the full article, please visit IPS News Website.

Indonesia’s national motto is “Unity and Diversity.”That motto is perhaps as much necessity as aspiration in a country which has 34 political parties in its national government and 300 ethnic groups in the country.On Monday and Tuesday, three Indonesian women – Husna Hidayati Darusman, Ipin and Syafitri – toured Grand Island to get a first-hand look at local government, which often operates on a non-partisan basis.

Women legislative candidates added life to the Kartini Day celebrations in West Kalimantan on Tuesday with a possible unprecedented clean sweep of Regional Representative Council (DPD) seats.Maria Goreti, Sri Kadarwati Aswin, Erma Suryani Ranik and Hairiah took unassailable leads in the 26-candidate race and look certain to win the four DPD legislative seats.
To read the complete news story please visit The Jakarta Post website.