Indonesia

The government's tardy response to a recommendation to revoke 154 discriminative bylaws against women have paved the way for the deliberation of 15 new equally discriminative bylaws, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said Friday.The bylaws, implemented in seven provinces and 16 regencies, contain rules on clothing, morality and religion, migrant workers and the criminalization of women, Ninik went on. Some oblige Muslim women to be veiled while others prohibit women from leaving their houses after 9 p.m.

After the 2009 elections the number of women legislators at the House of Representatives grew from 11.5 percent to 18 percent, but women are still underrepresented in politics.
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The percentage of female legislators at the parliament has reached its highest level in history, but many parties, particularly women’s rights activists, have not yet seen any significant changes to the country in terms of gender equality and female empowerment. The newly-inaugurated chairwoman of the Indonesian Parliament Caucus for Women A.P. Andi Timo Pangerang spoke to The Jakarta Post’s Bagus BT Saragih to discuss the issue.

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.
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“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.
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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.