Participating in Parliamentary Politics: Experiences of Indonesian Women 1995–2010

Abstract

This article concerns itself with women’s participation in politics and, more specifically, the representation of women in elected legislatures, in Indonesia between 1995 and 2010. The article gives readers a brief overview of the various ways that Indonesian women participate in politics. Examples are given of women being traditional rulers, having political authority, exercising power, becoming presidents and cabinet ministers, participating in protest movements, and being elected to parliament. The article then moves to focus more specifically on the election of women to the Indonesian parliament. The article analyses positive developments that have occurred in the past decade to facilitate women’s entry to parliamentary politics. Although numerous positive developments have indeed taken place, the article argues that women are still hindered in their attempts to get elected to parliament. Drawing on in-depth interviews, literature reviews, statistical analysis, and long-term ethnographic research, the authors identify some of the factors limiting women’s election, including the restrictive limited model of womanhood advocated in Indonesia, declining cronyism, the ineffectiveness of the thirty per cent quota, the reputation politics has of being dirty, the influence of religion, and the large sums of money candidates need to support their election campaigns.

Full text

81
Participating in Parliamentary Politics:
Experiences of Indonesian Women 1995–20101
Sharyn Graham Davies and Nurul Ilmi Idrus
Auckland University of Technology
Hasanuddin University
Abstract
This article concerns itself with women’s participation in politics and, more specically,
the representation of women in elected legislatures, in Indonesia between 1995 and
2010. The article gives readers a brief overview of the various ways that Indonesian
women participate in politics. Examples are given of women being traditional
rulers, having political authority, exercising power, becoming presidents and cabinet
ministers, participating in protest movements, and being elected to parliament.
The article then moves to focus more specically on the election of women to the
Indonesian parliament. The article analyses positive developments that have occurred
in the past decade to facilitate women’s entry to parliamentary politics. Although
numerous positive developments have indeed taken place, the article argues that
women are still hindered in their attempts to get elected to parliament. Drawing on in-
depth interviews, literature reviews, statistical analysis, and long-term ethnographic
research, the authors identify some of the factors limiting women’s election, including
the restrictive limited model of womanhood advocated in Indonesia, declining
cronyism, the ineffectiveness of the thirty per cent quota, the reputation politics has of
being dirty, the inuence of religion, and the large sums of money candidates need to
support their election campaigns.
Introduction
In 1945, Indonesian women were granted the right to vote and stand
for election. Indonesian women, however, were already active in the
world of politics. As early as 1820 it was noted by a foreign visitor that
1 Wewould like to thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers for theirhelpful comments We would like to thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments
and support. Sharyn Davies would like to thank the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand,
the Asian Studies Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, the Asia New Zealand
Foundation and Auckland University of Technology. Thank you also to the International
social science journal and Victoria University of Wellington’s Asian Studies Institute for
allowing the authors to build on previously published material (Davies, 2005; 2008).
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Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities
Vol. 3, 2010, pp. 81-97
URL: http://www.kitlv-journals.nl/index.php/jissh/index
URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-100900
Copyright: content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
ISSN: 1979-8431

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women in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi were ‘consulted
by the men on all public affairs, and frequently raised to the throne, and
that too when the monarchy is elective’. The visitor, John Crawfurd,
continued, ‘At public festivals, women appear among the men; and
those invested with authority sit in their councils when affairs of state
are discussed, possessing, it is often alleged, even more than their due
share in the deliberations’ (1820: 164). Moreover, during Indonesia’s
struggle for independence from the Netherlands in the 1930s and 1940s,
women were exhorted to be politically active (Bessell, 2004).
For women in the Makassar area of South Sulawesi, authority in
the political arena is reected in the institution of female ada’ (ada’
bainé), where women act as partners to male members in the traditional
governmental council (Röttger-Rössler, 2000). Makassar women may
also play the role of mediator between general society and local leaders.
Another factor, which might suggest the signicance of Makassar
women’s role in the political arena, is that a husband might obtain a
high-standing social position, such as a customary leader, based on the
status of his wife (Röttger-Rössler, 2000).
In the spiritual domain Makassar women are also able to exert some
political authority. For instance, safeguarding the sacred heirlooms
(kalompoang), the possession of which is an important symbol of
sociopolitical authority, is deemed to be one of the highest priorities in
Makassar society. Those individuals considered best able to protect the
heirlooms in some parts of South Sulawesi are women (Röttger-Rössler,
2000). This position of guardian is seen by many as the highest rank
within the traditional governmental structure (Röttger-Rössler, 2000).
In contrast, men are often excluded from all kalompoang rituals relating
to individual belief and familial matters. Such is women’s authority
within the household and concerning familial affairs in Makassar,
South Sulawesi, that Röttger-Rössler (2000) concludes women play
signicant roles alongside men in many political matters.
In Java, individual power is often contextualised in terms of being self-
controlled, calm, reserved, and passive (Anderson, 1972). As such, the
greater the degree of an individual’s power, the less actively such power
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needs to be articulated. For Handayani and Novianto (2004: 182),
these former qualities are assigned more readily to femininity than to
masculinity. According to Handayani and Novianto (2004), women
exercise political power primarily in the private arena and indeed
they suggest that power in Java is characterised within the domestic,
informal and personal sphere, where women are active contributors.
These authors also argue that men’s overt and public power is strongly
inuenced by women’s covert, private power. Indeed there is a Javanese
saying that apiking suami gumantung istri, apiking anak gumantung
ibu, which means that husbands and children are the representatives
of the wishes of wives and mothers (Handayani and Novianto, 2004:
145, 207–208; cf. Sanday, 1981: 41). Indonesian women also actively
participate in politics by undertaking such activities as voting, attending
political rallies, fundraising, and lobbying parties and parliament such
as during recent debates about the passing of the pornography bill.
Women’s political engagement in parts of Indonesia, then, is certainly
not a new phenomenon. Considering this relatively long history of
political involvement, it may come as a surprise that women’s rates of
participation in contemporary Indonesian parliamentary politics remains
low, despite numerous pro-women policies that have been implemented
in the past fteen years.
In this article we explore the contradictions apparent in women’s current
parliamentary participation in Indonesia. On the one hand, Indonesian
women have made incredible gains in the past fteen years in terms of
their involvement in politics. Perhaps most signicant, at least in terms
of public recognition of the importance of women in politics, was the
passing in 2003 of a quota system recommending that at least thirty per
cent of candidates for lower house seats in Indonesia be women. And
let us not forget that a woman became president of the world’s fourth
most populous nation. On the other hand, though, the number of women
in lower house seats in Indonesia continues to be low. Here we want to
explore some of the reasons why parliamentary participation by women
remains low despite some signicant advances.
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We have limited discussion in this article to the years 1995 to 2010. One
reason for starting in 1995 is that in that year the United Nations’ Fourth
World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. At this conference
all 189 member states agreed to what is now called the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA). The BDPA committed
all of the signatories, including Indonesia, to ensure that women had
equal access to, and full participation in, power structures and decision
making. Davies has written elsewhere specically about the tenets of
the BDPA (Davies, 2005); here we want to look more generally at how
the sentiments of the BDPA and other ongoing social developments
have sparked interest in Indonesian women’s political participation in
general and parliamentary participation specically. The article draws
on long-term observation of the Indonesian political system, in-depth
interviews, and statistical and literature reviews.
Optimistic Years for Indonesian Women
The United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women and the
signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA)
was a boon for Indonesian women in many respects. In the years that
followed the signing of the BDPA many pro-women policies were signed
and afrmative activities initiated. Numerous women’s groups in the
archipelago used tenets of the BDPA as a rallying point for motivating
other women to participate in civil society. In many respects the BDPA
could not have come at a better time and although it may not be directly
cited in many of the developments of the past fteen years, it was in the
background of much pro-women sentiment in Indonesia. Moreover, the
BDPA provided impetus in the mid-1990s for many women to protest
against the increasingly untenable policies of then President Soeharto.
After three decades as president of the Republic of Indonesia, Soeharto’s
power began to wane in 1995. He was desperate to consolidate his rule
and tried all sorts of tactics to achieve this. One tactic was to imprison
anyone who was critical of him or his government. Another he used
to maintain power was to eliminate freedom of the press. The highly
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popular and critical news magazine, Tempo, was banned because it
was considered to be undermining the government and was therefore
deemed disruptive to Soeharto’s rule.
Rather than consolidate Soeharto’s power, many of these strong-arm
tactics had the reverse effect. People began taking to the streets to protest
against unsatisfactory conditions. A particular event that sparked public
protest was the 1997 general election where Soeharto’s puppet party,
Golkar, won 74 per cent of the vote. Civil unrest continued to grow
throughout 1997 until Soeharto was forced to resign as president in
May 1998.
The environment of open protest was supported in no small part by
women. Women from all sectors of society felt empowered to speak
out and demand particular rights. A newly emerging middle-class
cohort of women was graduating from university and these women
were equipped with the skills and nous for protest. Many women were
tired of the image of conservatism that had dominated throughout
Soeharto’s rule and some even set up women’s organisations and linked
to international networks. Blackburn (2001) notes that rally cries were
heard throughout Indonesia and women chanted key words such as
‘participation’, ‘emancipation’ and ‘empowerment’.2
Women’s public protests were fuelled by the crashing Indonesian
economy in 1997. Daily necessities, such as rice and oil, became
comparatively expensive. These price rises caused women to start
2 Even members of Even members of Dharma Wanita began protesting. Dharma Wanita is an Indonesian
organisation for the wives of civil servants. Indeed, all such wives are obliged to join
this organisation. The hierarchy of Dharma Wanita follows that of the civil service. For
instance, the wife of a senior ranking civil servant takes a corresponding role within
Dharma Wanita. Members of Dharma Wanita are often considered to strategically enjoy
their shadow authority and competition amongst members is erce. For instance, women
compete amongst each other to advance the position of their respective husbands because
the spouse’s status reects on a woman’s own character. In the late 990s, women in Dharma
Wanita began criticising the organisation for being out of touch with issues women faced
in the real world. For instance, one senior ranking member, Dr Atiek Wardiman, publicly
chastised the organisation for being too preoccupied with social events and ignoring more
important matters, such as women’s right to education. However, the view of many people
in Indonesia is that members of Dharma Wanita continue to put their individual needs
before the needs of women in general.
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protesting because they felt they were unable to feed their families
adequately. During Soeharto’s rule, the state disseminated very clear
models of manhood and womanhood. These models dened women as
wives and mothers. Any failure of a woman to feed her family meant
that she was an inadequate wife and mother. A consequence of this
strong model of womanhood was that when rice prices rose and women
found it increasingly difcult to feed their families, they felt justied in
protesting. The Indonesian model of womanhood was created to ensure
that women did not disrupt national stability, yet ironically this model
became the justication for protest (McCormick, 2003).
Popular culture in Indonesia from the late 1990s onwards began to show
new images of women. Women were portrayed as assertive, independent
and powerful. Examples of these new images are found in lms such as
Eliana, Eliana and Ada Apa Dengan Cinta [What’s Up with Love] and
in Ayu Utami’s novel, Saman (998). Even women’s magazines, such
as Jurnal Perempuan [Women’s Journal], showed politically active
women (cf. Armando, 2000; Hatley, 2007; Suryakusuma, 2000). Not
only were women playing central roles in ction, but in real life women
were also assuming key public posts.
In 2001, a woman became president of Indonesia. Megawati
Soekarnoputri’s victory cannot be separated from the legacy of her
father (former President Soekarno) though and, moreover, Megawati
was consistently painted as being merely a puppet of her husband, Tauk
Kiemas. Yet despite the controversy regarding a woman becoming
president, and the fact that she showed little concern for women’s issues,
Megawati’s candidature gave women throughout the nation a particular
role model that they could aspire to.3
Another boon for women came when the current president of Indonesia,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, came to power in 2004 and appointed
four women to key cabinet posts. We might have expected a woman to
assume the position of State Minister for the Empowerment of Women,
as Dr Meutia Hatta Swasono did. We might also have expected that a
3 See Machali (2001) for a discussion on women, Islam and Javanese culture in relation to See Machali (2001) for a discussion on women, Islam and Javanese culture in relation to
Megawati Soekarnoputri’s presidency.
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woman might become the Minister of Health, as Dr Siti Fadillah Supari
did. What took many people by surprise, though, was that women
were appointed to two posts not traditionally considered appropriate
for women. Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati became the Minister of National
Development Planning and Dr Marie Elka Pangestu became the Trade
Minister.
During the 2009 national election campaign the role of women was again
debated. Indeed, the vice-chairman of the Democratic Party, Achmad
Mubarok, seemed to suggest that women should not be appointed to
strategic positions in the government because they were not capable and
because women should focus on their family responsibilities. Mubarok
accepted that women could assume the portfolios of Social Affairs and
Women’s Empowerment, but he denied their ability to lead any other
ministry (Idrus, 2009). Despite such opposition, after Yudhoyono was re-
elected president in 2009, he again appointed women to key ministerial
posts. Dr Indrawati took the nance portfolio and Dr Pangestu the
position of Minister of Trade. Dr Endang Sedyaningsih was appointed
Minister of Health, Dr Armida Alisjahbana became Minister of National
Development Planning, and Linda Agum Gumelar became the Minister
of Women’s Empowerment (Idrus, 2009). Sadly for Indonesia though,
Dr Indrawati recently resigned as Finance Minister and on the rst of
June
2010 took up a position
as managing director of the World Bank.
In addition to these developments there was, during the period
1995–2010, a number of positive policies aimed at women. In 1995,
Soeharto’s government designed a National Action Plan. This plan
outlined concrete steps to improve the role and status of women in
Indonesia and had ve main goals and thirty activities. These goals and
activities have been outlined elsewhere (Davies, 2005) so here we shall
just summarise them. First, the plan was to ensure that all organisations,
private and public, would give more opportunities to women. The plan
established a mentoring system, whereby women who had already
achieved positions of respect in institutions, such as universities and
government departments, would mentor women in the lower ranks.
The plan also was to give women access to education, leadership, and
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management programs. Finally, the plan envisaged developing good
coordination between all sorts of groups, such as between government,
universities and the mass media. It was hoped that such developments
and collaboration would, inter alia, foster women’s engagement in
parliamentary politics.
Not only were these initiatives written into policy but they were funded.
One form of funding came through Presidential Instruction 5 of 1995.
Funding made available by the government enabled the construction of
new ofces concerned with women’s affairs. For instance, the Ofce of
the Advancement of Women was inaugurated and numerous women’s
studies centres were opened at universities throughout the country. These
initiatives aimed in part at helping women get elected to parliament by
providing them with such resources as political knowledge.4
A particularly important development for women trying to get elected
to parliament was the implementation of the thirty per cent quota. In
2003, an election bill (Article 65 (1) UU 12 of 2003) was passed by the
Indonesian government recommending that a minimum of thirty per cent
of candidates for Assembly seats be women. This bill publicly afrmed
the value of women in parliament. The next year there was a national
election and women’s groups held their breath to see if more women
would be elected to parliament. These groups were to be disappointed,
though, as this article will show.
4 A further political initiative was also developed to help women achieve equality with men A further political initiative was also developed to help women achieve equality with men
not just in politics but in wider society. On 19 December 2000, Presidential Instruction 9
was issued, which moved gender mainstreaming into national development programs and
policies for gender equity in development. This initiative became one of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) 2015. In 2002, under Megawati’s presidency, the State Minister
for the Empowerment of Women issued Manual for Implementation Guidelines on Gender
Mainstreaming in National Development. This manual was to facilitate gender equity.
One way in which this was to be achieved was through integrating women’s and men’s
experiences and by systematically evaluating governmental policies. The development of
the manual was followed by a Minister of Internal Affairs Decision (Kepmendagri) 132
of 2003 on General Implementation Guidelines on Gender Mainstreaming at the Regional
Level, which was mandated a ve per cent allocation of national and regional budgets
(Article 7:1). This Kepmendagri has been controversial, though, because the funding
allocation is directed solely to the Women’s Empowerment Unit. A revised version of
Kepmendagri (15 of 2008), again focusing on gender mainstreaming, is far from being
institutionalised, though, even ten years after the development of Presidential Instruction 9
of 2000.
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In another promising move towards parliamentary equity, the election
bill of 2003 was substituted in 2008 by UU 10 of 2008. This later
regulation not only recommends that a minimum of thirty per cent of
candidates for Assembly seats be women, but requests that each party
provide a document from its National Party Board proving this to be
so (Article 5, d). Parties who do not full this requirement are asked
by the General Election Commission to revise their candidate lists;
however there are no formal sanctions for non-compliance.
The efforts of women on the ground to increase their participation in
politics, particularly parliamentary politics, can also not be ignored.
Indeed, with the assistance of foreign donor agents, numerous training
programs have been implemented, which have enabled women to build
their capacity to engage in formal political structures. For instance,
during November and December 2008, the Asia Foundation worked
in collaboration with the University of Indonesia’s Center for Political
Studies, the Indonesian Women’s Genuine Partnership (MISPI) in
Aceh, the University of Airlangga’s Human Rights Center, and with
the Makassar Institute of Public Policy Studies (LSKP) to provide
candidates from Jakarta, Aceh, East Java and South Sulawesi with a
series of electoral training programs. These training programs focused
on such matters as the Indonesian electoral system and campaign
strategies.
The Challenges for Women and Political Participation
As can be seen, there is a great deal to feel positive about in terms
of women’s achievements in the political eld in Indonesia over the
past fteen years: a woman became president; numerous pro-women
policies and initiatives were implemented; a thirty per cent quota system
was ratied; and popular media began to show women as assertive and
independent individuals. Unfortunately, these developments have failed
to result in substantial increases in the number of women in parliament.
The number of women in lower houses of parliament or in unicameral
legislatures in Indonesia dropped between 1997 and 2004 from 11.4 per
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cent to .3 per cent. By 2009, however, this gure had risen to 8.0 per
cent (see Table 1).
In the context of South Sulawesi, only seven of fty seats (4 per cent)
were won by women in the 2009 election for the metropolitan House
of Representatives (DPRD Makassar). These seven included two seats
for the Hanura Party and one each for the following parties: Golkar,
PPP, PAN, PRN and PBN. At the provincial elections (DPRD South
Sulawesi), only eleven out of seventy-ve seats (4.67 per cent) were
won by women. So why has the number of women in lower or single
house seats throughout Indonesia remained relatively low over the past
fteen years?
Table1
Lower or Single House Seats Occupied by Women as a Percentage of Total
(Indonesia: 1997, 1999, 2004, 2009)
1997 1999 2004 2009
11.4 % 8.0% 11.3% 18.0%
Source: Women in National Parliaments, available at:
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif251297.htm (for 1997)
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif151200.htm (for 1999)
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif310105.htm (for 2004)
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm (for 2009)
There are numerous reasons why Indonesian women nd it difcult to
get elected to parliament. Below, we investigate six of these reasons,
although we acknowledge that further work is needed to identify the
full range of obstacles hindering women’s engagement in Indonesian
parliamentary politics. The reasons identied below are not necessarily
addressed in order of signicance because these factors come together in
different and dynamic ways to hinder individual women’s participation
in parliamentary politics. Indeed, obstacles to political participation
differ depending on the status and position of the woman. For instance,
a wealthy woman might be able to access the nancial resources needed
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to promote herself politically, but she could nd that the political
connections she once relied on to get elected have now become a liability,
with the public potentially seeing her as someone who engages in KKN
(korupsi, kolusi, nepotisme). Moreover, the various political parties
differ in their attitudes and policies towards supporting the inclusion of
women, a topic that requires further investigation.
A primary contributing factor in limiting the number of women in
parliament is the strictness of national Indonesian ideals of womanhood;
models of womanhood have been described in some detail elsewhere
(Davies, 2006). In reference to political participation, before Indonesian
women can legitimately enter politics they should marry heterosexually
and bear children. All the women appointed to ministerial posts in the
cabinet of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have met these requirements.
Women must also assure the citizenry that their domestic duties are
taken care of and that they are able to work in the public sector in
addition to their roles within the home. Indeed, a woman’s commitment
to her family is continually questioned. If familial problems do occur,
the wife is frequently held solely responsible. Moreover, if a wife is
more successful in her career than her husband, she is generally seen
as a threat to the husband’s position as head of the household. We were
recently told by one well-educated and politically active woman, Ibu
Dian, that people often assume that women who enter politics will
neglect their husbands and their children. But this is denitely not the
case, Ibu Dian afrmed. She continued by saying that in fact women
are perfectly capable of fullling all of their domestic duties and still
holding down political jobs. Although Ibu Dian is supportive of women
engaging in parliamentary politics, she does not question the belief that
women must concomitantly continue with their domestic duties. In
order to successfully engage in the public arena, it seems women must
be superwomen.
The model of womanhood that Indonesian women should emulate is
certainly not unique. Another research project explores ways in which
Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, was subjected
to inquiries about her femininity and her home life during election
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campaigns. The New Zealand public even demanded assurances that
her heterosexual marriage was not just a charade (Devere and Davies,
2006). In Indonesia, however, the model of womanhood is even stricter
and it is unlikely that an unmarried woman or a woman without children
would be successful in Indonesian politics.
There are certainly advantages for women in employing the Indonesian
model of womanhood; Indonesian women have strategically used
stereotypical models to their political advantage. For instance, women
have asserted that issues such as reproductive health, family welfare,
and children’s education can only be understood by women. As such,
Indonesian women have demanded that more women be included in
parliament (cf. Reerink, 2004; Thompson, 2003). However, although
arguments based on women’s roles as wives and mothers are incredibly
empowering, they have their limits. The image of women as domestically
focused only stereotypes them to the point that their political careers
become something that they can only do once their family is cared for.
Moreover, women politicians often nd it hard to be taken seriously
because the public frequently assumes that politics is just something
they do on the side, after they have attended to the welfare of their
family.
A second reason why women nd it hard to get into parliamentary politics
in Indonesia, and why the number of women in lower house parliamentary
seats in unicameral legislatures has not grown signicantly in the past
fteen years, is possibly because of the declining level of nepotism
that has resulted from the democratisation of the political system.
The nepotism that arguably helped Megawati (Soekarno’s daughter;
Soekarno was Indonesia’s rst president), Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana
(Soeharto’s daughter), and Meutia Hatta Swasono (Muhammad Hatta’s
daughter; Hatta was Indonesia’s rst vice-president) get into power
is no longer reliable. Moreover, the Indonesian public has become
increasingly sceptical of perceived political nepotism.
Third, although more women may be standing for elections now, in
accordance with the thirty per cent quota, women are being nominated
for electorates where they are unlikely to win. As Mulia and Anik
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(2005: 120) argue, the quota system has been implemented only half-
heartedly—no sanctions are applied to political parties that do not ll
the stipulated quota. Indeed, the motivation of legislators to pass the
bill has often been seen in the media as coming not from a concern
to ensure gender equality, but rather from pressure from a few key
women activists who could have negatively inuenced the careers of
the legislators. Moreover, where women do get elected they mostly
are given peripheral positions with little power or input to decision
making.
Around election times, many of the media scrutinise parties who fail
to meet the minimum thirty per cent quota for women legislative
candidates. In response to such accusations of failing to meet the quota,
political parties posit numerous reasons why they do not meet the quota.
Some parties assert that there is a lack of good women candidates with
political competence or that women are reluctant to be nominated. It
has also been suggested by a number of media outlets that parties are
expecting the quota requirements to be phased out. But because of
media exposure, parties often quickly recruit women solely for the sake
of appearing to meet the quota. As such, an increase has taken place
in the number of women nominated to contest elections but this does
not translate into the large numbers of women entering parliament. It
seems that the introduction of a quota system, without strong political
commitment to reforming the larger electoral system, will not bring
about signicant positive political change that will allow women to
enter parliament on their merits.
Parties often claim that there is a lack of suitable women candidates, but
this is often not the case. Indeed, in some instances a political party may
support a less suitable man candidate over a more qualied woman, as
the following case reveals. One of Golkar’s most established politicians
was a woman, Andi Sugiarti Mangun Karim, who had been with this
political party for over twenty years and was serving as the Head of
the House of Representatives (DPRD) in Bantaeng, South Sulawesi.
During an election in 2008, she stood against a male colleague named
Arfandi. Arfandi was also from Golkar and was at the time a member of
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the House of Representatives at the provincial level (DPRD Provinsi).
Arfandi and Karim both stood for nomination for the position of Regent
of Bantaeng (Pilkada Bantaeng). According to one survey conducted
by Golkar, Karim received 19 per cent of the nomination vote compared
with Arfandi’s 15 per cent. Yet Golkar did not support Karim, they
supported Arfandi. As a result, Karim sought electoral support from
other political parties to become vice-regent. She nevertheless lost the
election. Golkar then red Karim ostensibly because she had sought
non-Golkar assistance. Yet many men Golkar politicians had also used
other political parties for support and incurred no sanctions. For instance,
during an election for the governor of South Sulawesi in 2008, a Golkar
candidate, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, made use of other parties to increase
his prole. When Limpo won the election, Golkar acknowledged him as
an outstanding Golkar politician. Karim has now joined another party
(the Republican Party) and is a member of the House of Representatives
at the provincial level in South Sulawesi, but it would seem that the way
in which men and women political candidates are treated varies greatly
(Idrus, 2008a; 2008b).
A fourth reason why women nd it difcult to enter parliamentary
politics relates to the reputation that politics has in Indonesia, and indeed
elsewhere, of being rough (kasar) and dirty (kotor) and therefore not
a profession considered appropriate for women. Popular culture does
present images of women as assertive and independent but these images
continue to be exceptions and women receive mixed messages from the
media about what they should aspire to (Aripurnami, 2000).
A fth factor making it hard for Indonesian women to enter parliamentary
politics relates to religion. Although Islam has not emerged as the
barrier many people expected, there has nonetheless been debate about
whether it is acceptable for Muslim women to be involved in politics
(Platzdasch, 2000).
Finally, a sixth reason hindering women’s election in representational
politics relates to the large sums of money required to become a
parliamentary candidate.
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95
JISSH Volume three, 2010
The aim of this article is at giving a brief introduction to the issues
facing women in their attempts to engage in electoral politics and, as
such, further research and analysis needs to be undertaken of the factors
limiting women’s participation in parliamentary politics.5
It is hard to predict what the future holds for women’s political and,
more specically, parliamentary participation in Indonesia. There
are moves within Indonesia to grant particular provinces regional
autonomy. The effect such moves will have on women in politics is
unclear. Yuli Ismartono (personal communication, 2008) has suggested
that increasing regional autonomy will create a place for women in
parliamentary politics. Conversely, Professor Dewi Fortuna Anwar
(personal communication, 2008) fears that this system will localise
power and make it more difcult for women to rise through the political
ranks. Sharon Bessell (2004), in an excellent article covering the issues
concerning women in Indonesia’s parliaments, tends to reinforce
Professor Anwar’s view. If political parties are wise, they will realise
the benets of placing women in winnable seats and we will, it is to be
hoped, soon see more women in parliament. Being a wife and mother
are important roles, but women should also be supported to take on
other positions. Women constitute more than half of all eligible voters;
if they can nd the condence to support other women, Indonesia
will have a bright future. Indeed, the slowly increasing number of
women representatives in elected legislative institutions, nationally and
regionally, is an encouraging sign.
5 Indeed, there are numerous other factors contributing to women’s low rates of participation Indeed, there are numerous other factors contributing to women’s low rates of participation
in Indonesian parliamentary politics, and politics more generally. For instance, one further
reason relates to the fact that many of the pro-women policies implemented are limited to
introducing a gender mainstreaming strategy, popularly known in Indonesia as sosialisasi,
which does not signicantly help women participate in parliamentary politics. Gender
mainstreaming is generally understood as a program for women’s empowerment rather than
as an effective strategy for gender equity. Lack of political commitment by government
elites and the low enthusiasm of government ofcials to work towards the implementation
of gender mainstreaming are among many of the obstacles that make gender afrmative
strategies difcult to integrate with various programs and policies. An Indonesian popular
journal, Jurnal perempuan, has published special editions on gender mainstreaming (2006a)
and on gender budgeting (2006b), which not only detail activities related to implementing
this strategy, but also express the frustration of those who get involved in such activities and
see little result (see also Idrus, 2006; Idrus et al, 2006).
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96
ARTICLES
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