WUNRN
INDONESIA - FEMALE MP'S - MORE
ELECTED BUT CHALLENGES FOR POWER
September 15, 2010
Almost a year after her election, an Indonesian
parliamentarian says getting elected was easy compared to working in a
male-dominated legislature. After eight months she has yet to be heard in a
general floor debate.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (WOMENSENEWS)--When a record 101 women won seats in
Indonesia's House of Representatives in the 2009 election, development groups
said it was proof that the world's largest Muslim nation was ready to back
female politicians and a gender quota system that the country had recently
rejected wasn't in fact needed.
"The Indonesian experience shows that even when the
affirmative action quota is removed, once public attention and awareness is
generated around the issue, change in attitudes can successfully push the
agenda forward," the United Nations Development Program said in a February
2010 report on gender equality.
One year later, Hetifah Sjaifudian, a parliamentarian
from the Golkar party, the vehicle of former autocratic President Suharto, says
hold the applause. She says she is frustrated at being sidelined and sometimes
ridiculed to the point of ineffectiveness.
"It's like I'm playing a game of basketball. I'm no
longer an observer. I'm one of the players. But the other team members never
give me the ball," Sjaifudian said.
The soft-spoken politician says that after she was elected, the difficulties that lay ahead began to dawn on her in the form of navigating internal party power struggles without any formal solidarity bloc among female legislators.
Women are about 18 percent of Indonesia's House of
Representatives. The percentage is near the figure for the United States but
still below the critical mass figure of 30 percent, at which point analysts say
women can start exerting a group influence. Indonesia's Constitutional Court
scrapped a 2008 election law less than six months after it was passed that
would have ensured that one third of the elected candidates were women.
Commission Appointments Problematic
Commission appointments were one of the first practical
problems that female politicians faced. Each parliamentarian can choose two
priority commissions, but assignments are made by a small group of mostly male
party leaders.
As a result, Sjaifudian says most of the women sit on
"soft" commissions dealing with social issues, such as health care and
education, while more high-profile posts on defense and finance go to men.
Despite having a background in urban planning and a
doctorate in international studies, Sjaifudian was ignored by party leaders
when she requested to sit on the commission for infrastructure. Instead they
placed her on a commission that oversees education, sports, tourism, arts and
culture. When she questioned her placement, party leaders told Sjaifudian it
was because she was a doctor--one more positioned to deal with foreign affairs
than medicine, she argues.
Sjaifudian's obstacle then became gaining influence in
the commission, where she could guide decisions on budgets and legislation, as
well as general floor debates. All MPs have the opportunity to speak during
legislative debates, but again, final regulatory decisions remain in the hands
of party leaders, who Sjaifudian says seldom take women's concerns into
account.
Few women participate in larger plenary debates for fear
of being harassed or interrupted by men who make jokes or grab at their
microphones.
"They don't respect women who are active in the
plenary, especially if the comments they make are not brilliant," said
Sjaifudian. After almost a year she has yet to speak during a floor session.
Sjaifudian says she is frustrated with the power
struggles and kowtowing required of women, adding that she has thought about
resigning.
A quota system would give more women a chance to enter
politics, Sjaifudian says, but parties also need to improve recruitment so that
competent and credible women are in government.
Confidence and
Preparation Required
Second-term parliamentarian Eva Kusuma Sundari from
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), chaired by Indonesia's
first female president Megawati Sukarnoputri, seems a bit more hardened.
She says it takes confidence and preparation to be a
female politician.
"Once you get in parliament, you must have a vision,
a clear portfolio. If you don't have that you won't be able to maximize your
role here and you won't be able to bring any change," she said.
Sundari says the problem extends to anyone in the
parliament, but because women are under more scrutiny, they are only able to
command attention if they can show they're above average.
The structure of the political parties is what really
needs to change to ensure that the right women are recruited, not only those
from dynasties, but also those who are capable, says Sundari. "If you have
modern political parties that value you and measure you based on your
performance, then it makes it easier for us to work in the parliament,"
she said.
With a background in economics, Sundari is well qualified
to sit on the finance commission (though it took four years for party leaders
to award her a seat there). But after criticizing a senior legislator's
suggestions on a draft money-laundering bill she was booted off that commission
and reassigned to foreign affairs.
The defeat might have demoralized a junior politician,
but not Sundari, who says the big challenge for women is gaining leadership
status when many men underestimate them.
"In their subconscious, men still believe leadership
positions are meant for them," she said.
Sundari says she now knows she must stay alert so she can
maneuver draft laws in women's favor. She has fought to raise the number of
women on the police force above the current 2.5 percent level and pushed for
$30 million to be added to the national budget to curb human trafficking.
As long as her actions don't disturb the interests of
more senior politicians, it's not a problem, she says.