Women's quota for show?<\/p>\n
Advocates of increasing political representation for women are
\nfacing their worst fears -- that women are becoming a political
\ncommodity just for parties to meet the requirements to contest
\nthe next elections.<\/p>\n
Political parties were earlier rushing to get their legislative
\ncandidates list in on time with the General Elections Commission
\n(KPU) -- who gave them extra time to \"fix\" their lists that
\nincluded scores of candidates with forged school and university
\ncertificates, and to add the number of women to their lists.<\/p>\n
In the short time available only a few among the 24 parties
\ncontesting the polls managed to come up with the minimum 30
\npercent of women required among their candidates, and one or two
\neven managed a little more. However closer scrutiny revealed that
\nfar fewer women were given top ranks on the lists -- the
\nunwritten guarantee that those with top numbers (nomor jadi)
\nwould be appointed by their parties to legislative seats if the
\ncandidates themselves failed to gain the required minimum of
\nvotes in their constituencies.<\/p>\n
Even women of Golkar, formerly the most powerful party,
\nrecently protested at the party's headquarters, feeling betrayed
\nby what they saw as the underlying reluctance of the male leaders
\nto nominate women.<\/p>\n
A telephone poll by Kompas daily published on Monday revealed
\nthat most respondents said they believed that the fielding of
\nwomen candidates was indeed mostly done to demonstrate that
\nparties had fulfilled their \"political promises\", rather than a
\nsign of political awareness among the women themselves.<\/p>\n
But the percentage of women respondents who believed so (49.3
\npercent) was lower than men (65.6 percent), indicating perhaps
\nthat women still have hope, and therefore trust, in the elections
\nthat many are skeptical of. Unfortunately the daily did not give
\nthe absolute figures of their respondents in Jakarta, Surabaya,
\nMedan, Padang, Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Manado, Makassar and
\nJayapura.<\/p>\n
And 44.9 percent of the women were sure that the fielding of
\nwomen candidates was an indication of women's political awareness
\ncompared to only 30.3 percent who thought so among men.<\/p>\n
Both men and women mostly said they were not sure that the
\nelections would result in 30 percent of women legislators at the
\nHouse of Representatives. But again, more men were distrustful
\nthan women, and more women, or 45.9 percent, were sure that the
\nelection results would lead to 30 percent women legislators.<\/p>\n
The scope of the poll might be small, but it indicates the
\ndistrust of people in politicians, however well-meaning they may
\nbe. Yet it also signals hope in women candidates, particularly
\namong women, because this segment of the population, estimated
\ncurrently at 56 percent, have a clear stake in the country's
\nfuture decision makers.<\/p>\n
The nation's homemakers, mothers, women workers and
\nprofessionals would gain if there were more legislators who were
\nbrought up to be more sensitive and caring; though women in power
\nmight be just as prone to abuse as men.<\/p>\n
The quota of 30 percent of parties' legislative candidates is
\nhowever not mandatory in the 1999 Elections Law, to the
\ndisappointment of activists who have been campaigning for the
\nissue since 2000; nevertheless the KPU had tried to make parties
\nlive up to the spirit of the times.<\/p>\n
Hence despite the reformasi spirit these days leading to the
\n\"fashionable\" acceptance of encouraging women to enter politics,
\nthe women candidates and their supporters can only maneuver as
\nbest as possible in the leeway available in the political system.<\/p>\n
Activists urge that the Elections Law be changed to make the
\nquota mandatory, saying it is the only way that women can catch
\nup in a male-dominated environment.<\/p>\n
This measure would then lead to a more conducive situation for
\nthe next elections after 2004.<\/p>\n
For today, it would be more realistic to say that efforts so
\nfar have succeeded in popularizing the need for more women in
\npolitics, not just in our corporate sector and non-governmental
\norganizations, where many women play a leading role.<\/p>\n
But for now, in the short time available ahead of the campaign
\nperiod in March, voter' education must be stepped up so that
\npeople can make informed choices from the best possible
\ncandidates available. As earlier simulations on the new system of
\nelections have revealed, choosing the desired party and
\ncandidates itself is difficult, let alone choosing parties and
\nwomen candidates who are deemed qualified.<\/p>\n
Women candidates must, with the help of organizations focusing
\non elections, educate themselves as best as possible in the ways
\nof politics and also in the issues that they can realistically
\n\"sell\" to potential voters.<\/p>\n
They may not have much support from our first female
\npresident, Megawati Soekarnoputri, as indicated by her signing of
\nthe Elections Law -- and even face skepticism from among women
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
But if the upcoming elections may end up in few surprises, as
\nmany observers say, then one of them would hopefully be the
\npleasant one of a larger, albeit slightly, representation of 56
\npercent of the country's population in our legislative bodies --
\nwhich have mostly managed to continue to disappoint the men and
\nwomen they claim to represent.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/womens-quota-for-show-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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