Call for female governor

Call for female governor

JAKARTA (JP): The wife of Home Affairs Minister Moch. Yogie
S.M.'s has proposed that her husband appoint the first woman
governor in 1998, when many of the 27 governors' term of office
ends.

Emmy Yogie S.M., who is chief of the National Family Welfare
Movement, made the proposal in Ketangbaru, North Sulawesi on
Tuesday.

Emmy, who was in North Sulawesi with her husband, said that in
fact she was only conveying Minister of Women's Role Mien
Sugandhi's idea.

"Mrs. Mien Sugandhi has urged me to convey her message to the
Minister of Home Affairs," she said when addressing recipients of
government assistance for impoverished villages.

Mien has, on several occasions, proposed that Indonesian women
be given wider opportunities to play a larger role in politics.

Last month, Mien proposed that 40 percent of the 500 seats in
the House of Representatives be given to women, who comprise most
of the Indonesian voters. Currently, women legislators comprise
17 percent of the total House members.

Emmy said she was optimistic Indonesia will eventually have a
woman governor. She pointed out that the best graduate of the
public administration academy in Jatinangor, West Java, recently
was a woman.

"I think many women are able to carry out gubernatorial jobs
as long as they are given a chance," Emmy said, as quoted by
Antara. (pan)