Few women listed for legislature

SEMARANG: Only one third of the political parties contesting the June polls recruit women to run for legislative seats, a researcher said on Friday.

Nunik Sriyuningsih, head of Diponegoro University's Center for Women's Studies, said she was afraid the low number of female legislative candidates was evidence of the parties' lack of awareness of women's interests.

"Women do not have enough bargaining power in their respective parties. This means they play a minor role in any decision-making process," Nunik said.

She urged female legislative candidates to take more initiatives to break the men dominated culture barriers. (har)