Gender issues buried by frivolity, exploitation
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor
The capability of local artists, who are running as legislative candidates, was questioned by the head of a women study institution at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) Ekowati Sri Wahyuni. She said they were being exploited for their popularity just to get votes for their political parties.
"I doubt if most of these (female) artists even have the capability to fight for women's rights. So far, I only see Nurul Arifin (a legislative candidate from Golkar) as a candidate who is capable enough. Perhaps it's because she also studies gender issues," Sri said on Friday.
Dozens of artists have joined parties prior to the legislative election campaign. TV actresses like Marissa Haque, Desy Ratnasari and Sophia Latjuba have joined forces with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Rieke Dyah Pitaloka has joined the National Awakening Party (PKB) and 2001 Miss Indonesia Angelina Sondakh has opted to work with the Democratic Party.
As a result, Ekowati asserted, the parties have put much less emphasis on their serious female candidates, who truly are qualified to become legislators, so the public does not get know what their platform is.
"I don't even know who all the female legislative candidates for Bogor are, and I imagine it is a similar case for the average citizen. This lack of information is a result of parties being too busy with frivolous things on their agenda," she said.
According to Ekowati, the suggested 30 percent quota for female candidates should have been able to increase the chances of many capable women to actively join politics. But she said it was unfortunate that many noted female activists and potential leaders possibly feared a societal backlash if they spoke up about gender issues.
She cited dangdut singer Inul Daratista, famous for her gyrating dance, as a female figure who has shown the toughness to fight for her rights despite blistering attacks by fellow artists, religious leaders and politicians.