Minister complains over quota

Minister complains over quota

JAKARTA: State Minister for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki
Sumaryoto expressed her disappointment with political parties for
failing to nominate enough women to the upper ranks of their
candidacy list.

Redjeki said this revealed that the country still had a lot to
do in resolving women's issues, particularly in politics, despite
the Elections Law quota that requires that women make up 30
percent of legislative candidates.

"We know there are far more illiterate and uneducated women
than men. Therefore, parties should disseminate information on
the electoral system to everyone to enable more women to sit on
legislative bodies," she said on Sunday during the national
congress of Women's Caucus for Indonesian Politics.

The General Elections Commission announced that most parties
had failed to meet the 30 percent quota for women.

Redjeki said that through her conversations with a number of
women legislative candidates, she had discovered that many were
unaware of gender equality and other issues facing Indonesian
women.

Separately, chairperson of the caucus' steering committee
Nurul Candrasari K. Masykuri said she expected women's
participation in politics would contribute to the reform movement
and the emergence of quality women leaders. -- Antara