Public participation up, women marginalized: Study

Public participation up, women marginalized: Study

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

While public participation in the fight for good governance has
increased in the current regional autonomy era, the role of women
in public affairs remains marginalized, research by The Asia
Foundation (TAF) says.

"During four years of decentralization, public participation
(in the system) has increased, although people have not yet
become involved in decision-making by regional administrations
and regional councils," TAF director for gender and women's
participation Hana A. Satriyo said on Wednesday.

However, there was still an absence of women players on the
political scene, Hana said.

The research conducted in 39 regencies by TAF in cooperation
with 28 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) did not explain why
women still played second-fiddle to men in politics amid mounting
demand for their participation.

The Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) has said earlier that
existing laws and the reluctance of political parties to recruit
women were to blame for their low representation in politics.

The recent legislative election resulted in only 11 percent of
the 550 seats in the House of Representatives being held by women
in spite of Law No. 12/2003 on the general election, which
recommends a 30 percent quota for women in legislative bodies.

Hana said research from the Indonesian Rapid Decentralization
Appraisal (IRDA) group, which has been conducted since 2001,
found regional legislatures (DPRDs) were not strong in their
legislative, budgetary and control functions because of a lack
commitment and capability.

"DPRDs devote too much attention to the allocation of regional
budgets," she said.

The disclosure came on the heels of the Padang District
Court's decision on Monday to sentence 43 members of the West
Sumatra Provincial Legislature to between two years and 27 months
in jail for corruption involving Rp 6.4 billion from the
province's 2002 budget.

The councillors are free pending their appeal.

Meanwhile, Early Rahmawati, the executive director of the
Surabaya-based Association for the Advancement of Small
Businesses (PUPUK), one of the NGOs involved in the research,
said regional administrations were providing better public
services than before.

"(They are creating) new initiatives and innovating in
accordance with their needs. The administrations have also
started to apply minimum standards for services they provide,"
Early said.

The research involved 3,837 respondents, more than 30 percent
of whom were women, using interviews and focus group discussions.
Of the respondents, 47 percent were civil servants and government
officials, while the remainder were private employees.

Other NGOs that took part in the research were the Center for
Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (CARDS) from Aceh, the
Social, Cultural and Economic Study Center from Padang and the
Cendrawasih University Research Institute from Papua.