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.