Vanita Naraya: Women Must Be Involved in Policymaking

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Vanita Naraya organisation views the transformation of policies that provide real political access for women to participate equally in national security decision-making structures as important.

“The challenges ahead are no longer merely about cultural involvement, but about policy transformation that provides real political access for women to participate equally in national security decision-making structures,” said Vanita Naraya researcher, Kunto Adi Wibowo, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

This statement is based on the results of a survey conducted by Vanita Naraya regarding the shift in public perceptions of women’s roles in social conflicts, natural disasters, and peacekeeping operations.

The survey results show uncertainty in women’s participation in the Indonesian security sector.

“However, on the other hand, the legitimacy of women’s strategic leadership in social conflicts is still very low, where the public tends to limit them to functional roles such as educators and activists, rather than as social leaders and negotiators,” said Kunto Adi Wibowo.

Meanwhile, in the context of security and prevention, there has been a significant paradigm shift from women as objects to active subjects.

Data shows public rejection of the narrative of women as victims, and instead places them as the forefront, such as early warning systems through educational roles to counter digital conflicts and as human rights defenders in high-conflict areas.

Finally, the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in Indonesia still leaves structural gaps in the recovery and conflict resolution phases.

Although women are widely recognised as key actors in rebuilding peace after conflict, they are still marginalised from positions as official negotiators at the negotiating table.

This national survey was conducted by the Vanita Naraya team from 10 to 21 November 2025 in 38 provinces, involving 811 respondents.