Which political parties really fight for women?

Which political parties really fight for women?

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Every day electronic and print media have been
running commercials urging women to choose parties "which pay
attention to women".

The commercials have become so incessant that political
campaigners were "forced" to pledge that women's issues would be
given greater attention if their party won the elections.
However, these campaigners usually failed to elaborate on how
they would do this.

The leaders of political parties should not have let pass the
opportunity to attract women voters, who, according to surveys,
make up 57 percent of all voters.

However, most of the 48 political parties contesting the polls
have interpreted giving greater attention to women to mean merely
naming women as legislative candidates.

According to Tati Krisnawaty, executive director of Women's
Solidarity, a non-governmental organization, promoting women's
interests goes beyond female representation in legislative bodies
and the question of whether the president can be a woman.

"We feel very disappointed that in general there are no
political parties which have adequate awareness of women's
issues," Tati, one of dozens of activists in the Coalition of
Indonesian Women for Democracy and Justice, the organization
behind all those television and print ads, said.

The ads are an attempt to heighten the awareness of political
parties of the need to address women's issues, a particularly
difficult task given that most people are simply concerned about
whether the elections will be free and fair.

One such ad from the coalition portrays a woman and the text:
"There should no longer be physical abuse by your husband ... no
more harrasment from your employer ..."

Tati said protection against spousal abuse was one of many
issues considered by most to be a private, domestic matter, but
which political parties should address.

The problems will not go away even if democracy is achieved,
she said, disputing the claim made by a number of party leaders
and campaigners -- including Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Tati said political parties could be said to have an adequate
understanding of women's issues if they took up matters
considered to be private and dealt with them through public
policy.

Survey

Tati pointed to information gathered from political parties
about their programs for women. Women's Solidarity hosted a
series of shows from March 26 to June 30 involving
representatives of political parties in 10 large cities across
the country. During the shows, the representatives were asked
questions regarding their programs for women.

Parties participating in the shows were Golkar Party, the
United Development Party (PPP), the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the
Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI), the Democratic People's
Party (PRD), the Justice Party (PK), the Indonesian National
Party led by Supeni (PNI-Supeni), the Justice and Unity Party
(PKP), the Love the Nation Democratic Party, the National Labor
Party (PBN) and the Islamic Community Party (PUI).

One of the shows' organizers, Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, said only
three of the participating parties had promising programs for the
promotion of women's issues. These were the National Awakening
Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Democratic
People's Party (PRD).

The three parties platforms were clearly antidiscrimination
and reflected high gender awareness, she said.

However, Yuniyanti said that even the representatives of these
three parties failed to elaborate on their proposed programs.

Yuniyanti said most of the party platforms only contained
normative statements related to women. For example, that the
party would struggle to improve their condition.

"They always think that by saying they have named women
legislative candidates the problem is over. That's wrong,"
Yuniyanti said.

"The problem is that for women, democratization does not only
concern issues 'outside the house,'" Tati said, adding that
history has proven that women are always left behind after people
consider democratization has been achieved.

She cited, as an example, founding president Sukarno's
pledge, made during the struggle for independence, to accommodate
women's demands on education rights for women and eradicate
polygamy once independence was gained.

"But women were left behind after independence was achieved.
Sukarno never fulfilled his promises. He instead practiced
polygamy," she said.

If none of today's political parties fight for women's rights,
why is the coalition continuing to run the ads?

"It has at least awakened political parties to the need to
take women into consideration," Tati said.