It is an engagement and agenda-setting meeting between the three female members and other gender-sensitive male members of the Imo State House of Assembly (IMHA) and representatives of the women of Imo State to chart a course for the effective mainstreaming of gender into all the programmes and activities of the IMHA.

The meeting is aimed at taking advantage of the new atmosphere of legitimacy and freedom thrown up in Imo State in the wake of the recent gubernatorial elections, to bring the issue of women and children in the state into greater visibility at the legislative and policy levels. It is important to note that women played major roles in the political struggle that brought Imo state to where it is at the moment. It is therefore important that this momentum and renewed consciousness is sustained to enable women to remain a major part of the emerging effort to entrench the democratic gains and expand the frontiers of democracy in Imo State and the entire South East Nigeria.

It is therefore the thinking of the coordinating organization, Development Dynamics, Nigeria (DD) that the engagement and agenda setting meeting is strategic and will be a good step in the effort to make women active players in the emerging process in the state. This initial meeting is intended to be followed by quarterly review meetings, as may be agreed to by all stakeholders at the initial meeting. The review meetings will receive updates, monitor progress and plan future activities.

We are depending solely on the support of partners for the hosting of the meeting.

The three female members of the IMHA have declared their full commitment to the realization of the Imo State Gender Agenda Process.

DD is therefore requesting to partner with you in the organization of this all important meeting. For further information you can contact Development Dynamics at; Phone: +2348035927419, Email: devdynamics@yahoo.com

iKNOW Politics:  Aside from serving as a member of parliament from your  party, you also have served as one of the leaders in your party. What challenges have you faced as a woman in these leadership positions? How did your background prepare you to meet these challenges?

Dewi Coryati: One of the qualities needed to be a party leader or to be a leader in any organizations is good leadership skill. But as a female leader, often you are perceived that you need to compete with male leaders with the same level of competencey, education, constituency outreach skill, etc. When the women leaders have better quality, the male leaders will acknowledge or respect those group of women leaders. This is the challenge that the women leaders in the party is faced in Indonesia.

Another specific challenges faced by women leaders are:

a. Stereotyping that women are only good for certain profession or position in the organization or party. As a woman, we need to be able to do what man is able to do. Women are not only suitable for positions related to women's empowerment issue.

b. Stereotyping that women can not work at "long or odd hours". Activities in the party usually need its members or leaders to work long hour or on holiday and sometimes at odd hours. This would mean that women leaders in the party need to be physically strong and healthy. Not to mention, getting the support from the family so that they will allow you to work at "the out of the ordinary" time.

c. A women political figure has to be able to potray herself that family is not obstacle in her political career. She has to be able to manage her family and household well, otherwise it can be a stumbling block for her political career. In Indonesia, sometimes family does not mean only your direct family, but also relatives or their big/extended family.

d. A women political leader should be able to adjust with the other party leaders which most of them are men in their way of socializing or mingle with the rest of the group, etc.

In resolving the above challenges, some of the possible solutions are as follows: participating in trainings held by NGO, civic societies, and political party to strengthen our own capacity, knowledge and skills; get a good formal education; have enough exercise to have a healthy and strong body; strengthening your moral pcinciples and religion by conducting any religious activities regularly; participate actively in political party's activities; conducting party's or organization's activities that can strenghen your position in your constituents; being able to have professional and competent expert staff; and make a synergie among all the activities in the party, organization and family.

I am grateful that I could finish my school with active participation in many organizations, even though I had to move from one ciity to another because of my parent's job. I am grateful also that my family has supported me to take this political career.

iKNOW Politics: You have been active in the party for so many years, what was your motivation in joining the party? Can you tell us how to manage your roles in party, parliament and personal life/family?

Dewi Coryati: By joining the party, I can actively participate in developing my country, Indonesia. Becoming a member of DPR RI/parliament will give me a bigger opportunity to materialize this goal. I can also fight for gender equality and women's rights more effectively in this political institutions. I could manage my roles in parliament, party and family because I have built a strong belief that everything I do is for Allah s.w.t. and for the good of the people in my country. Therefore, I will always be on the right track and have supports from my constituents.

iKNOW Politics: In your opinion, what should women candidates be aware of while running for a public office? What specifically would you recommend to women running with limited resources and in male-dominated societies?

Dewi Coryati: The women candidates need to be aware of that this position as public official would mean that we need to be smart in taking position for the issue that we care about. Because women who become the public officials will get more attention compared to male public officials. Women public officials will set as an example for every women who wants to be in the same position. Therefore, we need to increase our capacity and skills so that we can show them that we deserve that position.

For women running with limited resources and in male-dominated societies, I would recommend to always increase their capacity and skills by participating in formal or informal trainings, conducted by party or other related organizations. They also need to have high self-confidence that they are involved in politics for something important and big for the future of the country.

iKNOW Politics: You have been very active as a trainer in your party. What challenges do you face in getting this position in your party? Are there lessons learned you would like to share with other women leaders?

Dewi Coryati: I can achieve my current position because I have been very active in my party as national instructor or trainer. As an active one, I can prove and show to the party, the level of my capacity and my resources. With my knowledge and skills, I have been contributing to the party by developing our own party member's capacity in politics. When you work for a political party, you do not only have to work hard, but also need to work very smart and sincere. When we work for a party, we do not for our selves, but we work to help the party to grow and develop so that it can work better for the people.

iKNOW Politics: You are also active in KPP-RI, a Women Parliamentary Caucus of Indonesia in which all elected national women MPs from different parties join together working on the women issues in parliament. What would be your advice and suggestions to women in different country on how women from different parties can work together better for women issues?

Dewi Coryati: This organization or KPP-RI serves as a place where elected women member of parliament from different parties will fight for increasing women's participation and representation in politics in Indonesia. When they become the member of this caucus, they have to focus more on women's interest in politics rather than the party's interest. As a member of party, we have opportunity to do lobbying and negotiation with the other party or own party in reaching our goal or cause.

In fighting for women's interest, we should rely more to our selves since we know what is best for us. But we need to fight for it together, to make it more powerful and have more impact. KPP-RI has the objective to increase the gender equality, which is important for women in Indonesia. The party where the member of the caucus belongs to may have different opinion on the issue of gender equality, but those caucus members can fight and negotiate for this issue with their own party leaders on what is best for all women.

iKNOW Politics: Do you think that being a part of a global network, such as iKNOW Politics, can help women at all levels of politics and their supporters to succeed in their careers and to mobilize around issues of common concern?

Dewi Coryati: One of the objectives of the iKNOW Politics is to share experiences from different countries so that the women who learn from it can have new or improved ideas for their implementation in their own country. That new learning will probably be adjusted with the existing culture in their country. Those sharing experiences posted in iKNOW Politics will become a learning material for other women in politics, either to be implemented as it is or with adjustment with the existing culture in their own country.

iKNOW Politics: If you were to make one recommendation, what piece of advice would you share with iKNOW members, particularly women candidates and officials, as they progress in their political careers?

Dewi Coryati: Equitable role and participation of women in politcs are very important for building our democracy Women political activists know or understand best what their own needs and interests. To be able to fight for those needs and interests, to face the challenges and to eliminate all the obstacles, they need to increase their knowledge, skills and capacity, in which one of the way to do it is through learning from iKNOW Politics.