Indonesia

The 30 percent quota requirement for women was legally reaffirmed by the Constitutional Court earlier this year.

This is certainly good news for women hoping to run for seats in the upcoming legislative election, as the ruling has reinforced the role of women in public policy making.

But, almost all political parties have complained about the difficulties in reaching the quota.

KUCHING:More needs to be done to promote gender equality to strengthen women’s representation and allow women equal access to decision-making positions at all levels of society. Highlighting this yesterday, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said women still face significant barriers to full and equal participation in the structures and institutions governing their lives.

With no strict provisions on female representation, legislation often overlooks the rights of women, according to expert witnesses at a judicial review of the 2012 Legislative Election Law at the Constitutional Court on Thursday. According to the National Commission on Violence against Women, there were 282 new bylaws enacted in 2012 that discriminate

Representatives of the government and the House of Representatives told a court hearing on Tuesday that the new legislative election law did not sideline women and was devised to empower them politically. They were responding to women activists’ claims that the law was discriminatory against women for not strictly requiring political parties to ensure

The Indonesian Women’s Caucus for Politics (KPPI) in Bali has started a movement for the greater representation of women in the legislature for the 2014 general elections. 

The caucus will push political parties for a minimum of 30 percent women representation in their organizational structures and in legislative candidacies in next year’s election. 

(We invite our users to read the full article published March 9 2013 by the Jakarta Post)

Constitutional law professor Yusril Ihza Mahendra has questioned the 30 percent quota for women in the Indonesian electoral system, doubting the legal foundation of the quota and expressing a desire for the Constitutional Court to repeal it.
Many women have defended the policy. The issue of quotas for women has provoked tough debate in Indonesia and in the world. Do we need such gender-biased policies?

(Read full article at: The Jakarata Post)