Quota for women the first step

Indraswari ,  Bandung   |  Mon, 04/21/2008 10:36 AM  |  Opinion

Whether there should be a minimum quota of women in parliament is always a hotly-contested subject.

The government of Indonesia recently endorsed a law which states that all political parties should include a minimum of 30 percent of women among their candidates for members of parliament.

Why do we need the quota system? Although the population of men and women is relatively balanced, women are poorly represented in parliament and cabinet ministries. As a result, women's voices are rarely heard and their specific interests and needs are not met. We need the quota system as an affirmative action to boost women's numbers in policy-making bodies.

Worldwide, the 30 percent quota for women in parliament is viewed as a "critical mass", so that women's concerns, perspectives and experiences are more likely to be taken into account. According to the Center for Electoral Reform, 30 percent is the minimum amount required to enable a group to influence a decision-making process or develop alliances with other groups.

Some scholars argue that if the percentage of women is less than 30 percent, women will become no more than political decorations, or they will be just like men. In a democratic society it is also important to ensure the composition of members of parliament mirrors the society it represents. Therefore, it is important that women are represented directly and proportionately.

Although there is no 100 percent guarantee that female representatives will automatically voice women's interests, studies have shown that size does matter. In Sweden, where women occupy more than one third of seats in parliament and more than two thirds of cabinet ministry positions, issues such as child care and equal opportunity are considered important.

In Norway, where women also hold more than one third of seats in parliament, policies have been developed to offer more options for women to combine family responsibilities with the right to economic independence, such as more flexible working hours and extensions of parental leave.

Similar cases are found in South Africa, where women occupy significant numbers in national assembly and cabinet positions and in India, where in some districts one third of seats in the village council are reserved for women. In these places there is evidence that the so-called "politics of care" have been developed as the number of women increase in policy-making bodies.

While a quota is necessary, it is not the objective of women's struggle. In fact, quotas are only a tool to achieve gender equality. Both quantitative approaches such as the quota system and qualitative approaches such as education are both important to eliminate the gender gap.

It is a fact that women are still behind man in various aspects of life. Of the 1.3 billion poor people worldwide, 70 percent are women, and studies show women are the poorest in the poor.

In employment, women's wages worldwide are 75 percent of men's. The national picture is worse, with Indonesian women's wages 70 percent that of men's. Nationally, there are also problems of the increasing rate of domestic violence, the high maternal mortality rate of 307 deaths per 100,000 women, and some regional bylaws (perda) that discriminate against women.

It is a good thing that the new Law number 10/2008 has stipulated a 30 percent quota for women. However, it does not include sanctions if political parties do not meet the quota. It is therefore important to keep an eye on the law as well as continuing gender advocacy.

The writer is a lecturer in the Department of Public Administration at the School of Social and Political Sciences at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung.

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