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leader of the Regional Representative Council and Sultana of Yogyakarta GK Ratu Hemas launched a book on female legislators on Wednesday with noted businesswoman Martha Tilaar.

Apart from recording last year’s gathering of the Caucus Network of Indonesian Women Parliamentarians, the book profiles 38 female members of the House of Representatives, the council and legislative councils.

“The consolidation of women parliamentarians at the [...] regional or provincial levels is necessary [...] to optimize the work of parliament [...] and to strengthen each other and increase women’s representation ahead of the 2014 elections,” Ratu Hemas wrote in Perempuan Parlemen dalam Cakrawala Politik Indonesia (Women Parliamentarians in Indonesian Politics).

Profiled individuals include Ni Made Sumiati of Bali’s legislative council, who is campaigning for the equal hereditary rights of Balinese Hindu women; Hermince I. Baransano of the West Papua council, who encouraged female stevedores at the Sorong port to organize and improve their wages, which were below the minimum level; and Messy Widiastuti, a Chinese Christian and former hospital director, who influenced the increase of women’s representation, from 15 percent in 2004 to 23 percent in the 2009 elections, as recorded in the book.

Separately, on Wednesday, researchers reported findings on women parliamentarians across Southeast Asia, in a seminar held by Partnership for Governance Reform and USAID (the US Agency for International Development).

Timor Leste had the highest portion of female parliamentarians with 38.46 percent, with Malaysia ranking the lowest with 10.86 percent among the countries studied. Indonesia ranked fourth with 18.57 percent.