D

espite a law requiring 30 percent of the candidates nominated by political parties in the 2014 legislative elections to be women, the number who competed for seats in the Jakarta City Council for the 2014-2019 period failed the hit the mark.

According to the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD), out of 106 contested City Council seats, only 17 were claimed by female candidates; five fewer than the 23 seats won by women in the 2009 legislative election.

Of the 17 women councilors, 10 were from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), four from the Gerindra Party and three each from the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP).

Siti Zuhro, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that as a consequence of the limited representation of women on the council, women'€™s and children'€™s issues would not receive adequate attention over the next five years.

'€œLegislative elections will not bring major changes to women and children because fewer women won seats, both at the House of Representatives and at the provincial, regional and municipal legislative councils,'€ she said recently.

Siti said that the recent elections were less democratic, and that many conflicts between same-party candidates emerged due to the open-list proportional system that encouraged unhealthy levels of competition.

'€œThe system indirectly creates unhealthy competition, not only among competing political parties, but also among legislative candidates from the same party,'€ she said.

She also said that not all of the 10 political parties fulfilled the requirement that 30 percent of their total number of legislative nominees be women, and that many of the nominated female candidates were ill-prepared to win.

'€œMany female legislative candidates were recruited hastily by their parties just to meet the 30 percent quota,'€ she said.

Siti said the situation was made worse by the fact that female hopefuls were often uneducated about politics and forced to compete without the party'€™s full backing.

According to her, political parties should reform the candidate recruitment mechanism to achieve greater gender equality in the legislative body.

Siti said that because the number of women councilors was still small, it was important for them to work together, especially on women'€™s and children'€™s issues.

Siti also suggested that women councilors ought to establish strong links with grassroots women'€™s organizations in order to better respond to their political aspirations.

Cinta Mega, a PDI-P politician who was re-elected for the 2014-2019 period, said that because of the open-list proportional system, female legislative candidates could no longer depend on the party'€™s political engine to win seats in legislative bodies.

She said that politics was a harsh world, but that if female politicians were creative in devising new strategies, they could defeat male candidates.

'€œWe have to show them [male candidates] that we are powerful and have better political views,'€ she said.

Cinta said that a small but vocal number of female legislators who were unyielding in their defense of women'€™s issues could still have an impact.

'€œIt would be useless to have lots of women on City Council if they aren'€™t unified, and if they aren'€™t outspoken in voicing their views,'€ she said.

She added that female politicians should strengthen their bonds with constituents.

She admitted, however, that although she was female councilor, gender issues were not her only political concern.

Chairperson of the council'€™s Commission C '€” a body that holds regulatory oversight of finance, city-owned enterprises and taxes '€” Cinta said women'€™s issues were not independent concerns, but were woven into the whole of society, and could be worked into policy not ostensibly about women'€™s rights.

'€œWomen'€™s issues are found and related to almost all the other spheres, including the economy, politics, education and health,'€ she said. (alz)