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View all search resultsParties back court ruling on gender quota in House bodies
Some members of political parties in the House of Representatives welcomed the ruling and aimed to have more than 30 percent women in all legislature internal bodies, while others warned against ‘overrepresentation’ of female lawmakers.
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Female lawmakers of the House of Representatives pose for a photo before the start of the inauguration ceremony of President Prabowo Subianto on Oct. 20, 2024, at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
P
olitical parties have voiced support for the recent Constitutional Court ruling mandating the House of Representatives (DPR) to have at least 30 percent female representation in its internal bodies and pledged to implement the changes across the legislature.
On Oct. 30, the court ruled that 30 percent of members in all House bodies, from lawmaking commissions to ethics committees, must now be women, to boost greater female representation in the lawmaking process. The greater number will also enable women to collectively advocate for women’s rights across all areas of governance, according to the justices.
The court highlighted that female lawmakers have been unevenly distributed across the House’s bodies, with women mostly assigned to commissions handling social issues, child protection or women’s empowerment. Other areas deemed strategic, such as the economy, law, energy and defense, remain dominated by men.
The judicial review petition was filed by women’s advocacy and pro-democracy groups, including the Indonesian Women’s Coalition and the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), to challenge the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law for not including a gender quota, despite other prevailing laws that already regulate female representation in politics.
House Speaker Puan Maharani, the first woman to hold such a position since 2019, welcomed the court ruling, saying the legislature would study the ruling. House leadership will discuss with all legislative factions to determine how best to implement the ruling.
“We hope that we can go beyond 30 percent and, ideally, have even more women in leadership positions in the House’s internal bodies,” said Puan, politician of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in the House, on Tuesday.
