“I found many unresolved grassroots cases in health care, social welfare and education. I want to help develop good social welfare and equality by issuing and enforcing pro-women policies,” Yetie told The Jakarta Post recently.

Yetie, who is an aerobics instructor, has been working with the Indonesian Women’s Coalition (KPI) social organization in Central Bengkulu since 2016. She likes going door to door in Pondok Kelapa district to learn about grassroots issues.

“Last year, we met a woman who lived in poverty and had untreated Stage 4 breast cancer. She did not have any legal forms of identification, and did not know how to deal with the bureaucracy to obtain free medication,” she said.

With the support of the KPI, Yetie helped the woman complete the paperwork and raised funds to help her. She also gathered the woman’s neighbors together to help her with her daily needs.

“Sadly, the woman died even after receiving treatment,” she said. “However, this case proved that women’s organizations can be beneficial.”

Yetie said it would be difficult for her to run in the legislative election or garner political support if she was not an active member of the KPI.

The province needed women’s rights activists in its regional legislature, but their candidacy would almost certainly fail without the endorsement of male politicians, said Titiek Kartika, a researcher and women’s rights activist in Bengkulu.

“Campaigning is nothing when compared to building relationships with important people. People often vote for those who have ties with important figures, regardless of their qualifications or campaign promises. People also tend to vote for the candidates their community leaders recommend,” Titiek told the Post recently at Bengkulu Muhammadiyah University, during an event to mark International Women’s Day.

Titiek said that political parties had nominated candidates to meet the 30 percent quota for women’s representation in both national and regional governments, as stipulated in Law No. 8/2012 on legislative elections.

However, political parties often nominated female candidates without considering their skills or qualifications.

“Oftentimes, female candidates are the relatives of male politicians, like wives, nieces and daughters. They also pick their female candidates from the party’s administration, such as a secretary or treasurer,” said Titiek.

“That way, if the female candidates are elected and take a seat in the legislature, instead of fighting for women’s rights, they would be a mere extension of the interests of the party, which is still dominated by men,” she said.

With its high number of cases of violence against women and children, Bengkulu needed better female legislators and better campaigns on women’s rights, she added.

The 2018 annual report of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), issued on Jan. 31, recorded 134 reported cases of violence against women in the province. Of these, the local Cahaya Perempuan Women’s Crisis Center (WCC) managed 70 cases, the majority of which consisted of spousal abuse, intrafamilial sexual abuse (incest and rape) and extrafamilial partner violence. The majority of the offenders were husbands, fathers and boyfriends.

Cahaya Perempuan WCC director Artety Sumeri said that the conservative Bengkulu culture encouraged people to marry young, but denied young people access to sex education.

“With 1.9 million citizens, Bengkulu is in the top 10 provinces that have the greatest number of cases of violence against women,” said Artety.

“Most women and girls, especially in rural villages, do not yet understand that women’s rights issues can be solved through politics,” she said.

Artety said it was important to encourage political awareness and understanding of women’s empowerment in rural areas and among urban poor communities.

“[Cahaya Perempuan] works to build awareness in [women’s] sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as political rights, so that women will participate actively in their subdistricts and villages,” she said.

Artety said that Cahaya Perempuan was currently cultivating at least 30 female grassroots leaders under its intensive political education program.

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