And even though half of the population is female, less than 25 percent of the legislative seats are held by women. Two of the three 2024 presidential candidates were male Javanese Muslims, and all of them were born and raised in Java.

Male Javanese Muslims hold the power and there is no sign that the status quo, which has been the default since Indonesia’s independence in 1945, will change anytime soon.

This male-Javanese-Muslim default, which resembles that of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant in the United States, creates a bias in the way our leaders shape the direction of policy, write laws and regulations and implement programs. Although Indonesia has made some progress in promoting gender and ethnicity-based equality, the gains are limited because the lens our leaders use is one where they approach these social challenges in silos.

For example, even though the sexual violence law was a win for women of all ethnicities and religions, its passage was a long and hard process. This law includes key legal provisions for the protection and recovery of sexual violence victims.

It took the legislation 10 years to materialize, one issue being the conservative Islamist parties blocking the passage of the law.

In the case of revised Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, many argue that it was pushed rather unilaterally and without enough consultation with Papuans. This new law relates to the affirmative action of indigenous Papuan and West Papuan people in political and economic affairs.