FEMINISM IN INDONESIAN GOVERNMENTS

Civics Lecturer: Mr. Laba

Group 5 : Andri Kristanto Muliana (07120080057) Luvita Peilouw (07120080086) Wulandari Rostyanti (07120080087) Isa Oscario (07120080091) Faculty of Medicine University of Pelita Harapan Karawaci 5 December 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1Background 1.2Problem of Research 1.3Objective and Goals 1.4Advantages 1.5Thinking Frame Work 1.6Premises / Scientific Statements 1.7Hypothesis

2. HYPOTHESIS JUSTIFICATION 2.1The meaning of each variable 2.2The dimension of each variable 2.3The characteristic / indicators of each variable 2.4Theories used to solve the problem of research 2.5Confronting the theories to that fact 2.6Hypothesis justified

3. CRITICAL NOTE 3.1Hypothesis Justification 3.2The limitation of the field research

4. CONCLUSION

4.1End notes 4.2Suggestion for next researches in the same field

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Gender is a social construction of differences in the roles and opportunities between men and women. Differences in the roles and opportunities occurs both within the family and community life, which is due to the imaging of women and men. Women often known as a gentle creature, beautiful, emotional, passive and motherhood, while men are considered as being a strong, aggressive, and powerful. Sometimes the imaging may lead to discrimination against women. Discrimination against women has occurred since centuries. It can be seen in ancient times, around the 18th century when women were not able to get higher education and the only man who can get higher education. The thought of women continues to grow as well as the development of gender issues that are well known for rampant gender equality in the world. Issues or ideas were brought by feminists in their understanding of feminism to demand equality of rights of women to men. In modern times there are many parties that treat or placing women simply as appendages, or can be referred to as second-class society. Indeed the initial statement above is a portrait that represents the reality of how women have oppressed, their rights restricted in any sphere. For Centuries, women living in the "atmosphere" as a servant in all aspects. As an examples, fulfilling obligations as a house-wife, caring for children, and serving her husband while the matters that are outside

the

household

is

taboo

territory.

Sees

social

inequality

and

discrimination against women, such as the example mentioned above, was born of a women's movement called feminism. The word feminism comes from the Latin 'Femina' which means 'Woman'. Feminism is a social philosophy that care about the rights and women's issues. Feminism is also a social theory or political movement formed and motivated from the experiences being experienced by women as well as formed upon the consciousness of the women that they are oppressed and exploited. This movement is criticize gender inequality and demanding women's rights, especially against patriarchal oppression and sexism. In short, feminism is a movement of emancipation of women and this movement is not something new in the world. Motion presented by Mary Wallstonecraff, a woman who has managed to break the world through his book The Rights of Woman in 1972 with a loud voice about the repair status of women and rejected the degree of difference between men and women. In this country, Indonesia, Women's emancipation movement has been underway since the era of Kartini. Kartini was a woman who struggles to eliminate the social structures that place women in the down position, and struggled to get their rights. Now in this era of globalization, globalization is opening wide access for women in various fields. 1.2 Problem of Research (identification and formulation) Based on the Gender Development Index (GDI) in 2009, Indonesia stands at number 90, means that the women of Indonesia are still not enjoying the same rights and standards as men. Women's Rights, the rights owned by a woman, both because he was a human being and as a woman, in a repertoire of human rights law can be found setting it in a variety of legal systems concerning human rights. But in this paper, our groups only discuss about womens participation in politics and government in Indonesia. Nowadays, In Indonesia, the feminist movement has penetrated into the political realm. The issue of gender equality began to spread in

Indonesia in the years around the 1990s. Gradually, the feminist movement demanded equality for women in Indonesia to get the rights in the social and cultural rights. But eventually, along with the passing of the reform (1998), the feminist movement began venturing into political power. Therefore, based on records of Indonesian history, women's role was minimal in the political arena. In fact, the number of women dominating men in Indonesia. Women in Indonesia are lagging behind in public life - the persistent gender gap in social sector indicators is a national challenge. Amongst the women working in the government, less than 1 percent is working in the upper echelons and their representation in the national legislature stands at only 18 percent. Indonesia is committed to the principle of gender equality through numerous national and international commitments. The Constitution of Indonesia (1945) guarantees equality between men and women and gender mainstreaming has been adopted as a policy to integrate gender perspectives into policy, planning and budgeting. Affirmative action has also been introduced in the Law 10/2008 on General Elections to ensure that at least 30 percent women are nominated on the list of parliamentary candidates to address the gender deficit in the politics of the country. So, the formulation of the problem that we adopted is : Is woman participation in government has reached 30 %? 1.3 Objectives and Goal Purpose of the research conducted by our group is to learn and understand about womens participation in Indonesia government. 1.4 Advantages Usability studies of our group are to carry out academic and social usefulness. Academic usefulness is to obtain data in preparing the Final Paper to meet one of the requirements for completing the general course of citizenship (civics). About social usefulness, our group hopes to provide information to the public about women's participation in

government, so that communities can enhance the support for women to participate in Indonesias government. 1.5 Thinking Frame Work Our group uses the following framework in this thesis. This is an outline picture of a group we do about the research on women's participation in government. The research activity is useful to provide information to the public, so that people can better support in women participation in government.

1.6 Premises/Scientific Statements In the context of Indonesia, setting the human rights of women can be found in the 1945 constitution and laws. Enforcement is carried out by state institutions and law enforcement. One major source is the law No. 7 year 1984 concerning the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The law expressly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In the 1945 constitution, The position of women in politics are set in Article 27 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution: "All citizens shall be equal before the law and government and shall uphold the law and the government without any exception." In Law No.10 Year 2008 regarding General Elections of Members of Parliament, House of Representatives, and the Regional. The position of women in politics provided for in Article 53; "list of prospective candidates referred to in Article 52 contains at least 30% (thirty percent) of women's representation." Moreover, it also provided for in Article 8 paragraph (1) letter d, which reads: "to include at least 30% (thirty percent) of women's representation on the management of central-level political parties." 1.7 Hypothesis Our hypothesis in this study is the participation of women in government in Indonesia is less than 30 percent.

2. HYPOTHESIS JUSTIFICATION 2.1 The meaning of each variable Woman A woman (/wmn/), pl: women (/wmn/) is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the termgirl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent. However, the term woman is also sometimes used to identify a female human, regardless of age, as in phrases such as Womens Rights. (Wikipedia) Government Government to the legislator, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. The word government is derived from the Latin verb gubernare, an infinitive meaning to govern or to manage. Feminism Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms. However, there are many different kinds of feminism. Feminists disagree about what sexism consists in, and what exactly ought to be done about it; they disagree about what it means to be a woman or a man and what social and political implications gender has or should have. Nonetheless, motivated by the quest for social justice, feminist inquiry provides a wide range of perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political phenomena.

2.2 The dimension of each variable Dimension of feminism Feminism is not a monolithic movement. Rather, it is informed by several different feminist ideologies, including liberal, cultural, radical, socialist, Women of Color, and lesbian feminisms (Donovan, 1992; Henley, Meng, OBrien, McCarthy & Sockloskie, 1998; Simoni, Henley, & Christie,1999). Each feminist ideology suggests different causes of sexism and promotes different change strategies. Liberal feminism suggests that the cause of sexism is the result of rigid gender role socialization and irrational prejudices about the inferiority of women in relation to men. It views womens oppression as embedded in economic, cultural, and legal constraints that block womens access to many opportunities that are available to men (Donovan, 1992). Dimension of Woman We consider women's political participation as having two important dimensions - the proportion of women in decision making and the inclusion of women's perspectives in government policies and programs. Dimension of Government Ideology contains certain ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government (e.g. democracy, theocracy, etc.), and the best economic system (e.g. capitalism, socialism, etc.).

2.3 The characteristic / indicators of each variable Feminism Basic characteristic of feminism which has been important throughout its history has been the importance of achieving equal rights, equal respect and equal opportunity for women in all aspects of society political, economic and social. Usually, feminism involves some sort of

critique of what is assumed to be or have been a dominant patriarchy in which women have been denied the equality and respect they deserve. Women In the traditional Indonesian society, women clearly occupy a lower social status than men. This is still the dominant value in Indonesian culture. The idea that the females place is in the kitchen is still easy to find, especially in the villages. The husband-wife relationship is a chiefassistant relationship rather than a partnership. Nevertheless, the role of women is improving in modern Indonesian society. Many women work outside the home, particularly in restaurants, garment, and cigarette factories, even though their wages are lower than those of males. Many female physicians, notaries, and lawyers are found in modern Indonesia. A few women have achieved high political positions as cabinet and parliament members. Government Politics of Indonesia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Indonesia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multy-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two People's Representative Councils. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The 1945 constitution provided for a limited separation governmental of executive, system has legislative, been and judicial power. as "presidential The with described

parliamentary characteristics. Following the Indonesian riots of May 1998 and the resignation of President Suharto, several political reforms were set in motion via amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia, which resulted in changes to all branches of government.

2.4 Theories used to solve the problem of research a. Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economical inequalities. One institutionally predominant type of feminism focuses on limiting or eradicating gender inequality to promote women's rights, interests, and issues in society. Another opposing type of modern feminism, with deep historical roots, focuses on earning, and establishing equity by and for women, vis-a-vis men, to promote those same rights, interests, and issues, regardless of gender considerations. Thus, as with any ideology, political movement or philosophy, there is no single, universal form of feminism that represents all feminists. The most well-known types of feminism are: liberal feminism, social feminism, radical feminism, and post-modern feminism. Liberal feminism seeks no special privileges for women and simply demand that everyone receive equal consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists would seek to remove barriers that prevent equal access for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women. In contrast to liberal feminism, socialist feminism rejects individualism and positivism. Social feminism believes that technology and the social shaping of technology have often been conceptualized in terms of men, excluding women at all levels. Socialist feminist reform suggests that the allocation of resources for technology development should be determined by greatest benefit for the common good. A growing use of cyber protests to disrupt capitalist enterprises such as the World Bank might be seen by socialists as an example of information technology use for the common good. Radical feminism maintains that womens oppression is the first, most widespread, and deepest oppression. Radical feminism rejects most scientific theories, data, and experiment not only because they

exclude women but also because they are not women-centered. Radical feminism suggests that because men, masculinity, and patriarchy have become completely intertwined with technology and computer systems in our society, no truly feminist alternative to technology exists. Postmodern feminist theories imply that no universal research agenda or application of technologies will be appropriate and that various women will have different reactions to technologies depending upon their own class, race, sexuality, country, and other factors. This definition of postmodern feminism parallels the description of the complex and diverse co-evolution of women and computing. In contrast to liberal feminism, postmodernism dissolves the universal subject and the possibility that women speak in a unified voice or that they can be universally addressed. Wajcman's (1991) thoughtful analysis of the social constructivist perspective on gender and technology reveals some of the issues embedded in its assumptions. She points out that there is no behavior or meaning which is universally and cross-culturally associated with either masculinity or femininity, that what is considered masculine in some societies is considered feminine or gender-neutral in others. It is not that gender difference does not exist but that it is manifested differently in different societies. Therefore, addressing the gender gap in IT employment based upon an assumed "woman's perspective" is problematic. She cites Harding (1986) in observing that there are as many different "women's experiences" as there are types of women. b. Cyberfeminism: Cyberfeminism is a woman-centered perspective that advocates womens use of new information and communications technologies for empowerment. Some cyberfeminists see these technologies as inherently liberatory and argue that their development will lead to an end to male superiority because women are uniquely suited to life in the digital age (Millar, 1998). The term cyberfeminism, which explicitly fuses gender and information technology, arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hawthorne and Klein in their book, Cyberfeminism, state: Just as there are liberal, socialist, radical and

postmodern feminists, so too one finds these positions reflected in the interpretations of Cyberfeminism (Hawthorne & Klein, 1999). Cyberfeminists saw the potential of the Internet and computer science as technologies to level the playing field and open new avenues for job opportunities and creativity for women where absence of sexism, racism, and other oppression would serve as major contrasts between the virtual world and the real world. Currently, there are not many clear and explicit applications of feminism theory in the context of Information System research. However, the emerging area of cyberfeminism can benefit from different types of feminism in order to build cyberfeminist theories. Cyberfeminism uses aspects of different feminist theories to reflect many interactions among information technologies, women, and feminism. Rosser (2005) believes that Cyberfeminism appears currently to pick and choose among aspects of various feminist theories in a somewhat uncritical fashion without developing a coherent or successor theory. Therefore she proposes a brief exploration of what each of the feminist theories suggests for this less developed theory of Cyberfeminism. c. Feminist theory: Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical ground. It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in anthropology and sociology, economics, women's and gender studies, feminist literary criticism, and philosophy (especially Continental philosophy). Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes explored in feminism (especially include sexual discrimination, stereotyping, objectification

objectification), oppression, and patriarchy

2.5 Confronting the theories to that fact Kartini. Although she has been hailed as Indonesias first feminist, the Javanese aristocrat, who was born in 1879, was actually the victim of this kind of gender construction. Over the past decades, her image has been remodeled to reinforce the countrys patriarchal culture, as revealed by feminist scholar Saskia Eleonora Wieringa. As far back as Indonesias colonial period, Kartini was actually depicted as a brilliant and rebellious woman who fought for womens right to education, said Wieringa, who currently visited Jakarta to attend the April Festival, a celebration of women. During the Old Order regime under former president Sukarno, she went on, Kartini symbolized the struggle against Dutch colonial arrogance, as her mother come from an oppressed working class background. But then, the New Order regime tamed [the image of] Kartini and narrowed her to a woman with a domestic role, said the professor at the University of Amsterdam. Her spirit and fight against male domination were thus erased, she added. So, thanks to Soehartos New Order regime, we have until today acknowledged Kartini as nothing but a graceful Javanese aristocrat, with decent manners. And because of that, every year when we celebrate Kartini Day on April 21, we witness children marching in colorful traditional costumes and women slaving over cooking contests, flower arrangements and fashion modeling. The essence of Kartinis struggle, thus, has shifted away to irrelevant issues. So, what makes this changing image of Kartini important today? Well, realize it or not, it has marked the rise and fall of the womens emancipation movement in the country. Mariana Amiruddin, director of Jurnal Perempuan Foundation, explained how powerful the image of Kartini created by Soeharto remains until today, with women still trapped in the New Orders motherly concept of good women. Exacerbating this, she went on, were religious doctrines of fundamentalists reinforcing this perception of the role of women. And today, the concept of the ideal woman has been reduced to the following: Indonesian women are supposed to

embrace Eastern and Islamic cultures, where they dress in appropriate clothing that covers their aurat [parts of the body that are mustnt be showed], as well as become good mothers who serve their husbands, nurture their children and support the family, as stated by Mariana, also during the April Festival. This kind of narrow perception on the role of women, Mariana said, has hampered the efforts of todays feminists to fight for womens rights. When these feminist groups fought against the recently passed Pornography Law, for example, they were accused of being immoral, while they actually tried to protect women from being criminalized by the law. Today, we [feminists] are no longer perceived as the guard of the Reform Era, Mariana lamented. Instead, were known as groups of girls who are out of control. Feminism, on the other hand, she added, was seen as a doctrine preached by immoral liberal activists. No matter how many times we told them about Kartini, they still think feminism came from the West, Mariana said. Parallels can be drawn between todays Indonesian feminist movement and Gerwani, the Indonesian Womens Movement that was destroyed by former president Soeharto following the 1965 tragedy which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Although we havent been jailed or murdered like Gerwani members, we feel the old New Orders practice of barring [womens] freedom has now been revived, Mariana argued. While Gerwani was besmirched for being PKIs affiliate during that era, feminists today have been accused of being part of Western movements aiming to destroy Indonesia. Gerwani - a mass womens movement with millions of members from the grassroots and global community was known as group of young and brilliant women activists fighting for womens rights in the fields of ideology, education, politic and economy all inspired by Kartinis progressive ideas. An expert in Gerwani history, Wieringa, said the destruction of the organization marked the worst setback for the Indonesian womens movement. Yes, while there once was a progressive and influential womens movement, Indonesia today has turned into a breeding place for kuntilanak wangi, or perfumed female ghosts a term

Wieringa used to depict women groups carrying out Soehartos patriarchal agenda. These kuntilanak wangi, Wieringa explained, were groups of women wearing fashionable clothes and perfume. Instead of voicing womens rights like Gerwani did, these women worked on diverting womens focus on domestic issues such as dapur sumur kasur (kitchen, bathroom and bedroom). Under government-controlled organizations like Dharma Wanita, Dharma Pertiwi and PKK (Family Empowerment and Welfare Movement), these kuntilanak wangi had buried womens critical thinking on violence and oppression. And as mentioned before, we can see how successful they were from the way we narrowly celebrate Kartini Day. April Festivals director Faiza Hidayati Mardzoeki said that a number of feminists like herself were concerned that Kartinis inspirational ideas had been lost along the way, and all she would be remembered for was her politeness and her dress sense. Kartini, thus, has lived among us only as a myth a polite Javanese aristocrat, who finally had to accept the fact that she had to share her husband with other women although she never agreed with polygamy, Faiza said. No one will remember her as a rebellious figure with progressive ideas. Of course, like the feminists have suggested, the Reform Era in 1998 has given women opportunities to revive the real spirit of Kartini. However, as Mariana suggested, the Reform Era was nothing but a short-term honeymoon moment for womens movement. When the late former president Abdurrahman Wahid changed the name of the ministry of women affairs into the ministry of womens empowerment, for example, feminists felt very confident about their cause. In addition to that, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) was given full support to continue its investigation into the May 1998 tragedy, where many Chinese women were sexually abused. During Megawatis era, we were more enthusiastic because the first woman was finally installed as a president amid opposition from some religious leaders, Mariana said. Megawati then also succeeded in passing the law on domestic violence.

Celebrating womens achievement even more, she added, was the policy of granting women a 30 percent quota of seats in the Parliament. The year marked the introduction of the pornography bill, which was mentioned by President SBY during his first [presidential] speech, said Mariana. He even took the opportunity to comment about womens belly buttons! And from that moment on, she went on, the womens movement in Indonesia started to lose its ground. While battling against the criminalization of women, feminists have been labeled as Western devilish agents, gaining a bad reputation in society. Indonesia Contemporary Feminism By the year1980s enter a new perspective to liberating women. Indonesias women students and activist learnt about liberal feminist ideology mostly from US and UK. State of Indonesia forced by (US) to have womens empowerment minister. In 1978-1983, there was a first Young State Minister of Women: Lasijah Soetanto. Women students engage with male stream left organization (mostly discussion groups).Women who joined male organization, later on formed a new women organization with feminist as their main perspectives to criticized society and state. One of these was Kalyanamitra. In order to be saved as organization from scrutinized New Order regime, Kalyanamitra chose their operation as womens information centers. Other women organization formed follow with women issue and use analytical and build organization with feminist ideology. Most of new womens organization tried to build their organization by self funded and only accepted from small donation (philanthropy) and a bit from outside foreign resources. Womens organization were introduced analysis Women in Development 1990s enter so called funding agency to funded womens organizations. Those funding agencies from Western nations.

By mid 1990s womens organizations raised their voices and media give them more attention. And word of Gender almost became mainstream word. In 1992 formed Solidaritas Perempuan, organization focused womens migrant worker work and poor women, in 1994 LBH APIK (Women Legal Aid Asociation) was formed. Jurnal Perempuan, a first Indonesia feminist journal that sold to public is formed by lectures of University of Indonesia.

Early 1998 varied women from different organizations worked together hand in hand (held secret meeting and have secret code) to opposed Soehartos regime and concerned about high prices foods and milks. Their decision was to have demonstration against Soeharto, it was February 21, 1998. Small number women, approx 20 (who dared!) held a demonstration, these women called them-selves Suara Ibu Peduli. In order not too sound politics. Three women arrested by the police. During their trial, many well-known activists (men/women) came to the court to support them. And there was media frenzy. (see Quite Room in the Movement)

Most the women organizations claimed to be with feminist ideology, and tried to build organization with non-hierarchical organization. Somehow until now, there was not yet consensus and acclaimed commitment about what was/is Indonesia Feminist. There was one writer/researcher characterized that Indonesia feminism are: women with religion, not against marriage, and work to together with male counterpart.

Most Recent Feminism in Indonesia Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also

utilised secular and European or non-Muslim feminist discourses and recognize the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement. Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the religion, and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal-interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Qur'an (holy book), hadith(sayings of Muhammad) and sharia (law) towards the creation of a more equal and just society. Muslim majority countries have produced several female head of states and prime ministers: Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Mame Madior Boye of Senegal, Tansu Ciller of Turkey, Kaqusha Jashari of Kusovo, and Megawati Sukarno Putri of Indonesia. Bangladesh was the second country in the world (after Mary and Elizabeth I in 16th century England) to have one female head of state follow another, those two being Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Other essential facts (WORLDWIDE FEMINISM) 1. Seneca Falls, New York, was the location of Elizabeth Cady Stantons 1848 speech, A Declaration of the Rights of Women, which called for full political and social rights for women. 2. Margaret Sanger began advocating for womens reproductive rights in 1912 and is the founder of what is now known as Planned Parenthood. 3. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed in 1966 and is the largest feminist organization in the United States. Betty Friedan was its first president. 4. In the United States, feminists helped push through Title IX legislation in 1972, which gave young female athletes the same opportunities and access to funding as their male counterparts. 5. Feminists still hope to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would guarantee protection under the law. The ERA has been before every session of the U.S. Congress since 1982 but has yet to pass.

2.6 Hypothesis Justified The face of Indonesian feminism is distinguished by its persistence in overcoming seemingly insurmountable historical challenges. Although these challenges, whether in the guise of colonialism, authoritarianism or patriarchal values, have often restricted the free expression of an authentic womens voice, they have simultaneously served to crystallize Indonesian feminism into a formidable political force. Moreover, its hybrid form that incorporates women from opposite polarities of the political spectrum, while sometimes encompassing divergent views, nevertheless serves as a prospective model of the Indonesian national motto unity in diversity. The recent challenges confronting Islamic feminists, given the current ascendancy of political Islam, may prove to be the most serious trial they have yet encountered. It may very well require the passage of time and the gradual resurgence of a depoliticized Islam, one that is contextual to Indonesian rather than Middle Eastern culture, for the lofty goals of Indonesias feminists to be realized.

3. CRITICAL NOTE 3.1 Hypothesis justification Representation of Women in the Legislatures (DPR, MPR, DPD) In addition to the 1945 constitution and its amendments (completed in 2002), the policy basis for the functioning of the government was determined by the elaboration of the 1945 constitution that had been developed by the MPR in the Garis-Garis Besar Haluan Negara (GBHN, Broad Guidelines of State Policy). From 1998, these guidelines contained provisions regarding the role of women, and there has in addition been a junior Ministry for Womens Affairs (latterly for Womens Empowerment). In the 1999 Broad Guidelines, it was declared that the empowerment of women would be conducted through a twofold strategy. First, improvements would be made in the position and role of women in the nation and state, through national policies formulated and implemented by institutions responsible for gender equality and justice. Second, improvements would be made in the quality, role and independence of womens organizations, in continuing efforts to empower women and safeguard the prosperity and well-being of the family and society. These guidelines applied to all state agencies, including the executive (the president), the judiciary (the Supreme Court), the legislature (DPR/MPR) and the state audit agency (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan, BPK). Under the amended constitution, the Broad Guidelines no longer exist: they have been replaced by the presidents vision and mission. It is not, however, the provisions of legislation that hinder womens access to legislatures. In reality, the representation of women in legislative bodies at both the national level and the provincial and district levels (in the regional and District Peoples Representative Assemblies (DPRDs)) is still relatively low. In 1999, approximately 6 percent of the members of provincial DPRDs and fewer than 5 percent of the members of district DPRDs were women. Accurate figures for the

number of women members of DPRDs are still not available after the 2004 electionswhich speaks for itself.

In the 2004 election, the number of women in the legislature increased by 2.5 percent in comparison with the election of 1999 Although there is an increase in the number of women

representatives, there is still a tendency for women to hold posts that are traditionally seen as soft (i.e. relating to womens issues), so that the distribution of female members in the commissions of the national

legislature reflects traditional patterns for dividing responsibilities between men and women. The highest percentage of women members is found in Commission VIII (religion, social, empowerment of women), followed by Commission X (education, youth, sport, tourism, art and culture), as shown in table 6. Womens representation is relatively low in prestige commissions which deal with economics, poverty and politics, which are significant in determining executive programmes and budget. While the amended 1945 constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law and that the government guarantees freedom of union and association, and to express opinions both orally and writing, nevertheless the low representation of women in politics persists. It is rooted in a patriarchal culture. In spite of positive action measures, such as the quota for women representatives, women are still facing various obstacles in achieving equality with men in all aspects of life.

Although

there

is

an

increase

in

the

number

of

women

representatives, there is still a tendency for women to hold posts that are traditionally seen as soft (i.e. relating to womens issues), so that the distribution of female members in the commissions of the national legislature reflects traditional patterns for dividing responsibilities between men and women. The highest percentage of women members is found in Commission VIII (religion, social, empowerment of women), followed by Commission X (education, youth, sport, tourism, art and culture), as shown in table . Womens representation is relatively low in prestige commissions which deal with economics, poverty and politics, which are significant in determining executive programmes and budget. While the amended 1945 constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law and that the government guarantees freedom of union and association, and to express opinions both orally and writing,

nevertheless the low representation of women in politics persists. It is rooted in a patriarchal culture. In spite of positive action measures, such as the quota for women representatives, women are still facing various obstacles in achieving equality with men in all aspects of life.

Obstacles Preventing Women from Becoming Members of Parliament There are several factors influencing the patterns of the recruitment of men and women as legislators.They include the following : The cultural context in Indonesia is still heavily patriarchal. The common perception is that the political arena is for men, and that it is less preferable for women to become members of parliament.

 The selection of candidates by political parties is usually done by a small group of officials or party leaders, almost always men. In Indonesia awareness of gender equality and justice issues is still low. Male political leaders have a disproportionate influence over party politics and women do not receive much support. The media have yet to effectively mobilize the public regarding the importance of womens representation in parliament. Despite the existence of womens organizations fighting for the goal of increased representation of women (since 1999), there is little effective networking among these organizations, NGOs and political parties towards this common goal. Poverty and the low levels of education of women make it difficult to recruit women who have the political capabilities that would allow them to compete on an equal basis with men. The standard for qualification set by the 2003 electoral law allows candidates with at least a senior high school degree to compete in elections. The women who have the political abilities required tend to engage in advocacy or choose non-partisan roles. Women with families often experience obstacles, in particular opposition from their spouses. Political activities usually require large investments of time and money, and many women hold positions that are not rewarding financially. The large number of political parties contesting elections and winning seats in parliament can affect the level of representation of women. As political parties receive a limited number of seats in the legislature, these tend to be divided among male candidates who tend to be ranked at the top of the party election list.

Strategies to Increase the Representation of Women First and foremost, the links between womens networks and organizations must be supported and strengthened. There are currently several major associations of womens organizations. For example, the Kongres Wanita Indonesia (KOWANI, National Council of Womens Organizations of Indonesia) is a federation of 78 womens organizations

which cooperates with women from a range of different religions, ethnicities and professional organizations. The BMOIWI (Federation of Indonesian Muslim Women Organizations) is a federation of approximately 28 Muslim womens organizations. The Center for the Political Empowerment of Women is a network of organizations that cuts across party, religious and professional lines and includes approximately 26 organizations. All these networks have significant potential to support increased representation of women in parliament, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, if they and their member organizations work together to synergize their efforts. Further strategies include: Increasing the representation of women in political parties by introducing a quota system within political parties and ensuring the accession of women to strategic decision-making positions; Conducting advocacy with the leaders of political parties to enhance

awareness of the needs of a significant voting block; Enhancing womens access to the media as a tool to rally public opinion;

 Empowering women through education, training and increased access to information; and Introducing a formal quota with enforcement mechanisms to increase the number of women members of the legislature

3.2 The Limitation of the Field of Research The fact that women are so under-represented makes this field of research to be a biased research. The fact that over these years, women leaders are seen more successful than men is very much a biased point because only a handful of women are entrusted; hence the figure is too little to be considered an actuality. Women outweigh men in world population by a very large 2.5:1 ratio. One can conclude that women are more in abundance, and that the lack of representation can be attributed to their low quality of living standards. What this mean is that women are not as qualified as men, and this proved to be true in the last century where women are not given the equal scholastic opportunity as men were. Therefore the movement is still considered very new and vague because the results so far have been very negligent. As a result, one can only see a more justified rate of success when one sees a good representation of women in this area of research.

4. Conclusion 4.1 End Notes Everyone is taking notes about how powerful women can be. By powerful here is not necessarily that they are muscular women that can beat men in physical stress. It is undoubtedly true that women also play a big part in society, and why a woman cant be more represented in a society? Women strive to be more recognized not only as a good mother to their kids, but also to be a great person that can impact the world. The fact that they are not given the same opportunity because history always tends to be represented by male figures led to this feministic movement. The feministic movement has brought a greater sense of urgency for women to be more successful in their areas of field. More women start to work harder to be able to get recognized, and in turn, the reality is that women are starting to get recognized by their hard work. They are a strong figure that they are very determined to be a more active candidate to help their surroundings. In the early 1900s, women rights movements are more of an anarchist movement, claiming rights and equality for all. However, as time passes, women start to realize that all those movements prove worthless if they do not prove themselves to be competent people. In order for someone to be treated as equally, one has to work just as hard as the benchmark point, this is clearly recognized by women. So far, women are more represented in various nations, and they are also acknowledged for their hard work in various political movements. This is great news for women because for the first time in decades, women are trusted into this position, and so far they have not been disappointing. Although the figures of women are still seen as miniscule, these handfuls of women prove that they are just as capable to lead a

nation as men. From what is seen and expected, women should be more represented in the political and parliamentary fields more in the coming years. The most important movement of a feminist group is the recognition that they need to upgrade themselves. Although hard work is also a strong point of success, women start to consider the virtue of education and credentials. Hence one sees nowadays that women are starting to fill up University classes in order for them to be competent in their areas of field. The fact that women wants to be competent through education brings for trust in the fact that they can be just, or more than capable of their other gender parts. Women realize that one day the sexual preference would be a mere history and that they will be represented more in the population not because of them outnumbering their male counterparts by 2.5 to 1, but more because of their credentials, determination and hard work. Women can be positive about the increasing rate of their representation in various professional fields for the years to come. 4.2 Suggestions for Next Researchers in the Same Field This is clearly an interesting topic to debate, because the fact that the data is very little, and that the movement only starts very recently. The ever important fact of feministic fields is going to be more prominent in the years to come, as one will see more equality of gender, and hence the data will be more accurate. As of now, the data still proves very inconclusive of whether female will be a better leader than male, but the fact still remains: women need to be given the same opportunity as men. Therefore, the data above may only be corrected with time. One suggestion that can be proposed here is to consider the perception of men in a society, why women are always treated to be the lower-echelon of the group. Then, one can hear mens suggestions to increase the degree of respect a society has for women. Also look into the failures of women (although this is still very rare with very little

data), and look into the weaknesses of women as leaders.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (online), accessed on October 2011 available at: http://www.setneg.go.id/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=2260&Itemid=219 2. KEDUDUKAN PEREMPUAN DI BIDANG POLITIK (online), accessed on November 2011 available at: http://mutiakharisma.blogspot.com/2010/11/kedudukanperempuan-di-bidang-politik.html 3. Feminisme Untuk Indonesia (online), accessed on November 2011 available at: http://dafidf.blogspot.com/2011/05/feminisme-untukindonesia.html 4. Feminisme (online), accessed on November 2011 available at: http://sabda.org/artikel/feminisme 5. Feminism (online), accessed on November 2011 available at: http://cherika.wordpress.com/tag/feminism/ 6. Kesetaraan dalam politik (online), accessed on November 2011 available at: http://www.berpolitik.com/static/myposting/2008/03/myposting_11 179.html 7. Unique Face of Indonesian Feminism accessed on November 2011 available at:

http://uwa.academia.edu/MosheYehudaBernstein/Papers/384826/Th e_Unique_Face_of_Indonesian_Feminism

8. Feminist Theory-an overview accessed at November 2011 available at: http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/femtheory.html 9. Politik Indonesia accessed at November 2011 available at: http://wartafeminis.wordpress.com/category/politik-indonesia/

LAMPIRAN (COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS)

Comments: 1. At the time of presentation, discussion of our group is too broad or not specific 2. At presentation, the hypothesis of our group is not placed on a slide Questions: 1. From Michael A ( Group 1) : a. How much the emancipation of women held? Answer: Emancipation of women has been conducted properly. because women today are not oppressed and have their freedom. Nowadays, women are able to get high education and it is proof of the emancipation of women are already well underway b. What do you think about statement Dibalik Pria Sukses, Terdapat Wanita Tangguh ? Answer: In our opinion, the statement is true. position of women and men are equal, therefore we believe in marriage when a husband and wife respect each other nature will be achieved as that statement says. 2. From Harry S (Group 5) : a. What factor are affect feminism? Answer: Political socialization, political education and political recruitment. b. Which factors are influence the lack of greater participation of women in government? Answer: Political education.

c. How human rights affect of feminism? Answer: Human rights is one of encouragement for women to do the feminist movement. Because the women demanded the right of freedom to perform their rights. 3. From David P (Group 1) : a. What do you think about special treatment for women in society? Answer: About special treatment for women, our opinion is that it can facilitate women in carrying out his duties. Because we know that women sometimes have two jobs as a housewife and as a worker. b. Special treatment such as ladies parking, do you think it is worth to be maintained? Answer: It is worth, the reason is same as answer of question b. 4. From Ruth D (Group 4) : a. What is your basic reasons women should be honored? Answer: From long ago we know that there are figurative "heaven under mothers feet". Mother is a woman. So, it is nature if we think that woman should be honored. b. What is your concept of feminism? Answer: Feminism Radical 5. From Ivan S (Group 4) : a. Why men are considered more powerful than women since first time? Answer: They believe that patriarchy is sexist power system, which considers men have superiority over women. Weakness in the face of males is due to its physical biological structure, in which women have experienced menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, menstrual pain and childbirth, breastfeeding, parenting, and so on. All of that makes women dependent on men. Difference of reproductive function is what causes why men are considered more physically

powerful since the first time.

6. From Audrey B (Group 1) : a. What is your opinion about Women and Sexuality? Answer: We dont agree. Because of all this people, especially the women always think of feminism or a feminist should be independent in the sense of free-at large, and break away from men. In a narrow sense they legalize lesbian (relationship among women) and think that man does not need to exist. Or in terms of their art to express feminism as a movement against the sexual exploitation of women, but instead tend to reveal the exploitation of which seemed even seen how low the dignity of women.