Here to Bring a Change: Reflection of the Experience of the 2004-2009 Women Members of Parliament

Author: Adriana Venny

In Indonesia, the spirit to implement the affirmative action has been initiated when CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Againts Women) was ratified through Law No 7/1984 on the Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Types of discriminatory against Women. The downside is that because there are no severe penalties in place, women’s representation in politics remains very low. The CEDAW Commission supervising the implementation of CEDAW at UN headquarters in their concluding comment in 2007 even expresses its grief concern about the limited representation of women in the 2004 parliament. In their concluding comment, the Commission writes that the commission is so disappointed with the fact that the political representation of women is very low in Indonesia and that affirmative action has failed to reach the 30% representation for Indonesian women in politics. This study reflects the experience of the 2004-2009 women members in dealing with gender issues and politics. It also depicts their efforts to achieve the minimum quota of women members in the parliament.