SBY’s Politics and the Implications on Gender Inequality in Indonesia

Melani Budianta, Kamala Chandrakirana, and Andy Yentriyani

A woman supported turned sour

• http://lindadjalil.com/2013/11/mohon-maaf-pak-presiden

• Puisi "Mohon Maaf Pak Presiden“ (Linda Djalil) Saya tidak punya selera lagi melihat TV bila Anda tampil, apalagi sembari berbicara ini-itu, yang menurut saya sungguh tidak bermutu. Saya tidak sabar menunggu Anda selesai menduduki jabatan itu dan saya mendambakan acara 17-an di Istana dipenuhi lagu-lagu perjuangan karya Ismail Marzuki dll yang layak dan sejak dulu biasa dinyanyikan dari belasan puluhan tahun lalu oleh aubade anak-anak. Bukan lagu karanganmu.

SBY owes it to the women

• Syaiful Muljani (2009) LSI (Indonesian Surey Institute) on exit poll survey: “SBY is saved by women voters because the proportion of women who voted for him is much higher than male voters ” (66 % female, 55 % male voters)

http://politik.news.viva.co.id/news/read

/73846-sby_dibela_perempuan__mega_disukai_laki_laki

SBY’s Promises 10th Anniversary of Komnas Perempuan (30/112009)

• Practical steps towards Protection, Empowerment and Promotion of women

• 100 trillion Rupiah for women-led micro enterprise,

• 5 women ministers & increase of women political participation

• Gender friendly legislation

• Stop violence against

women

Promise and Delivery

13/01/2012

hot topics in

mass media

(radio, print and social media)

Issues: SBY promise to combat corruption: corruption in his own party; daily safety of citizens vis-à-vis violence in the name of religion .

Defensive response from Cabinet Ministers and Army General

Women’s State of Affairs

Women’s political representation:

• Woman’s quota (General Election Law, 2003)

30%, non-compulsionary

• Women in the bottom of the party’s list of candidates

• Small increase from 8% in 1999 to 11% in 2004

• Zipper system (Law 10, 2008): one woman out of 3 candidates

Women’s Political Representation (2)

• No sanction, but increase from 11% to 18% in 2009

• General Election Commission regulation to strengthen women’s representation in every district

• Yet 2013: 2013 : decline in political representation of women from 18% (2009) to 14% (2013) : from 101 out of 560 to 79 out of 560. Why?

http://berkas.dpr.go.id/pengkajian/files/info_singkat/Info%20Singkat-VI-10-II-P3DI-

April-2014-11.pdf

2004-2009 from 33,6 % candidates

18% recruited

Women’s Political Representation (3)

• Party’s male-biased strategies:

- Woman in the bottom of three candidates

- Duplication of names in various districts

- Family connections, “dynastic” tendency and nepotism: wives, sisters, in-laws, daughters, nieces

- Celebrities (male and female) singers, film stars, television celebrities

Women’s Political Representation (4)

• “ So what should we do if women are not interested in entering political arena? … Do you think we need to recruit trans-sexuals just to meet the 30 percent women’s quota?” (Agun Gunanjar Sunarsa, Chair of 2nd Commission, DPR, in Waspada Online, 23 January 2014).”

• No real political commitment from political parties, nor gender awareness

Strong Female Candidates Failed to be Reelected?

• Nurul Arifin (Golkar)

• Eva Kusuma Sundari (PDIP)

Instead : election of

• Aceng Fikri (Regent from Garut who was sacked because of sexual harrassment case in 2013) was elected member of DPD (representative from the region)

Party failed to champion their best candidates

Party members compete individually (need of campaign funds and resources)

Corruption and dynastic politics

• Promising young male and female politicians (Democratic Party)

• 2009-2014: 101 women representatives, 36 from Democratic Party (30%)

• Female leadership in Democratic Party (Nur Hayati Assegaf as Chair of Democratic Party Fraction in the House of Representatives)

• Corruption case

• Negative impact on female representations

• Dynastic politics

No real reform in political party politics?

RISING WOMEN POLITICIANS (TWO FAILED TO BE REELECTED

Corruption

charges in

Democratic

Party

DYNASTIC POLITICS

Women’s Wellbeing

• 2nd highest economic growth after China (4.6% in 2009 to 6,2% in 2014)

• Gender gap : from 90th (2011) to 95th (2014)

• MMR: triple from the targeted 102 per 10.000 births (worse than the number in 1995)

Source • Statistics Indonesia (BPS, Sensus Penduduk) 2010

• Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (Survei Demografi dan Kesehatan Indonesia) 2012

MATERNAL MORTALITY RATES IN 20 YEAARS

390

373

334

307

262

255

228

278 359

102

19

94

19

95

19

97

20

03

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

20

14

Targ

et 2

01

5

SDKI 2012

SP 2010

SDKI

Legislating Women’s Bodies

• Violence Against Women: criminalization of women’s bodies based on religion

• After decentralization (regional autonomy): proliferation of religious-based laws which are discriminatory against women inflicting physical punishment

• Anti-pornographic Law (2008)

Legislating women’s bodies (2) • Up to 2014: 279 discriminatory policies

primarily against women:

– 90 on women’s dress code according to one religion ,

– 124 policies criminalize women on the grounds of prostitution, pornography, and “porno-action”

– 30 policies on segregating public space based on sex

– 35 policies on curfew for women

(Komnas Perempuan, Pers Release 20/08/2014)

Islamization in the National Budget

• Approval in the house for

Special budget to buy hijab uniform for Women Police Officer in the 2015 RAPBN (State Budget) : 60 billion Rupiah 10.542 women police officers

SBY’s Politics • Contradictory trends:

• Ratification of UN convention on women’s equality and emancipation

• Growing conservatism in society (supported by legislative and executive bodies –party’s populist politics)

• “Trend of Legal Islamization” :Moralist laws: National Education System (2003), Anti-Pornography (2008), 2013 National Curriculum

• Yuniyanti Chuzaifah : “SBY reacted only in relation to the administrative approaches. We criticized that publicly. …. Sometimes he reacts positively, but he wants these issues to be dealt with by his departments”(in Gerlach, 2010: 258).

• In social media, SBY’s tendency to avoid confronting divisive issues has earned his government the term “auto-pilot government”

SBY’s Politics (2)

• Hiding behind procedural democracy:

- Case of Yasmine Church: within the jurisdiction of the Regent of Bogor (that revoked the permit) against the Higher Court’s decision.

• The right wing orientiaton of his coalition government

- Ahmadiyah case: Joint Ministrial Decree on the banning of Ahmadiyah

- 2013 National Curriculum: Minister of Education

- 2013 Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi: FPI (Islamic Defender Front) is a valuable asset

• SBY’s role in strengthening the role of MUI in “legal Islamization” (certification of Halal product, law on Alcohol, inter-religious tolerance)

Migrant workers: Half-hearted Piecemeal Reform

No standard legal aid mechanism to protect migrant workers world wide

Reactive responses to migrant worker abuses:

In response to the case of Sumiati (victim of abuse in Saudi Arabia - 2010) SBY proposed a policy to give a cell phone to each migrant worker

SBY’s policy on migrant worker 2004-2009 : effort in revising Law No 39 tahun 2004 on migrant worker: erasing the requirement for the Migrant Workers Agents to provide training unit to get Permit (SIUPP) to achieve 169 trillion of targeted revenue in 2009 (one million of migrant workers per year)

• 2006: Indonesia-Malaysia MOU on migrant workers giving the rights for Malaysian masters to keep the passports of Indonesian migrant workers.

• 2008: implementation of regulation 01/KA/

SU/I/2008: New Building, terminal 4 in Soekarno Hatta airport for the exit of 1000 migrant workers/day: surveillance, protection or subordination?

• Folowing abuses, June 2009 Malaysia recruitment freeze

• May 2011: revised agreement: the rights of migrant workers to keep their passports

• In 2012: 420 migrants (mostly women) have been given death penalty (351 Malaysia), 22 (China), 1 (Singapore), 1 (Manila), 45 (Saudi Arabia) – Migrant care chief: SBY did not exert any diplomatic pressure (no talk on this issue in meetings with the leaders of these

countries)

• April 12, 2012: Ratification of Migrant Workers Convention.

GAINS • Komnas Perempuan: lobby within the structure and

with civil society

Government Regulation No. 18, 2014 on the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Children during Social Conflict

Minister of Health (Nafziah Mboi) :

State Registration No. 61 Tahun 2014 on Reproductive Health : abortion rights for victims of rape

276 “condusive policies” (9 nationally and 257 in regents/cities VS 365 discriminative laws (279 directly implicating women)

In Spite of SBY • Vibrant civil society – strong women’s

participation (PEKKA)

- Politicization of the general population (69,58% voters turnout for presidential election – 67,25% for parliamentary)

- Netizen activism

• Emergence of women leaders

Tri Risma Harini, Rustriningsih

• Women in literature and cultural movements

Challenges for the future

Looming specter of religious violence

• Women and minorities are most susceptible (VAW in public and private space, freedom of speech, basic human rights)

• Social cohesion and women’s security depends on State protection against religious intolerance and firm adherence to the constitution.

Transformation in Political Culture

Linda’s wishes : criticism for the present and

hope for the next president?

Saya juga ingin sekali merasakan kerukunan beragama di negeri ini serta ketegasan pemimpin negara yang menegur keras para oknum yang berkelahi akibat penghinaan kepercayaan sana-sini.

….

Saya mendambakan seorang presiden yang berwibawa dan mampu mengkoordinir para pembantunya

….

Saya betul-betul bermimpi punya seorang presiden yang bijak, matang, tidak hobi curhat dan sangat paham mana skala prioritas

yang harus dijalankannya.