Chairman of the House of Representatives: Women Need Politics, Politics Needs Women

Detiktoday.com – Chairman of the Indonesian Parliament Dr. (H.C.) Puan Maharani emphasized that women should not hesitate to enter politics. This is because, according to Puan, women have the characteristics that are needed to deal with crisis situations.

“I emphasize that women need politics because politics needs women,” said Puan when delivering a speech at the opening of the Indonesian Women’s Congress (Kowani), in Jakarta, Tuesday (20/10/2020).

This politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle explained that the barrier to women’s roles in politics in Indonesia had collapsed when Megawati Soekarnoputri became the first woman to be appointed President of the Republic of Indonesia on July 23, 2001.

“When someone says that the role of women in politics is always limited by the glass ceiling, actually the glass ceiling of politics for Indonesian women has been torn down on the day Megawati was inaugurated as President,” said Puan in the virtual congress.

Since then, said Puan, the role of women in Indonesia has continued to develop rapidly. It is noted that currently there are many women who play strategic roles in every development activity in the economic, social, environmental, sports, science, research and political fields.

Among other things, Puan continued, in the political field, there was an increase in the number of women who were elected to the DPR RI. For example, in the 2014-2019 period around 17 percent of DPR members were women. Then, for the 2019-2024 period, the number of women who became members of the DPR increased to around 21 percent.

“Now there are many women members of the DPR RI who occupy the leadership positions of the Council’s Body. Many Indonesian women have also succeeded in becoming regional heads so far, such as Bu Risma in Surabaya, who when advancing in the Pilkada was promoted by the PDI-Perjuangan, “said Puan.

Not only that, Puan said, many countries respect the achievements of Indonesian women in politics. One proof of this, said Puan, was when she attended the ‘Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum’ in Australia in January 2020.

“All countries participating in the event applauded when I mentioned that Indonesia once had a female President and now has the first female DPR Speaker,” said Puan.

Puan continued, although there are many advances that have been achieved by Indonesian women in various fields, women still face various obstacles that can come from social, cultural, economic, and political life.

“To overcome the various obstacles faced by women, political decisions and political policies are needed. That is why women need politics,” said the legislator for the electoral district of Central Java V.

Moreover, Puan emphasized, in the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic situation which is still a challenge, Puan assessed that women were not only affected, but also played a major role in efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, globally 70 percent of medical personnel consist of women who are currently spearheading the saving of human lives. Puan said the government said that 60 percent of MSMEs in Indonesia that produce hand sanitizers or masks are owned or managed by women.

“That women are not only the group that is heavily affected by Covid-19, but women also have a big role to play in dealing with Covid-19. This is a real example of what I mean by politics needing women, “concluded Puan.