JAKARTA: Activists and female lawmakers have lauded a ruling from the Constitutional Court that requires the House of Representatives to have at least 30 per cent female representation across all of its internal bodies, in hopes the decision will help improve the gender balance in the legislative structure.
Last Thursday, the court ruled in favour of women’s organisations the Indonesian Women’s Coalition, the Kalyanamitra and the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), as well as constitutional law expert Titi Anggraini who challenged some provisions in the Legislative Institutions (MD3) that violated their right to fair representation.
Female lawmakers, the court said, have been unevenly distributed across the House’s bodies only to commissions handling social issues, child protection or women’s empowerment, while strategic areas such as the economy, law, energy and defence remain dominated by men.
This, the court said, was because the MD3 law did not mandate the minimum of 30 per cent female representation despite other prevailing laws having already regulated such a gender quota.
The Political Parties Law, for example, requires political parties to give their central executive board seats to female politicians.
“The absence of a provision requiring at least 30 per cent female representation in leadership positions in House bodies is unconstitutional,” Justice Saldi Isra said while reading the ruling.
“Conversely, a 30 per cent formula will give legal certainty as it is measurable and actionable.”
The court ruled that 30 per cent of members in all House bodies, from lawmaking commissions to ethics committees, must now be women, on the grounds that greater female representation will bring a gender perspective to lawmaking and enable women to collectively advocate for women’s rights across all areas of governance.
Lecturer Titi of University of Indonesia, one of the petitioners, said in a statement on Saturday (Nov 1) that the ruling reflected the Constitution’s nondiscriminatory principle. With the court affirming gender equality, the House “can no longer ignore women’s representation in the legislation and leadership of its internal bodies”, she said.
“I believe this ruling will have a broad multiplier effect on inclusive political agendas at both national and regional levels. It opens opportunities for women to contribute across all areas of public policy, not just in issues labelled as ‘women’s concerns’,” she added.
Lawmaker Amelia Anggraini of the NasDem Party, who sits in House Commission I overseeing communications and information, described the ruling as a significant step toward improving decision-making in the legislature.
“Commission I often discusses strategic issues that have impacts on women and children. Adequate female representation will enrich perspective on risk, safety as well as private data protection,” she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
House Speaker Puan Maharani of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said on Friday that the House would follow up on the ruling in coordination with all eight political parties in the legislature, Tempo reported.
Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi) activist Lucius Karus said the ruling was not entirely new because the court only reaffirmed the gender quota that had been established by the General Elections Law two decades ago.
He warned that the House might still try “to interpret the ruling loosely and treat women’s representation as optional rather than mandatory” in any future revision to the MD3 law, despite the ruling being legally binding.
He noted that leadership selection within House bodies had long been shaped by pragmatism rather than based on merits.
“Party politics often overrides the principles of representation, leaving women marginalized,” he told the Post on Saturday. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
