Puan Values Constitutional Court Decision On Women's Representation At AKD In Line With Gender Equality Issues

JAKARTA - DPR Speaker Puan Maharani stated that the DPR respects the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) which decided on the obligation to fulfill women's quota in the leadership of Council Apparatus (AKD).

Puan assessed that the Constitutional Court's decision was in line with the spirit of gender equality which had become a national and global commitment.

"The DPR RI certainly respects the Constitutional Court's decision which is constitutionally final and binding," said Puan, Friday, October 31.

"Indeed, the fact is that half of the Indonesian population is women," he added.

Puan explained that the composition of the DPR for the 2024 '2029 period showed significant progress in terms of women's representation compared to previous periods. He said this shows that women's involvement is increasingly real.

"Currently, women's representation in the DPR RI for the 2024 '2029 period has reached a record high in history, which is around 21.9 percent or 127 of the 580 members of the DPR. Progress that should be appreciated, although it is still far from the ideal target of at least 30 percent of women's representation in the legislative institution, as is the spirit of affirmation of gender equality in Indonesian politics," explained Puan.

Even so, Puan emphasized that this achievement has not become an excuse to be complacent. He said that the Constitutional Court's decision was a momentum to strengthen the representation and role of women in legislative institutions, not only in numbers, but also in strategic positions.

"We will follow up on this Constitutional Court decision, including discussing with each faction representative. Especially the technical implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision at the commission level," said Puan.

He said the implementation of affirmative policies must be followed by a more inclusive and equality-perspective political culture change. Puan is also optimistic that the increasing number of women who are trusted to hold leadership positions will have a positive impact on the quality of public policies produced by the DPR.

"I am sure that there will be extraordinary results from female legislators when given the opportunity. Of course, we hope that this will lead to an increase in the performance of the DPR, whose benefits can be felt by the people," concluded Puan.

Previously, the Constitutional Court granted a lawsuit filed by the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), the Indonesian Women's Coalition, and Titi Anggraini regarding women's representation at the DPR AKD.

Through the decision number 169/PUU-XXII/2024, the Constitutional Court stated that every AKD starting from the Commission, the Deliberative Body (Bamus), the special committee (Pansus), the Legislation Body (Baleg), the Budget Agency (Banggar), the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP), the Council's Honorary Court (MKD), the Household Affairs Agency (BURT), and every leadership of the board's equipment must have women's representation.

The Constitutional Court's decision emphasized the importance of women's representation in the entire leadership structure of the DPR, including commissions, agencies, and other equipment.