DPR's Support For Women's Representatives At AKD Is Not Free From Who Is The Leader Of Parliament J

AKARTA - A female activist from Sarinah Institute, Luky Sandra Amalia, appreciates the attitude of the DPR which supports the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) on women's representation in Council Apparatus (AKD). According to him, the Constitutional Court's decision provides a new perspective on how institutional leadership factors can help improve women's political representation.

"So, we are not only struggling about affirmative actions, the cableper system, and the female quota at the nomination stage, but also starting to develop in the AKD charging position, including the leadership position," said Luky, Tuesday, November 4.

Luky assessed that the DPR's support regarding the role of women in parliament could not be separated from the current facts of the DPR if Parliament was led by a woman, Puan Maharani. According to Lucky, this shows the consistency of the DPR in strengthening the role of women in national politics.

"In line with Puan Maharani's leadership, which is a symbol of the progress of women's representation in parliament," he said.

Luky also emphasized the importance of women's leadership in the DPR as the main driving factor for the implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision. He hopes that Puan as the first female DPR Chair can become a driving force so that the decision is immediately implemented through the revision of the MD3 Law.

"While the chairman of the DPR is a woman, the chairman of the DPR can be at the forefront of following up on the Constitutional Court's decision so that it can be implemented immediately. The chairman of the DPR who happens to be a woman, of course, has more gender alignment than the chairman of the DPR is a man. The chairman of the DPR can also synergize with other members of the DPR women to echo the same spirit," he explained.

Luky also assessed that the DPR's support for the Constitutional Court's decision was an important momentum to strengthen gender equality in parliament. According to him, so far women in parliament have often been placed only in fields that are considered suitable for women such as social and empowerment, while other strategic positions are still dominated by men.

"The Constitutional Court's decision is good news for all of us, not only for women, but for the awareness of all of our gender. So far, women's legislature members have been collected in areas related to women, such as the social sector, women's empowerment, child protection, and the like," said Luky.

"On the other hand, there are still many AKDs in the DPR whose members are dominated by men. As a result, there is no gender sensitivity in the space for movement or policy making produced by the AKD," he added.

Luky said the most urgent concrete step was the revision of the MD3 Law so that the Constitutional Court's decision had a strong legal basis. So that the regulation can be operated by the factions in placing female cadres in all AKDs, including in the leadership chair.

"If you want a patent, the DPR should revise the MD3 Law so that it can become a strong legal basis for the factions to place women in all AKD members, including in the leadership seat of AKD. But the most important thing is that all of us, the people of Indonesia, must oversee the Constitutional Court's decision so that it is implemented according to what it should be," concluded Luky.

Previously, Puan said that the composition of the DPR RI for the 2024 '2029 period showed significant progress in terms of women's representation compared to previous periods. According to him, 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," said Puan.

Even so, Puan emphasized that this achievement was not yet a reason 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.