JAKARTA - The low representation of women in politics was highlighted by the Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, at the Forum of Women Parliamentarians at the 144th Session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Nusa Dua, Bali. Puan assessed that this condition indicates a democratic deficit so that all IPU members must be at the forefront of encouraging women's participation in decision-making.
The democratic deficit is a condition that shows that the basic principles of democracy are not found in practice, for example related to balanced representation.
Puan explained, the proportion of female parliamentarians in the world still has not reached 30 percent, despite an increase in the number of members from 2020 to 2021.
"In 2021, of the 73 people elected as parliament speakers worldwide, 18 of them or 24.7 per cent will be women. Meanwhile, the global proportion of female MPs has increased to 26.1 per cent, an increase of 0.6 per cent, " said Puan, quoted by Antara, Sunday, March 20.
According to Puan, the condition of unequal representation is not only dangerous for democracy, but also threatens efforts to fulfill human rights.
"Gender inequality means that democracy and human rights are not fully implemented. Therefore, we need to continue to ensure the active participation of women in the decision-making process, especially in public bodies," explained the Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the Forum of Women Parliamentarians.
On the same occasion, Puan continued to convey that gender equality that has not been fulfilled also hinders women's access to power, because the two are interconnected.
Therefore, Puan emphasized that women need to have equal access to power, especially to be part of decision-making or policy-making.
He said that Indonesia had tried to apply a gender approach to every policy, which was reflected in the participation of women in politics and government.
"Various achievements have been achieved. Indonesia has had a female president, female coordinating ministers, female ministers, female parliamentarians, governors, mayors, and female regents. I stand here as well as the first and youngest female parliament speaker in Indonesia," he said.
Puan reminded all parties that gender equality can only be realized if there is women's leadership in various fields. In order to achieve this goal, men must also be actively involved, starting from providing support and working together to build partnerships.
"Education and a conducive environment also play an important role in building gender equality," Puan added.
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