Two Women Become Candidates For Indonesian Vice Presidential Candidates Is A Positive Signal For Gender Equality

Ganjar Pranowo visited Gus Dur's residence to meet his mother, Yenny Wahid, Sinta Nuriyah Wahid. (Central Java Provincial Government)

The emergence of two names of women in the middle of the political year in Indonesia has succeeded in attracting public attention. Positive responses flow from women following the emergence of the two.

Is the Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Yenny Wahid whose names were widely discussed in the stock exchange for the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia ahead of the 2024 General Election. Not long ago, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) kiai recommended five names of presidential candidates (cawapres) to the prospective presidential candidate for the Change Coalition for Unity (KPP) Anies Baswedan.

Two of them are female figures, Yenny Wahid and Khofifah Indar Parawansa. Meanwhile, Yenny Wahid is intensively linked to the prospective presidential candidate from the PDI-P Ganjar Pranowo. The issue was strengthened by Ganjar's visit to Yenny Wahid's house in Ciganjur, South Jakarta on Sunday (13/8/2023) night.

A political observer from Al-Azhar University Indonesia (UAI), Ujang Komarudin, analyzed that Ganjar's arrival, who was visiting Gus Dur's family residence, was also to conduct a coalition assessment.

"Yes, even though it's a friendship, of course this meeting is also an effort to communicate politics to Gus Dur's family. Asking Mrs. Sinta Nuriyah for blessing as the wife of the cleric and the wife of the former president," he said.

Gender discrimination has been a serious issue for a long time. Usually this gender is given to people based on the characteristics of sex when they are born. In society in general, one is expected to behave according to gender.

For example, girls are expected to dress femininely and be polite. Not only that, women are also considered destined to stay at home. But as the times develop and the movement of strong gender equality, women slowly begin to play an important role.

The inclusion of two names of women on the Indonesian Vice Presidential Candidate Exchange was welcomed by the Commissioner of Komnas Perempuan, Andy Yentriyani. He assessed that the presence of two women who enlivened the vice presidential candidate exchange was a positive signal for gender equality that had been fought for so far.

This is very good. The reason is, when women are nominated in general, then it is a form of appreciation for women. This shows that women's leadership is good. Those who are nominated have the capacity to lead in Indonesia, 'rich Andy during a conversation with VOI.

That there are women who are mentioned in the future vice presidential candidate in general emphasized to the public that women are capable, as well as answering whether women can lead. This is also a form of joint commitment regarding gender equality, about decision making in different leadership.

In the midst of the widespread news about Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Yenny Wahid as female presidential candidates, Indonesia itself is still very thick with patriarchal culture. Patriarchy is seen as the ideology of how men dominate.

The patriarchal society is still considered to be an obstacle in the struggle for women to receive equal treatment. But Andy Yentriyani actually considers this an opportunity for candidates to convey a message of equality.

"Of course, this does not necessarily change the view of the general public, whether it is permissible for women to become leaders. But in general, it is important for the caddat to give a message not to look at gender of men or women anymore, but to weigh more on capacity about capability. Another challenge in patriarchal society is masculine political contestation. Due to the big challenges, people often dwarf women. This is a shared responsibility to straighten it out, re-examine the stigma, "said Andy.

The figure of women is often underestimated because it is considered a weak creature. However, the world proves that women have the capacity to lead. New Zealand is led by the third youngest Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. The woman who served as PM at the age of 37 is even included in Time's list of 100 most influential people in 2019.

He managed to steal world attention while dealing with the terrorist act of Christchursh in New Zealand on March 15, 2019. Meanwhile, Singapore was led by Halimah Yacoeb who was sworn in on September 14, 2017. She made history as the first woman to serve as President of Singapore and as Singapore's first Malay president since Yusof Ishak who took office 47 years ago.

Another country that is also led by women is Germany with Chancellor Angela Markel. The former chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (DCU) served as Chancellor of Germany for the period 2005 to 2021. Shortly before ending her position, Angela Merkel encouraged more women to enter politics.

We still haven't succeeded in making women quite enthusiastic about politics. In general, there are many efforts that must be made so that women can get more confidence. Because even if there are women, this (political) is not like a wrestling competition, for example during the fight for party seats," Merkel was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The matter of women's appropriateness in leading is still being debated until now. Although many female leaders have proven their abilities, the assumption that women are weak also never disappears. However, according to a study conducted by BI Norwegian Business School, women have good abilities in becoming leaders in general.

After conducting research on 700 people at the manager level, researchers found that women have high grades in many fields related to leadership abilities. Women are more initiative, communicate clearly, openly. Then, women are also better able to socialize with colleagues, supportive, clear managerial methods, and good goal settings.

In the business, a company should always strive to attract customers and increase productivity and profit. The results of our study show women naturally increase productivity and profit. The results of our study show women naturally have a higher score than men in innovation capabilities and lead clearly and have an impact," said Ovynd L. Martinsen as study leader, quoted by Metro.

In the midst of the issue of gender equality, the term Alpha Woman has been widely discussed lately. Alpha Woman or Alfa Woman is a term used to describe a woman who has a strong, dominant, and firm character.

Usually these women have thoughts and actions that can affect others. Quoted from science ofpeople.com, Alfa women are women who have leadership ambitions. She is talented, very motivated, and confident.