Banten gubernatorial candidate pairs (from left) Andra Soni-Achmad Dimyati Natakusumah and Airin Rachmi Diany-Ade Sumardi attend the first gubernatorial debate on Oct. 16, 2024, in Jakarta. - Photo: Antara
JAKARTA: As the race for November’s regional elections heats up, competing candidates appear to be pulling out all the stops to ensure a favourable outcome, with some even resorting to exploiting sexist narratives that observers describe as a “serious problem” in Indonesian politics.
Political parties must do better in vetting and educating their cadres on social values, including the importance of gender equality and women’s participation in politics, or risk jeopardising the country’s democracy, the observers further warned following various reports of anti-women narratives in regional election campaigns.
Sleman, Yogyakarta regental candidate Harda Kiswaya and his running mate Danang Maharsa recently drew criticism as a photograph of his campaign poster made the rounds on the internet.
The poster showcased the pair’s portrait with text in Javanese roughly translating to "Why would you pick a woman to be your imam? Don’t do it, please. An imam must be a man."
Imam is an Arabic term referring to a man who leads prayers, or simply a leader.
After receiving disapproval online, the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) backed regental candidate told reporters that he was not involved in the decision-making process of the campaign but assured that the controversial poster had been taken down.
Harda is contesting against incumbent Kustini Sri Purnomo from the National Mandate Party (PAN), who is the first female regent in Sleman.
Moreover, Banten’s first election debate on Oct 16, which was themed“Improving Community Welfare and Accelerating Equitable Development”, was also marred with sexist remarks from the Andra Soni-Dimyati Natakusumah pair, who beat Airin Rachmi Diany and Ade Sumardi.
In one session, Ade brought up the issue of the rampant sexual abuse of children in the province, and asked for concrete solutions from Dimyati, who subsequently urged the “protection of women” by not giving them “heavy tasks like being governor”, a sexist remark believed to be aimed at Airin, a former South Tangerang mayor and Golkar politician.
“We should pity women who are burdened with the responsibility to lead,” Dimyati said, after chanting an Arabic sentence referring to the Prophet Muhammad’s teaching to respect women.
“Honour the women by giving them good things and convenience,” added the Prosperous Justice Party’s (PKS) politician, who had been reported to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) regarding the alleged sexual abuse of an underaged girl.
Sexist remarks, sometimes with religious undertones, are becoming a feature of Indonesia's elections, according to Andalas University elections expert Feri Amsari, who added that pragmatism and populist strategies have been favoured by politicians.
“A rights-based approach to democracy is no longer perceived as essential in our politics,” Feri told The Jakarta Post last week.
“The kind of perspective we have now is only interested in winning the battlegrounds, not in fighting for specific values, even religious ones.”
He stressed that every Indonesian, regardless their gender, possesses equal constitutional rights to participate in the government.
Equality for women and girls is among the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
While women's participation in politics in Indonesia has seen some improvements, with female representation in the national parliament increasing from 17.3 per cent in 2014 to around 22 per cent in 2024 based on Perludem data, challenges remain.
Perludem previously argued that political parties still do not provide enough support to female candidates, and many are reluctant to put them under the spotlight.
Indonesia remains short on female participation in political parties despite prevailing regulations that set a 30 per cent minimum for female representation in political parties.
The quality of representation also remains concerning, with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicating that 45.67 per cent of elected women are associated with political dynasties.
Banten governor hopeful Airin is a perfect example of this, as her rise to power has been built on what is considered the country’s strongest political dynasty.
The 48-year-old is the sister-in-law of former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, who was in power from 2007 to 2015. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
[Ina Parlina and Ivany Atina Arbi contributed to the story]
