By: Aulia Hawa )*
President Joko Widodo has officially opened the 144th Session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on March 20, 2020. Apart from being an inter-parliamentary diplomacy forum, this momentum has become Indonesia’s stage to show commitment to gender equality considering that the Indonesian Parliament is mostly filled by women.
Indonesia is a big country that has many privileges, especially in the implementation of democracy. We once had a woman as president, namely Mrs. Megawati. Compare this with America, which is said to be more democratic but has never had a female president. This shows that Indonesia is at the forefront of gender equality.
In the 144th IPU Session which this year was held in Bali, gender equality was also shown. Secretary General of the IPU Martin Chungong praised the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Puan Maharani, “Mrs. Puan is one of the 22% of parliamentarians in the world today and we want to celebrate that you are a role model to continue and improve gender balance in parliament.”
One of the agendas in this year’s IPU forum is to discuss gender equality. Of course this is very good because Indonesia has shown that it is a democratic country that respects women and upholds gender equality. The proof is that many important positions are held by women, for example the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.
If Indonesia has demonstrated gender equality, it is very good because it can be an example and be imitated by other countries that are members of the IPU. So, those who are active in parliament and government are not only men, but also women. The reason is because women are also intelligent and capable of politics, even more flexible in socializing.
In achieving gender equality, we need to throw away the old adage “this is a man’s world”. Today the world is not only dominated by men. In fact, women who are dominant and become very good leaders, because they are more able to do many things at one time but stay focused in thinking and acting.”
Martin Chungong added, “Sooner or later, in the Indonesian parliament, the ratio is 50%-50% between male and female members. Women’s leadership is very good for being a brilliant leader.” In a sense, women can be good leaders and have existed for a long time, even in the era before independence. There are already sultanates from Aceh and other kingdoms led by a queen.
Martin hopes that not only the speaker of the DPR is a woman, but the number of parliamentarians in this country who are women will be more. The increase in the number of female DPR RI members is very good, especially because the general election is less than 2 years away. Later the candidates in the DPR RI or DPRD will be made up of women. They can go forward and show achievements and make their region proud.
When the IPU takes place, Indonesia will show off, especially the DPR RI which is the delegate. Indonesia proved that the chair of the DPR, who is a woman, could manage the IPU very well, so that the delegates were very impressed. Even though the forum was held during a pandemic, they were still disciplined in complying with health protocols.
The Inter Parliamentary Union in Bali in 2022 shows gender equality in government. This is very good because it has been praised by delegates from parliaments from other countries as well as IPU administrators. The Indonesian government has proven that under the leadership of a woman, the IPU event can be a huge success and inspire many people.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
