From campus to legislatures: Women’s experience of electoral politics in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

The path from student politics to electoral politics is a well-worn one across Asia. Literature examining this pathway overwhelmingly does so from the perspective of men, failing to adequately acknowledge women's relative inability to make the transition from campuses to legislatures in the same way. This article focuses on Indonesian women's experiences to explain why they remain underrepresented in politics and sheds light on the ways its student movements have shaped democracy. Through in-depth interviews with women who have and have not entered electoral politics after early political apprenticeships in student movements and focus group discussions with current students on potential political careers, we identify the barriers and opportunities faced by women in enhancing their political participation. We argue that the literature on student politics across Asia will remain incomplete without seriously attending to women's experiences. We thereafter argue for the need to identify ways to support them in their journey from campus to legislatures.

ABSTRACT IN BAHASA INDONESIA

Jalur politik mahasiswa laki-laki ke politik elektoral adalah jalan yang sudah usang di seluruh Asia. Kajian yang meneliti jalur politik mahasiswa dari perspektif laki-laki ini sangat banyak dilakukan, namun gagal untuk mengidentifikasi secara memadai untuk mengakui ketidakmampuan relatif perempuan dalam melakukan transisi dari kampus ke legislatif dengan cara yang sama. Penjelasan artikel ini berfokus pada pengalaman perempuan saat berada di jalur rusak (broken pathway) ini untuk menjawab mengapa perempuan tetap kurang terwakili dalam politik Indonesia. Selain itu artike ini menjelaskan cara gerakan mahasiswa perempuan membentuk demokrasi. Data diperoleh dari wawancara mendalam dan diskusi kelompok berfokus (FGD). Wawancara mendalam dengan perempuan yang telah dan belum, memasuki politik elektoral, setelah magang politik awal dalam gerakan mahasiswa, sementara diskusi kelompok terfokus (FGD) dilakukan dengan mahasiswa perempuan aktivis tentang karir politik potensial ke depan. Melalui kedua cara ini kami mengidentifikasi hambatan dan peluang yang dihadapi oleh perempuan untuk meningkatkan partisipasi politik mereka. Kami berpendapat bahwa literatur tentang politik mahasiswa di seluruh Asia akan tetap tidak lengkap tanpa memperhatikan pengalaman perempuan secara serius. Kami kemudian berpendapat, perlunya mengidentifikasi cara untuk mendukung perempuan dalam perjalanan dari kampus ke legislatif.

KEYWORDS:

• Women
• politics
• underrepresentation
• student activism
• campus politics

KEYWORDS:

• Politik
• mahasiswa aktivis
• perempuan legislatif
• kampus politik

Acknowledgements

This research project is a part of the Development Leadership Program led by the University of Birmingham and La Trobe University. Our thanks for all of the support from the DLP team. We are grateful to the participants at the Indonesian Council Open Conference (University of Queensland, July 2021) for their comments on a presentation of an earlier version of this paper. Our sincere thanks to the men and women who participated in this study and trusted us with their stories.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yumasdaleni

YUMASDALENI is a researcher and lecturer. She has previously lectured at UIN North Sumatera and Potensi Utama University, Medan. She is interested in women’s social issues, including community development, politics, migrant workers, and inter-religious relations. She has participated in the Women’s Human Rights course at the East-West Center, in an education program for army and police officers at the National Resilience Institute, and has presented her research in Australia, Singapore, and Germany. Email: [email protected]

Aida Fitria Harahap

Aida HARAHAP is an independent researcher, recently specialising in research on women and politics. She is a casual lecturer in the Anthropology Department at the University of North Sumatera, teaching courses on population, kinship, social organization, theories of anthropology, and economic anthropology. Email: [email protected]

Tanya Jakimow

Tanya JAKIMOW (corresponding author) is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the School of Culture History and Languages, Australian National University. She is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on a project examining women’s political labor and pathways to politics in Indonesia, India, and Australia. Email: [email protected]

Asima Yanty Siahaan

Asima SIAHAAN is a Senior Lecturer at the Postgraduate Department of Public Administration at Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Her research interests include gender and governance, disaster management, and community development. Email: [email protected]