Women’s movements under women presidents: bringing a gender perspective to the legal system

ABSTRACT

Few women have risen to the ranks of heads of state or government worldwide. The low numbers of female presidents and prime ministers in world history have left many untested assumptions about the impact of female leadership on the lives of fellow women. This article builds upon two bodies of work – studies of female presidencies, on the one hand, and on women’s movement-building, particularly in South and South-East Asia, on the other – to focus on the relationship between women leaders and women’s movements. Utilising case studies of national law reform during the presidencies of Corazon Aquino (1986–1992) and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–2010) in the Philippines and Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001–2004) in Indonesia, and drawing from key informant interviews in both countries, I argue that when women lead, women’s movements employ particular strategies to catalyse the passage of ‘women-friendly’ legislation. Examples of law reform illustrate the power of the female vote to sway presidential decision-making and the flow-on effect of a president who values the participation of fellow women in the government bureaucracy. Yet the relationship between female presidents and the success of movements is neither clear-cut nor linear. Women’s movements face opportunities and limitations under the leadership of women presidents, often having to compromise their agendas to achieve a united front.

Rares sont les femmes qui ont gravi les échelons pour devenir chefs d’État ou de gouvernement de par le monde. Le faible nombre de femmes présidentes et premiers ministres dans l’histoire du monde a donné lieu à de nombreuses hypothèses non vérifiées quant à l’impact du leadership féminin sur la vie des autres femmes. Cet article se base sur deux ensembles de travaux — des études sur les présidences de femmes d’une part et sur le renforcement des mouvements de femmes, en particulier en Asie du Sud et du Sud-Est, de l’autre — afin de se concentrer sur la relation entre les leaders de sexe féminin et les mouvements de femmes. Je me base sur des études de cas de réformes de la législation nationale durant la présidence de Corazon Aquino (1986-1992) et celle de Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) aux Philippines, et celle de Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001-2004) en Indonésie, ainsi que sur des entretiens menés avec des interlocuteurs clés dans les deux pays pour soutenir que, lorsque les femmes sont au pouvoir, les mouvements de femmes emploient des stratégies particulières pour catalyser l’adoption de lois « favorables aux femmes ». Les exemples de réforme de la législation illustrent le pouvoir du vote féminin au moment d’influencer la prise de décisions présidentielles et l’effet « cascade » d’un président qui accorde une valeur à la participation des autres femmes à la bureaucratie gouvernementale. Or, la relation entre les présidents et le succès des mouvements n’est ni clairement définie ni linéaire. Les mouvements de femmes ont des opportunités mais se heurtent aussi à des limites sous le leadership de femmes présidentes, et doivent souvent transiger sur leurs propres ordres du jour pour pouvoir faire front commun.

En todo el mundo, las mujeres que han llegado a desempeñarse como jefas de Estado o de gobierno son pocas. El escaso número de presidentas y primeras ministras a lo largo de la historia suscita muchas suposiciones que no han sido comprobadas respecto al impacto del liderazgo femenino en la vida de las mujeres. Para examinar este fenómeno, el presente artículo se fundamenta en dos conjuntos de trabajos: por un lado, estudios sobre presidencias encabezadas por mujeres y, por otro, estudios sobre la construcción de movimientos de mujeres, especialmente en el sur y el sureste de Asia, con el objeto de profundizar en la articulación entre mujeres líderes y movimientos de mujeres. Con base en estudios de caso sobre la reforma legislativa nacional durante las presidencias de Corazón Aquino (1986-1992) y Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) en Filipinas, y de Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001-2004) en Indonesia, y a partir de entrevistas que realicé con informantes clave en ambos países, sostengo que, cuando las mujeres lideran, los movimientos de mujeres emplean estrategias particulares para catalizar la aprobación de legislaciones “favorables a las mujeres”. En este sentido, los ejemplos de reforma legislativa analizados ilustran el poder del voto femenino para incidir en la toma de decisiones presidenciales, así como el efecto de flujo de una presidenta que valora la participación de sus compañeras en la burocracia gubernamental. Sin embargo, el vínculo entre las presidentas y el éxito de los movimientos no es claro ni lineal. Bajo el liderazgo de mujeres presidentas, los movimientos de mujeres cuentan con oportunidades y enfrentan limitaciones, transigiendo a menudo en sus agendas para lograr un frente unido.

KEYWORDS:

• Women’s movements
• women presidents
• women-friendly legislation
• Corazon Aquino
• Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
• Megawati Sukarnoputri

Acknowledgements

Thanks are owed to Tina Huang and Lisa Billington for their research assistance and to José-Miguel Bello y Villarino for his thoughtful remarks on earlier versions of this article.

Notes

1 The word ‘movements’ is used in plurality to reflect the different movements that existed across Indonesia and the Philippines, but also within each country. This is particularly important given that this article addresses the agendas of both what are at times seen as ‘radical’ organisations, what are labelled ‘feminist’ organisations, as well as conservative or often religious-based women’s movements.

2 For another example, see the valuable edited collection of Janet Martin and MaryAnne Borrelli from 2016, which contains some chapters that are comparative but the majority of which remain single-country case studies, with a particular focus on the USA (Martin and Borrelli 2016).

3 For example, Acosta et al. (2019), Gómez Pinzón (2017), Poncela (2012), Rodríguez Escalante (2011), Ruiz Seisdedos and Gascón (2015), Valencia (2015), and Valenzuela (2015).

4 For example, Adams (2008), Anderson et al. (2011), Chikaipa (2019), Ettang (2014), Groot (2016), and Kamwendo and Kamwendo (2012).

5 The term conservative is often used negatively in women’s rights. The term is used here to acknowledge the non-monolithic category of women and women’s interests. Susan Blackburn, scholar of Indonesia, in a paper on the ‘politics of Islam’ uses the language of ‘political moderates’ and ‘political radicals’. For Blackburn, ‘moderates as those who work towards their goals through reforms within the existing political system, while radicals reject the system and work outside it’ (Blackburn 2008, 84–5). At times, my use of the term ‘conservative’ may align with Blackburn’s language of moderates. Blackburn noted how, at the end of the 20th century (and nearing the start of President Megawati’s tenure), women were ‘scarcely heard’ among the ranks of radical Islam but had found a voice within moderate Islam ‘ever more vocal and active’ (Blackburn 2008, 85), reflecting how ‘conservative’ or ‘moderate’ movements may prove important spaces for women’s participation and advocacy.

6 All interviews were conducted in English, recorded with the consent of participants, and transcribed. The data were analysed to derive theories, what is commonly known as grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 1968). Such an approach begins with prior assumptions, with levels of richer analysis added, at times validating and at other times contradicting these assumptions (Corbin and Strauss 2008).

7 Informants referred to ‘balcony parliaments’ to describe the occupation of the balconies of parliaments by large numbers of women activists. Their presence drew media interest and helped bolster awareness – and support – for the cause.

8 Article 65 stated, ‘Every political party in the elections may propose candidates for members of the national, provincial and local parliaments for each electoral district with consideration for at least 30 per cent of women’s representation’ (Siregar 2005, 37).

9 Known to her friends as Oyie, Aurora Javate de Dios is a key figure in the Filipino women’s rights movement. Now largely retired from public life, Oyie is the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) – Asia Pacific; former Chairperson of the National Commission of the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW); and was an Associate Professor at Miriam College in the Philippines and Executive Director of the Women and Gender Institute at Miriam College.

10 For more, see Berkman and O’Connor (1993), Courtemanche and Green (2017), and Taylor-Robinson and Heath (2003).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported, in part, by funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs Development Leadership Programme (2020–2022); the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia Research Fellowship (2020–2022); and the UTS Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship.

Notes on contributors

Ramona Vijeyarasa

Ramona Vijeyarasa is a Research Fellow of the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia (2020–2022) and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney, where she has designed a ‘Gender Legislative Index’ to assess the gender-responsiveness of domestic laws. She is editor of International Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: Making the Law Work for Women (2021) and author of Sex, Slavery and the Trafficked Women: Myths and Misconceptions About Trafficking and its Victims (2015). Ramona’s research is informed by a decade working in civil society. Ramona was the 2020 Women’s Leadership Institute Australia Research Fellow and has research grants and awards from New York University, the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Postal address: University of Technology Sydney, Building 2, Level 15, Rm 210, Broadway, NSW, Australia 2007. Email: [email protected]