Women in the Parliament and Their Role in Formulating Gender Responsive Policies in East Nusa Tenggara

Jovani, Audra and Subono, Nur Iman and Suyanto, Isbodroini (2020) Women in the Parliament and Their Role in Formulating Gender Responsive Policies in East Nusa Tenggara. Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 3 (4). pp. 1043-1062. ISSN 2615 3718

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Abstract

East Nusa Tenggara's culture is deeply-rooted in patriarchy. It is more common for women to engage in the private sphere, rather than the public sphere. However, the women of East Nusa Tenggara have recently defied this expectation. In the 2014 Provincial Legislative Election, six women were elected as legislative members for the 2014-2019 period, reflectinga 100 percent increase in the number of women elected as representatives. This event became an important phenomenon, marking the history of women's representation in the parliament. It also became the basis of two questions. First, how the six women managed to enter politics amidst the strong patriarchy in East Nusa Tenggara. Second, the roles of the six women in formulating policies that are genderresponsive. This study focuses on local regulations relating to maternal and child health, the environment, and labor in order to have a holistic view on gender-responsive policies. This study is qualitative in nature and is centered on case study, while information was gathered through an in-depth interview with each of the six female representatives. Furthermore, the administrators of six political parties, namely Nasional Demokrat, GolonganKarya, Demokasi Indonesia Perjuangan, Amanat Nasional, Hati Nurani Rakyat, and Kebangkitan Bangsa were also interviewed. The principal findings of this study show that the election of these women in 2014 are connected to their "acting for" substantive representation and the support given by their families. With the increase of female representation in the legislative sphere, women are encouraged to be engaged in formulating gender-responsive policies in East Nusa Tenggara. Keywords: Women, Representation, Gender-Responsive Policies, East Nusa Tenggara

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