The Jakarta Post, January 09, 2007
Politics and sharia this year's feminist targets
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Women's rights activists pledged Monday to continue to campaign for greater political
representation for women and to fight against sharia-inspired laws.
"We are pursuing changes in the election law to require that 30 percent of parties'
legislature candidates are women," said Masruchah, the secretary general of the
Indonesian Women's Coalition, speaking at the coalition's annual report meeting.
"This regulation should be made mandatory, so that parties will not be allowed to run
in the 2009 general elections (if they fail to comply)," she said.
While current electoral law states that 30 percent of a party's candidates should be
women, it is not compulsory.
"We have been working to draft the amendment and are lobbying several House
commissions related to electoral issues, such as Commission VIII which oversees
women's empowerment," Masruchah said.
The coalition has also spoken about electoral reform with political parties, women's
organizations and in the public arena.
It also plans to work to amend the marriage law, particularly the polygamy articles,
which it regards as discriminating against women.
"Polygamy is not fair and is considered violence against women," she said.
"An article in the law stipulates that a man is allowed to take a new wife whenever his
current wife 'cannot function as a wife', (in situations such as) being infertile or
undergoing a serious illness."
Public attention was recently focused on the polygamy issue when a popular Muslim
cleric announced he had taken a second wife.
There have been calls to ban the practice completely. Sharia law allows a man to
have four wives.
The coalition is also fighting against regional sharia-based bylaws.
"We have filed a judicial review with the Supreme Court to annul a sharia bylaw
enacted by the Tangerang municipality administration," Masruchah said.
The coalition, which is still waiting for results of the judicial review, said there were 56
sharia bylaws across the country, most of which were passed in 2006. (01)
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