Image credit: "Sugiono saat memimpin rapat Komisi I DPR RI" by Penyukatahu is marked with CC0 1.0.

In 2025, Indonesia commemorated the 41^st anniversary of the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) through Law No. 7 of 1984. This signifies the State’s efforts to pay attention to women’s rights and any potential for discrimination as part of human rights enforcement and respect, aligning with the State Constitution (UUD 1945)’s mandate in terms of respect towards people’s rights in general.

Nevertheless, the reality mentions a contrasting situation. The National Commission of Violence Against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan) listed approximately 305 discriminatory regulations against women officially legalized and applicable in Indonesia. Some examples include Tangerang City Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2005 and DKI Jakarta Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2007. Both stipulate public order, moral imposition, and community discipline; however, they demonstrate a predisposition to discriminate against women, perceived to dress improperly or loiter in certain public spaces at night.

This issue questions the role of Indonesian politicians, including women. It is based on the 30% women's representation in politics as profoundly stipulated in Article 6 paragraph (2) of General Election Commission Regulation No. 20 of 2018, which mandates the calculation of the 30 percent quota of prospective women legislative candidates in each electoral district. Consequently, it should necessarily impact women’s lives and secure gender balance while generally reducing excessively ingrained masculinity in politics.

Masculinity in Indonesian Politics: A Story Revealed

Masculinity in politics is inevitable due to its hegemony, referring to the cultural idea that accords with a stereotyped representation, as mentioned by sociologist Raewyn Connell. This construction contravenes the idea of femininity and other subordinate forms of masculinity, such as homosexuality, or “marginalized” ones like black men, thereby sustaining the gender social order, and therefore the subordination of women. In addition, this construction is claimed by political players, such as individuals or groups of persons related to the political domain, professional politicians, party members, and members of political movements who claim or gain political rights (Starck and Sauer). In this case, political masculinity leads to a perception of a male-dominated status quo in politics, which has a significant impact on female leadership in governments.

Particularly, in the Indonesian context, the actual problem emerges when political masculinity dominates women in parliament. It contrasts the stipulation of the General Election Commission Regulation No. 20 of 2018 regarding women’s political quota. Currently, under the newly elected President, Prabowo Subianto, masculinity in Indonesian politics has been overshadowing his political intention to promote gender equality principles. It is well signified by three interconnected trends in Indonesia’s politics: the military engagement in public and private spaces, a command-style and anti-criticism government, and a symbolic gender-based policy.

A member of the Bandung City House of Representatives (DPRD Kota Bandung), Christian Julianto, explains that ideally, women’s political perspectives are significant through the accomplishment of women’s political quota of 30% in the parliament; however, the reality is in contrast when the condition in the DPRD Kota Bandung shows only 18%, equal to 9 women out of a total of 50 representatives. In line with this statement, another member of the House, Nina Fitriani, said that women’s position as politicians is influential, not because of their sex. Nevertheless, she admitted that she rarely discovered public policies genuinely drafted by women politicians, because every decision regarding them is deliberated collectively, involving men politicians in the House who are taking the position more dominantly.

Discussing gender should be expanded within the context of diverse gender identities. In Indonesia, it is a rare condition when a transwoman manages to enter formal politics, generally dominated by men. March 2020 was an important milestone for the transwomen group, as Hendrika Mayora Victoria, or affectionately known as Bunda Mayora, was elected as the Chair of the Village Consultative Body (BPD) in Habi Village, Kangae District, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Therefore, she is widely regarded as the first transgender woman to run for public office in Indonesia

Furthermore, Mayora explained that women politicians in her region mostly result from the sustained political dynasties, who are even elected not because of their political capacity, but more because of their family backgrounds and their financial capacity, which is required as “an investment” to win their political campaigns. Within this context, she emphasized the importance of political education, which many local and national politicians and political parties often dismiss and rarely share openly with women who are willing to enhance their professional political experiences and capacities. These also result from a masculine political style that overlooks women in politics, focusing merely on their numbers and their connection to the past government, rather than on their qualifications.

Would Gender-Balance Exist?

Political masculinity remains inevitable in Indonesia, as said by Miftahul Huda, Head of the Initiative of Change Indonesia (IoFC). He emphasized that women’s political existence has improved, despite their insignificance in the political decision-making structure. Additionally, he implied that 30 percent of women's political quota should be an essential tool in achieving notable women’s leadership that will impact public policies. On the other hand, political masculinity sustains due to women’s patriarchal attitudes that support men in handling important decision-making, as implied by Mayora.

One of the most significant milestones in Indonesian women’s politics and leadership in legislation is the official enactment of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Crimes, signed and promulgated on 9 May 2022. It is an important achievement that underscores the collaborative work between women’s legislators and feminist movements. Additionally, this signifies a gender-justice legislation, which gained some male legislators’ support, for example, from Willy Aditya, an MP of the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), framing this law as a constitutional and humanitarian legislation to protect all victims, mostly women and children, and provide them a chance to amplify their stories.

To combat political masculinity, Nina continued that it should be continuously anticipated through capacity building for women politicians and strengthening their political positioning to secure promotable candidate list positions through a regulatory mechanism. To a wider extent, the public should be well educated to understand that women have a strong capacity as political leaders, and male politicians should reconsider various gender-based aspects to prevent bias and masculine-style policies, stressed by Christian. To address these issues, political education for women is critical to provide highly competent and dedicated women in politics, said Huda. This should not be fragmented and conducted systematically in terms of strengthening integrity, moral bravery, value-based leadership, leading to peace, as well as gender and ecological justice.

All of these mentioned above are not an instant implementation, but a long-term investment in politics that requires a good political will and an attitude transformation to break the ingrained cycle of patriarchy as a sustained root in the Indonesian political system. In this context, Mayora added that it not only refers to men but also to women in terms of the patriarchal attitude that needs to be reformed; therefore, this transformation will result in fair political leadership and legislative work that emerges across gender lines to eradicate political masculinity.