VZCZCXRO7014
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #1308/01 2190427
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070427Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3013
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001308 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR J. BADER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN ID
SUBJECT: IN USG-SPONSORED EVENT, WOMEN POLITICIANS SHARE 
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1305 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.    (U) SUMMARY:  In a USG-funded workshop held August 6-8 
in Jakarta, a multi-partisan group of Indonesian women 
politicians shared their successful campaign stories to 
encourage colleagues to further political action.  The 
politicians--who assume their legislative seats in 
October--explained how they used technology and creative 
outreach and tapped into family links to woo voters.  Women 
remain underrepresented in Indonesia's political 
institutions.  That said, there are signs of steady 
improvement:  over 15 percent of the new Indonesian House of 
Representatives (DPR) will consist of women legislators, for 
example, up from 11 percent in 2004.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ENCOURAGING WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 
 
¶2.    (U) A USG-funded workshop run by the National 
Democratic Institute brought together one hundred women who 
had contested the regional and national legislative elections 
to share best practices, August 6-8.  The workshop included 
women who had been elected in the April legislative elections 
and those who had not.  The agenda focused on lessons learned 
and sharpening political skills to prepare for future 
elections. 
 
SUCCESS STORIES 
 
¶3.    (U) The event was multi-partisan (Indonesia has over 35 
political parties).  Three women who had successfully run for 
office in 2009 shared their stories and strategies for 
success.  One, a Christian Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) 
member, said women must use the avenues open to them and rely 
on family and personal networks, such as wives' clubs.  She 
urged her defeated colleagues not to give up, noting that she 
had run in 2004 and lost. 
 
¶4.    (U) Her colleague, a jilbab (headscarf)-bedecked 
Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) member, 
shared a video she used to sway voters featuring her work at 
charity events.  To avoid the trap of voters' expectations 
that candidates "are like ATM machines," she taught voters 
instead how to lobby relevant political institutions to meet 
community needs.  A third speaker attributed her success to 
focusing on key areas she identified via outreach to 
religious groups as well as citizens at large. 
 
¶5.    (U) The rest of the program focused on in-depth 
discussion of political skills and lessons learned from both 
losing and winning candidates.  In small groups, the women 
discussed the obstacles they had faced during the campaign 
and brainstormed solutions for the next one.  Campaign 
finance and money politics were the biggest issues facing the 
candidates.  Many candidates expressed their gratitude to NDI 
for continuing to train and believe in them. 
 
SOME PROGRESS IN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 
 
¶6.  (U) While there has been measurable progress, women are 
still under-represented in political and public institutions 
in Indonesia, according to the Asia Foundation.  Only four of 
34 cabinet members are women and only one of 33 governors is 
a woman.  Moreover, a third of local parliaments lack even a 
single woman legislator. 
 
¶7.  (U) The future for women's political participation in 
Indonesia is brightening, however.  The numbers of women 
legislators entering the 2009 DPR jumped from 11 percent to 
between 15-18 percent (pending final seat allocation).  Women 
are also increasingly active in civil society and commercial 
affairs.  Women activists brought affirmative action to the 
forefront of the nation's consciousness during the 2009 
campaign.  They appeared to gain ground with a new election 
law which stipulated that political parties include one women 
in every three candidates on their list in order to boost the 
number of women in the DPR to 30 percent (see reftels).  An 
International Republican Institute survey showed that 75 
percent of respondents were in favor of this plan.  A later 
court decision overturned this affirmative action clause. 
The issue of encouraging women's political participation 
remains very much on the table in Indonesia, however. 
 
¶8.  (U) As reported earlier, USAID-supported programs such as 
this "Win with Women" workshop have been an important element 
in encouraging women's political participation in Indonesia. 
Mission plans to continue supporting such programming, which 
is widely welcomed by Indonesian women. 
 
JAKARTA 00001308  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
HUME