Women Allowed in Any Ministerial Positions in Jokowi Cabinet
25 July 2014 15:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo - Jusuf 'JK' Kalla campaign team member Eva Kusuma Sundari said Jokowi was very open to proposals for female ministers in the new cabinet. "The process is very participatory," Eva told Tempo earlier today.
The Jokowi administration does not require women to be placed in traditional positions such as Women Empowerment Minister or Health Minister. Women can be placed anywhere, even in the Defense Minister position. "As long as they are capable and meet Jokowi’s criteria," said Eva.
However, women are not very active in proposing names to fill ministerial positions. Jokowi actually welcomes women to fill his cabinet.
With Jokowi's very open cabinet arrangement system, it is important for women to be committed in encouraging each other to take strategic ministerial positions. "They protest but propose no name," she said, Friday.
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, defense observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said Jokowi-JK’s vision and mission give space for women to be involved in politics. "Women have the same opportunity in the ministries," she said.
There are still perceptions that Defense Minister is only for men, Jaleswari added. "It's usually men’s domain."
The opposite occurs in ministries related to social, health and women issues. "Social issues tend to be women-related. This mindset has not fully gone."
In arranging cabinet, she added, other than gender issues, it is also important to see whether they have good political and leadership skills.
After being declared winners of this year’s presidential election on July 22, Jokowi and JK have given opportunities for the public to propose ministerial candidates in their cabinet layer.
In Jokowi-JK camp’s official Facebook page, the public is asked to give their opinions on who are suitable to hold the president and vice president in the next period.
PRIO HARI KRISTANTO