Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Jakarta – The percentage of female legislators at the parliament has reached its highest level in history, but many parties, particularly women's rights activists, have not yet seen any significant changes to the country in terms of gender equality and female empowerment. The newly-inaugurated chairwoman of the Indonesian Parliament Caucus for Women A.P. Andi Timo Pangerang spoke to The Jakarta Post's Bagus BT Saragih to discuss the issue.

Question: What is the caucus' mission?

Answer: We will use the power at our disposal as lawmakers to accommodate women's aspirations. As members of the House of Representatives as well as the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), we have a legislative function – including drafting state budgets – and other authorities granted by the Constitution. Those are powerful tools we can use to help improve gender equality in this country.

What are your short-term plans?

I will start with programs that aim at enhancing our capacities. We, as parliamentarians, must have a comprehensive basic understanding on issues related to gender equality and female empowerment.

The next step is to build good communications with external parties. One of the goals set for the caucus since its establishment is to build synergy with other women's groups, including those affiliated with government agencies, ministries and NGOs. A strong partnership with those different groups is important to improve our capa-city in monitoring government policies.

About 18 percent of the legislators now are female. It is the highest figure ever. Do you see this as a success?

Our target is 30 percent, as stipulated in the law. We are quite satisfied with the current male-female composition at the parliament, though we believe we should lift the percentage higher in the future. I know it will be hard for us to reach 30 percent in the next period, but we are upbeat we can raise the percentage from the current level.

The 2008 Law on Political Parties law require political parties give 30 percent of their organizational committees' seats to women. However, many parties have not done so. What will the caucus do about this?

A law is supposed to be powerful. But in this case, we will rather use soft approach and will not just ask for the law to be enforced. From what I see, the problem is that political parties have a shortage of female members who are willing to pursue career in politics.

I understand that. To overcome this problem, the caucus will launch a campaign on the importance of women's involvement in politics. The campaign will target women at many levels, from college students to housewives. We hope they will garner knowledge on politics and eventually develop an interest in it.

The number of female politicians has gradually increased but many gender equality problems remain. What are the obstacles?

Of course, increasing the quantity (of female legislators) will not yield anything better if it is not followed by improving quality. In this country, the disparity between men and women starts from the elementary school level, particularly in remote areas. Women are still suffering discrimination there.

As a result, as they grow up, women continue to be seen as second-class citizens. This has to be stopped and the government must change that discriminatory outlook. Otherwise, the country will not be able to produce high quality women.

Can you tell me the women-related bills the House is planning to deliberate this year?

There are several, but I can't remember them.

Do you have 100-day program?

No. Not yet. We have not held any meeting yet for we were just inaugurated.