Minister for Marine and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti (center left) lifts Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno (center right) as newly revealed members of President Joko Widodo's cabinet mingle at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Sunday (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)
Activists hailed President Joko Widodo’s appointment of eight women to his cabinet — the largest number ever in Indonesia — although they remained cautious as to calling it significant progress.
Previously, the highest number of women in a president’s cabinet had been the four who served during the second term of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“In quantitative terms, we can see this as part of efforts to encourage progresses by women,” Masruchah, deputy chairwoman of the National Women’s Commission (Komnas Perempuan) told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.
“Some of them also occupy strategic positions that will enable them to protect and support women and marginalized groups in general.”
Among the female appointees in Joko’s Working Cabinet are Puan Maharani, the coordinating minister for human development and cultural affairs, State Enterprise Minister Rini Soemarno, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Health Minister Nila Moeloek, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, Social Services Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa and State Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Children Protection Yohana Yembise.
While figures such as Retno, Indonesia’s first female foreign minister, Nila and Yohana are largely considered professional technocrats, the others, critics have accused, are appointed mainly because of their proximity to power.
Puan, for example, is the daughter of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of Joko’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Rini, meanwhile, has long been known to be Megawati’s confidant; she was the industry and trade minister during the latter’s presidency.
Rini, former chief of Astra International, is considered by some critics to be Joko’s most controversial choice. They cite her questioning last year by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), in an investigation related to the notorious Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) case.
Masruchah of Komnas Perempuan hesitated to comment further on the female ministers’ qualities.
“They’ve only been appointed as ministers for a few days. We can only judge their qualities after they have worked for at least 100 days,” she said.
Andi Widjajanto, a close aide to Joko, said the president did not seek to allocate women specifically in these positions.
“When we finished composing the cabinet lineup on Saturday, we were surprised that it included eight women,” Andi said. “It was an unintended result.”
Defense Minister’s appointment draws criticism
Joko also came under fire for the appointment of hardline ex-general Ryamizard Ryacudu as defense minister, with activists saying Wednesday it marked a step backwards for human rights.
Activists allege that abuses took place during Ryamizard’s leadership of military operations to quash separatist groups in Aceh and Papua.
"There is a pessimism that he will respect human rights," Al Araf of prominent rights group Imparsial, told AFP.
John M. Miller from the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network added: "The appointment of a hardliner like Ryamizard Ryacudu tells us that President Widodo is not serious about promoting human rights or reaching out to Papua."
However the United States, a key ally of Indonesia, sought to play down the concerns.
"We are certainly aware of the allegations of human rights violations committed by the Indonesian army while the general served as army chief of staff," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. "We are not, however, aware of any allegation that ties the defense minister explicitly to a specific human rights violation."
Full Story: Praise as Record Number of Women Serve in Jokowi’s Cabinet
Sources:Jakarta Globe and AFP