Episode 23: He For She? Jakarta Gubernatorial Candidates on Women’s Issues

In this episode, we discuss the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election happening on February 15, 2017 between three candidate pairs of Governor & Vice-Governor: Ticket #1 – Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono & Sylviana Murni, Ticket #2 – Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (commonly known as Ahok) & Djarot Syaiful Hidayat, and Ticket #3 – Anies Baswedan & Sandiaga Uno.

We focus in particular on what each candidate pair has said about what they would do with regards to women’s issues in Jakarta, such as female-friendly transportation, healthcare, the economy, and preventing domestic violence and sexual abuse. We go into detail on the backgrounds of each of these individuals, including the various scandals that plague them. We also talk about how the ways in which each campaign has talked about tackling various women’s issues as an indication on their larger perspective on leadership — whether that’s Agus-Sylvi’s female-friendly vision (albeit shy on details), Ahok-Djarot’s emphasis on practical & technical solutions (albeit at times stop-gap rather than comprehensive), and Anies-Sandi’s ambitious masterplan (albeit a bit naive and unclear on funding and actual mechanisms). None of these candidates are perfect and there is still a lot of work to be done for women’s rights in this city, but we hope that by discussing their campaign rhetoric from our perspective — as people who care deeply about women’s issues — we can shed some light and inform both voters & non-voters on what the future leaders of Jakarta are promising for women.

For those of you who are Jakarta residents, please remember to vote on Wednesday, February 15, 2017! It’s incredibly important that, as a growing and maturing democracy, we perform our civic duty to stay informed and participate in elections! It’s a national holiday, so you don’t have any excuses! To register, simply visit your RT/RW with your KTP (identity card) before Election Day. To check if you have registered, visit this website.

Finally, this conversation could not have happened with the amazing work and research done by our friend and a regular guest on the podcast, Kate Walton, who wrote about this very topic for news site PinterPolitik (Stephanie’s new venture) — so thank you Kate!

Thanks for listening, and VOTE!
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For those interested in learning more about the topic, we’ve provided links to resources as well as other recommended readings.
Agus-Sylvi: Jakarta Must be Friendly to Women — Agus-Sylvi’s female-friendly vision for the city
Agus-Sylvi: Only Agus Chose a Female Vice-Governor — Sylviana Murni’s statement on Agus’ commitment to a female-friendly vision
 
Ahok-Djarot: Female-Only Pink TransJakarta Buses — Ahok-Djarot’s famous female-friendly transportation solution
Ahok-Djarot: Free Cervical Cancer Vaccine — Ahok-Djarot’s program of preventing HPV from becoming cervical cancer in schoolchildren
Ahok’s Programs for Women are Already Proven — courtesy of Jakarta Asoy
7 Programs for Women by the Ahok-Djarot Campaign — Ahok-Djarot’s the only ticket that has issued a book on their specific women’s programs
 
Anies-Sandi: Empowering Women — Anies-Sandi on providing financial support and resources for mothers & female entrepreneurs
Anies-Sandi: Supporting Women and Family — Anies-Sandi on daycare facilities & paternity leave
Anies-Sandi: Protecting Women and Children — Anies-Sandi on safe houses for victims of domestic violence
 
Various Polling Results as of February 3, 2017 — courtesy of Detik.com
The Gubernatorial Candidates & Their Positions on Women’s Issues — Kate’s article, courtesy of PinterPolitik
 
 
 
MUSIC CREDITS:
SOUL HIGH by RYAN LITTLE
MONTMARTRE by JAHZAAR
NIGHT OWL by BROKE FOR FREE