A member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Alimatul Qibtiyah, has called for affirmative action or a special treatment policy to achieve gender equality  in political leadership.

“There needs to be a new comprehension in society and policies that contain special treatment or affirmative action to achieve gender balance,” she said in a statement received here on Friday.

Women and men need support and treatment according to their conditions and needs, she pointed out.

The situation of women and men is not the same: They both differ in biological aspects and their roles in the family and society are heavily influenced by culture, particularly patriarchal culture.

Patriarchal culture is behind the discrepancy in the difficulties women and men face in their careers, with the former tending to find it harder to continue with their careers, Qibtiyah said.

“In the end, women tend to choose family over career opportunities that are in sight,” she noted.

According to her, the influence of a deeply-ingrained patriarchal culture causes women to subconsciously recognize and regard patriarchal understanding as a truth that must be obeyed.

This leads to women facing more challenges than men despite being presented with the same career opportunities and having the same capacities and qualifications.

Currently, Indonesian women can be seen to have received equal access to public careers, she noted.

“Of course, this development will give any female warriors a sense of pride from time to time,” she said.

And yet the fact remains that the number of women occupying leadership positions is still far smaller compared to of men, Qibtiyah added.

Source: Antara News