Puan Maharani: A Women's Representative in the Politics of Indonesia
Authors: Setiawan Adib Rifqi 
Published: October 2019

The roles of women in Indonesia today are being affected by many factors, including increased modernisation, globalisation, improved education, and advances in technology. Many Indonesian women choose to reside in cities instead of staying in townships to perform agricultural work because of personal, professional, and family-related necessities, and economic requirements. These women are moving away from the traditional dictates of Indonesian culture, wherein women act simply and solely as wives and mothers. At present, the women of Indonesia are also venturing actively into the realm of national development, and working as active members of organisations that focus and act on women's issues and concerns. Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala is one of women in Indonesia that working as active members of organisations. Born on Thursday Pon, 08 Syaban 1393 AH./6 September 1973 AC., Puan Maharani is a member of PDI-P, the largest party in the Indonesian parliament and the party of the president. A member of the People's Representative Council since her election in 2009, she served as head of her party's faction from 2012 until being appointed to cabinet in 2014. She then became Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs in cabinet between 2014 and 2019, that made her the only coordinating minister to be women. She was again elected to the parliament in the 2019 elections. Now, Puan Maharani serving as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council. This work examines what it has been and continues work from Puan Maharani in the politics of Indonesia. The politics of Indonesia take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic whereby the President of Indonesia is both head of state and head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two People's Representative Councils. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The 1945 constitution provided for a limited separation of executive, legislative and judicial power. The governmental system has been described as ‘presidential with parliamentary characteristics’. Following the Indonesian riots of May 1998 and the resignation of President Suharto, several politicsal reforms were set in motion via amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia, which resulted in changes to all branches of government. The exploration uses qualitative methods of narrative approaches in the form of biographical studies. Participants as data sources were selected using a purposive sampling technique which was collected based on retrospective interview and naturalistic observation. Data's validity, reliability, and objectivity checked by using external audit techniques. I believes that having more women in political fields is desirable because it would help bring about sustainable development. The result of this work reveales the powerful of women’s personal style in developing a form of social influence based on her forms of capital as well as address the positive and negative consequences that may follow.