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FLUX AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE, POWER AND PRACTICES: ISSUES RELATING TO SOCIAL JUSTICE231E. The Negative Implications of the ElectoralSystemThis research found out that the single seat systemwhereby only one candidate is selected for a particularconstituency has a determinant impact on womencandidates in an election. The system operates like aninvisible filter that favors male candidates over femaleones because of the public perception that men are the“natural leaders”. Feminist researchers generally agreedthat “A Proportional Representation (PR) electoralsystem is more favorable to the representation ofwomen than the single-member constituency system”.(Dahleup 2010).Both Japan and the Philippines have incorporated theproportional representative system, but most of theconstituencies in Japan still use the single seat system.Even though the party list system in the Philippines issupposed to protect the interest of minority groupsincluding women, in recent years this system has beenused by a few well-established male politicians such asMikey Arroyo, Gloria Arroyo’s son, to gain seats forhimself and some party mates. Mikey Arroyo indeedused the party list system to avoid having to run againsthis mother, and to still gain a seat for himself with hisnew NGO or party.Certainly, the high election deposit fees were also citedas a challenge to some women politicians, especially asthis cost may not be recovered after election, unless thewoman candidate will have managed to receive acertain percentage of votes. The fees pose a barrier toentry, especially to those who lack the financial meansto mount a campaign.F. Media Strategies: What Gets to the News?Media plays an important role in politics, as it is thesource of information for the public to decide whomto vote. However, media portrayals of women arealways of the stereotype variety. Within this context,media coverage of women politicians is also skewedtowards certain other stereotypes, e.g., womenpoliticians tend to get coverage based on personal newsrather than their personal views on policy matters.Still, media exposure and personal fame are influentialfactors in women’s entry into politics. Many womenpoliticians are invited by the male-oriented politicalparties to join them because of these women’s highcelebrity status. It has been widely recognized thatsome women politicians are former TV celebrities,actresses, or even Olympic gold medalists. Thistendency is closely linked to the “celebrity-centric”media, which play on the fame of these personalitiesmore than their political ideology or contribution.While this “celebrity” factor is not limited to females,the capability of women as politicians is doubted moreoften than that of their male counterparts. Therefore,women politicians need to be able to utilize media totheir advantage.In Japan, many of the women politicians are authors ofbooks and maintain blogs to share their opinions,schedule and activities.CONCLUSIONSPolitics Is GenderedPolitics in itself is “gendered”. Each gendered person issituated within his or her specific living environment,socio-cultural context, and a variety of social networks.Gender determines one’s level of access toinformation, resources, and opportunity for power.For example, girls who lack role models in politics willbe less likely to aspire to be a political leader comparedto boys.Despite social changes that enable women access topublic spheres in education, employment, technology,and science, the perception that women are confinedto either their household or gendered social circles stillholds true. According to Rashidah Ramli (2005),“Power tends to be associated with the public sphere ofexistence.… Thus, in order to maintain power,especially in a male dominated system, the powerstructures can choose to make women invisible”. In theface of the “big boys club” in politics, women couldeither “cross over” to the boys’ network, or start theirown network until it is substantial enough to demandinclusivity in politics.While women politicians are often being asked abouthow they manage between being mothers and wives,male politicians are hardly ever asked about their rolesas fathers and husbands. We are also tricked by ourbiases if we tend to question the credibility of womenpoliticians who have made it due to kinship politics, ortheir celebrity status, but fail to apply the samequestion to discredit male politicians. In fact, malepoliticians who use the same routes are praised forbeing resourceful and influential in exercising theirpower. For our part, we should start educating theThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows
232 Panel 5younger generations that both leadership and politicsare as well the rights of women, rather than merelyreinforcing these gender stereotypes.Is Affirmative Action a Solution?The question on how to increase women’sparticipation in politics has been debated on at theinternational level in the UN World Conferences onWomen since three decades back. While affirmativeaction has been introduced as a workable solution toincrease women’s participation in politics, argumentsthat substantive representation is not guaranteed byaffirmative action have been raised, because womencan be integrated into the male-dominated politicalsystem as a form of “tokenism”.However, it is important to recognize that affirmativeaction has been put forward to address the symptom ofgender imbalance in leadership positions by trying toensure the presence of 30 percent or more women inall levels of decision-making. It is hoped that thisminimum 30 percent will form a critical mass that willeffect change in the existing power structure, and inthe male-dominated political culture, thus allowinggreater opportunity for gender equality to beestablished. The gender quota should be implementedas an integrative strategy, together with gender equalitypolicies and the existence of a supportive network, inorder for women candidates to contest and winelections.Democratization and Feminist Political NetworksIf we treat politics as a powerhouse, we need todemocratize the current power structure or theexisting political system to enable the distribution ofpower to women. Despite the current politicalmilestone that has been achieved by women politiciansin Japan, in the 2009 JAC (Japan AccountabilityCaucus) NGO Joint Report, the government of Japanwas condemned for failing to enact effective publicpolicies to increase women’s substantive participationin politics.Instead of waiting and hoping for the current politicalsystem to align itself, it is crucial to have feministpolitical networks that will lobby the government tobring about greater political participation of women,and representation for feminist politics at the estatelevel, while at the same time providing effectivesupport to women politicians to contest and winelections. Here, I apply the broader definition of theterm “feminist” as referring simply to “someone who isaware of the subordinate social position of women inhis/her society and attempts to do something toreduce gender inequity”. The cases of SNC and AFERin Japan and Akbayan in the Philippines are clearexamples of efforts initiated from the bottom up.Instead of seeing the current situation of genderimbalance as “disempowering”, we could view thissituation as an important yet strategic historicaljuncture for forming a feminist political representativenetwork. This network would facilitate, recruit, orprovide support to women’s entry in national politics,and push for greater electoral reform. It would likewisepush for the inclusion of a gender sensitization strategyin voters’ education.Towards implementing these changes, it is not enoughto merely increase the quantity of women taking partin politics; just as essential is improving the quality ofsuch political participation. Therefore, it is importantfor the younger generation of women to be inspired totake part in national politics for social change. Withthese in mind, the documentary film was made tocapture the journeys of various women politicians andthe forces behind their success, as case studies forfuture generations.AcknowledgementI would like to acknowledge and express my gratitudeto everyone who has helped me in this project, rightfrom the application for the fellowship, up until thesubmission of this report. Apart from gettingassistance from the host organizations, I also receivedpersonal support from many others. Allow me,therefore, to express my sincere thanks to those whohelped me in the process of researching andinterviewing for the documentary, and, ultimately, inits production.NOTES1http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm, accessed on 31 July2011.2 http://www.cedaw2010.org/index.php/about-cedaw/ratification-scorecard/40, accessed on 31 July 2011.3http://www.shugiin.go.jp/index.nsf/html/index_e_strength.htm, accessed on 3 September 2010.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows
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CULTURE, POWER AND PRACTICES:THE GL
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viABOUT THE BOOKCULTURE, POWER AND
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viiiACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe API Coordin
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x(co-authored with Gunawan Wiradi,
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xiiSri Wahyuni is the director of t
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xivThe gap between rich and poor is
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xviand development mainly: Economy,
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xviiiIn closing, I would like to qu
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xxmovements to defend their rights,
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xxiicomplex relationships between f
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MULTIPLE MODERNITIES: GLOBALIZATION
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POTENTIAL OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND PR
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Page 282 and 283: 255THAILANDAroon Puritat, Artist an
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