Book discusses the trend of Indonesian women in politics

Source: NUS Press.

NUS Press has released Indonesian Women and Local Politics: Islam, Gender and Networks in Post-Suharto Indonesia by Kurniawati Hastuti Dewi, Senior Researcher, Research Center for Politics, Indonesian Institute of Sciences in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The book focuses on a significant social change in the history of Indonesia: the success of female Muslim political leaders in Java at direct local elections following the fall of President Suharto, the second president of Indonesia, in 1998. 

Indonesian Women and Local Politics shows that Islam, gender and social networks have been decisive in their political victories. Islamic ideas concerning female leadership provide a strong religious foundation for their political campaigns. However, their approach to women's issues shows that female leaders do not necessarily adopt a woman's perspectives when formulating policies. According to the author, this trend of Muslim women in politics will continue to shape the growth and direction of democratisation in local politics in post-Suharto Indonesia and will colour future discourse on gender, politics and Islam in contemporary Southeast Asia.

The paperback (ISBN: 978-9971-69-842-3) costs US$34 (S$38).