From campus to legislatures: Women's experience of electoral politics in Indonesia

The path from student politics to electoral politics is a well-worn one across Asia. Literature examining this pathway overwhelmingly does so from the perspective of men, failing to adequately acknowledge women's relative inability to make the transition from campuses to legislatures in the same way. This article focuses on Indonesian women's experiences to explain why they remain underrepresented in politics and sheds light on the ways its student movements have shaped democracy. Through in-depth interviews with women who have and have not entered electoral politics after early political apprenticeships in student movements and focus group discussions with current students on potential political careers, we identify the barriers and opportunities faced by women in enhancing their political participation. We argue that the literature on student politics across Asia will remain incomplete without seriously attending to women's experiences. We thereafter argue for the need to identify ways to support them in their journey from campus to legislatures.