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interview with Yenny Wahid

IndonesiaCIA The World Factbook

YI: What can you do about that?

Yenny Wahid: I'm still scratching my head and trying to find a solution. I don't know. We can make it not easy for people to run. They would have to go through certain parameters first, certain number of voter support before they can run. Make it a bit more challenging for people to run. Not just anyone can run. But it also sets the scene for creating discourse in which clerics shed a negative light on those using their religious organizations to get ahead in the political race.

YI: You are a woman, in an Islamic organization, and in your party. Have you ever experienced any discrimination in the course of your work?

Yenny Wahid: Yes, of course. At first it was very difficult, because I am also dealing with conservative communities. Our constituents are mostly from the conservative communities. It's very difficult because they are not used to dealing with women. And I'm very independent. I travel alone. They see that as something negative. If I need to travel, I must be accompanied by someone. So, I chose a bodyguard, a male body guard. They said, “No no,” They said that I should be escorted by a relative or a woman. Things like that. Or in gatherings, I would be put in the women's section, separate from the men. But I would rather engage the men because they are the ones who are more active in being the agents of change in their societies, in their parties and in their local communities. But, I hope that more and more women will assert themselves.

YI: But how do you deal with this difficulty?

Yenny Wahid: I just keep on ahead, do what I have to do and keep pushing, and eventually I believe that they will get accustomed to me. I might be apart now but it will be easier. I'm lucky because I have my father as a protector, because I am seen more as his daughter. That gives me a wall of protection, the see me as an extension of him, so they want to engage me. I'm aware of this, and I intend to use this for the benefit of women.

YI: Did your father have an influence in your interest in politics?

Yenny Wahid: Indirectly, because I observe him, I watch him, I help him, but he has never asked me to join the political party, for example. It was purely my own decision. And it took me three years to finally reach this decision, because I knew it was going to be hard, that there would be consequences, that there would be no more privacy, no more lazy times, there would be hard work all the time. I finally realized that I am privileged and that if I don't choose this road, I'm afraid that one day, I will regret not taking it.

YI: As a woman and as a political activist, what is it that you would like to achieve?

Yenny Wahid: I would like to inject more idealism within the party, and it's a struggle, despite my position as a secretary-general. Because in Indonesia, probably elsewhere too, there's this negative connotation thing to being a politician, because so many politicians are corrupt. I just try my best to inject more positive ideas, giving them a sense of confidence, trying to teach people, to push for at least our policies would reflect on our push into making politics as a tool of change, not a place to obtain power. There has to be more faith in our cause. It's a struggle. Our MPs sometimes, I get the feeling they think their main job is to advocate for something. And my job is to be a sort of a whip, to whip them into action.

YI: What should be done so that more women get into politics?

Yenny Wahid: At the moment, I'm trying to do a number of things. In my party, for example, by forcing more and more women to get involved in politics by demanding more portion for them. I go to branches, to get more women involved, at least 30 percent. Sometimes I fight with the party members, because I tell them, look, we need more women. And in conservative areas like in Banten in West Java, it's very hard. I would be the only woman in the meeting. And most of smoke, it's very hard. So I try to create more involvement for women, at least in the party structure.

YI: What do you say when the women ask what benefit would it be for them?

Yenny Wahid: Well, I would say, it's up to them. If you want a condition in the country that would benefit them, then it's up to them, up to us.

YI: Do they understand that?

Yenny Wahid: Yes, they understand that. But they give all kinds of excuses, that them men don't allow them, etc. So I tell them to just keep on trying.

YI: How do you assess the reform programs that began 10 years ago?

Yenny Wahid: Sometimes, it feels like one step forward, two steps backward kind of movement. We've made progress in some areas but in other areas we are lagging and I think more and more people, especially those hit hardest not by the reform movement but by its economic aspects, seem disillusioned by the reform movement. They feel they haven't been any progress yet in terms of the economic condition. They see that reforms are not bringing anything to the people. I sense that there's a sense of disillusionment among the people. The process of democracy is moving, but not the substance of democracy. It's not to our liking.

YI: So, what do you think is the biggest problem facing Indonesia today?

Yenny Wahid: Education is one, of course, and trying to create economic prosperity and political stability. But economic progress is the main issue. Without that kind of progress, people will become more dissatisfied and when that happens, we will have more dissatisfaction which can lead to political instability. To me those are the main issues facing any government. How to bring about economic progress in the country.

YI: Will you run in the 2009 general elections?

Yenny Wahid: No, I will not. I hope to go around and get to know people better, because you see more and more politicians trying to run and when they get elected, they don't even know what to do. I don't to be such a politician. I want to know more about the problems this country is facing. I want to try and find solutions by talking to the people, by getting to know them, going to remote areas and really getting to know the people.

YI: Well, thank you Yenny for your time.

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