Theological–Intersectional Analysis of Women’s Position within Indonesia’s Masculine–Majoritarian Power Structures
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64099/545x3x06Keywords:
CDA, feminist theology, Indonesian politics, intersectionality, tokenism, women’s representationAbstract
This study examines the representation of women in Indonesian politics through the combined frameworks of intersectionality and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Although the 30 percent gender quota has increased women’s descriptive representation, the findings indicate that their presence in parliament has not yet translated into substantive representation. CDA results reveal five recurring patterns of tokenism experienced by women legislators: non-strategic ballot placement, assignment to domestic or “feminine” policy areas, limited access to strategic positions, internal party stereotypes, and symbolic representation without meaningful legislative influence. These barriers are intensified for women from religious minority groups, who encounter double marginalization due to the intersection of gender, religion, and social class. The theological dimension of this study highlights the need to reconstruct women’s spirituality through approaches such as Kartini’s womb theology and the Batak concept of Ina na Marsahala. These frameworks affirm women as imago Dei with inherent dignity, creativity, and full agency in both public and religious life. The study concludes that achieving substantive representation requires structural reforms within political parties, enhanced capacity-building for women legislators, and emancipatory reinterpretations of religious discourse. This research contributes both theoretically and practically to the understanding of women’s political representation in Indonesia.
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