The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com
By James Morrison
Published May 5, 2005
'Welcome to politics'
A leading proponent of women's rights in Indonesia got
a hard lesson in politics when she ran for parliament last year.
Gefarina Djohan was deputy leader of her National Awakening
Party, and her name was second on the party list. She campaigned tirelessly
in her district, visiting the homes of 150,000 voters. She was confident of
victory.
However, after the votes were counted, her party
qualified for only one seat. And the party leader, a man who never campaigned
in the district, went to parliament.
"My campaigning and canvassing were not enough.
Welcome to politics," Mrs. Djohan told a
luncheon crowd of mostly female political activists in Washington yesterday.
"But like many women who ran and did not win, I
have redoubled my work in the party. I prefer not to think of this as losing,
but as an investment in my political future."
She may have lost the election, but she won the
respect of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI),
which presented her with the first Madeleine K. Albright Grant to
further her work for women's rights in the world's most populous Muslim
nation.
Mrs. Djohan received the
grant for her leadership of the Women's Political Caucus of Indonesia.
She credited the NDI for "helping us create something new in the world: an organization that
cuts across every party, every region and every community, an organization to
enhance the political participation of all women."
Mrs. Djohan expressed faith
in political parties as the "best vehicle, the natural vehicle" for
dealing with the challenges.
"By definition, parties commingle interests.
They find common ground. They express voices that may have no other
outlet," she said.
"Parties are not simply the path to power, but
the path to shared power, the practical objective of women everywhere."
Mrs. Djohan said the grant
will help the women's caucus "involve the mothers and daughters and
sisters of our nation" in politics.
Mrs. Albright, secretary of state under President
Clinton and now NDI chairwoman, said Mrs. Djohan
and her caucus are evidence that women are advancing in an emerging
democracy.
"Indonesia
is ... a society in the midst of a difficult but promising democratic
transition," Mrs. Albright said. "Along the way, it has had to
endure financial crises, terror attacks, civil strife and natural
catastrophes."
She noted a "direct connection between the
success of women in government and the quality of women's lives."
Mrs. Albright added: "Democracy is not possible
unless women are treated as full citizens both under law and by
practice."
Three good points
As she awarded the first grant, the former secretary
of state made an observation.
"We are presenting the first Madeleine K.
Albright Grant, which delights me for three reasons," she said.
"First, my name is on the grant; second, it's somebody else's money; and
third, it's not called the Madeleine K. Albright Memorial Grant."
Romanian visit
The new Romanian foreign minister has a crowded agenda
on his three-day visit to Washington.
Mihai Razvan
Ungureanu yesterday met with National
Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, and today he holds talks with Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican,
and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, before
addressing the American Jewish Committee's annual dinner.
Tomorrow, he meets with Paula Dobriansky,
undersecretary of state for global affairs, R. Nicholas Burns,
undersecretary of state for political affairs, and John Negroponte,
the new director of national intelligence.
His visit "highlights Romania's commitment, as a future
member of the European Union, to the strengthening and consolidation of the
trans-Atlantic relation," said Romanian Ambassador Sorin Ducaru.
• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax
202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.
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