Joko Widodo Views on Women's Interests Before and During the Pandemic Based on Social-Media

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic has had many impacts on Indonesian women. As one of the pilot countries for the HeForShe project campaigned by UN Women, it is interesting to analyze how the President of Indonesia responds to this phenomenon. Many studies focus on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on women. But, there is a lack of research on how the government responds to women's interests during the Pandemic compared to the situation before the Pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyses how the President of Indonesia views women's interests before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Two official social-media of the President of Republic Indonesia Joko Widodo: The Official Twitter Account of the President of Indonesia @jokowi and The Official Facebook Account of The President of Indonesia @Jokowi · Minat are used as the primary data sources. The findings indicate that before the COVID-19 Pandemic, President Joko Widodo gave significant attention to strategic women's interests such as subordination and gender equality. But the situation changed during the Pandemic. The President views the fulfillment of daily needs such as food and health as more urgent for women in the COVID-19 Pandemic than strategic interests. This study highlights that in a crisis, the focus of the government policy is safe for the people first (women and men) to fulfill their basic needs. The gender equality agenda is becoming marginalized.