The woman who may break through Indonesia's boys' club

Politics is often a male-dominated family affair in South-east Asia's largest economy. Change may come from East Java.

- Karishma Vaswani

Indonesia is plagued by dynastic politics, partly as a hangover of its dictatorial past. With democracy increasingly entrenched in the last quarter-century, voters deserve a new generation of leaders who represent a break from the military and political elites that have typically run the country.

One female politician is winning the affection of citizens in South-east Asia's largest economy, with a reputation for effective governance.

Ms Khofifah Indar Parawansa was in 2018 elected governor of East Java, the archipelago's second-largest province. The 59-year-old is running for office again on Nov 27, with deputy gubernatorial candidate Emil Dardak, in nationwide regional elections.

A total of 545 positions are being contested by 1,553 candidate pairs, hoping to gain support from more than 200 million voters.

The East Java race is particularly intriguing because voters have a choice between three women for the governorship in a political scene that has become particularly male-dominated in recent years, as Ms Erin Cook notes for the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think-tank. Currently, polling suggests the Khofifah-Emil ticket has the best shot at victory.

Ms Khofifah is no stranger to the political landscape. She was a student activist during former Indonesian president Suharto's three-decade dictatorship, entered Parliament in 1992, and famously criticised him in a speech urging more rights for her fellow citizens.