March 2, 2013, Bali, Indonesia – In commemorating the International Women’s Day of this year,

14 women parliamentarians from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste called for participation to support the vision of increasing women’s political representation and participation in Southeast Asia. The regional forum “Women Leadership Forum to Women Parliamentarian in Promoting Women’s Representation in Southeast Asia” on March 1 and 2 in Kuta-Bali, Indonesia, also involved women activists in the parliament, political parties and civil society in the region to celebrate the achievements of ongoing efforts of gender equality in politics. The forum was hosted by Kemitraan and Women’s Caucus of Parliament of Republic of Indonesia (KPP-RI). Women Parliamentarians understood that there are commonalities of issues, needs, and challenges that need to be jointly addressed. They also acknowledged the importance of civil society organizations’ supports in enhancing women’s political representation and addressing social economic problems facing women in general. It is hoped that there will be another forum to addressed the common issues