One of Indonesia’s leading national media named Speaker of the House, Dr. (H.C.) Puan Maharani, Most Inspiring Woman of 2020. The award was part of the 2020 Parliament Award under the category of ‘Inspiring Women’. The Speaker’s fellow Member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Ahmad Basarah received the award on her behalf in Jakarta, March 16th, 2020.

Upon receiving the award, Basarah said he was honored to receive such a prestigious award on behalf of his colleague. “She is an inspiration and a motivator that so many Indonesian women look up to,” he added in the acceptance speech.

A member of the 2020 Parliament Award panel of judges, Hendri Satrio, mentioned that the Inspiring Woman award is a special award reserved not just to any female legislator. “Recipient of the award must satisfy all the three assessed indicators of contribution to the national political arena, representation of gender equality, and excellent achievements in political career,” Satrio mentioned in his statement.

All the three indicators are rightfully deserved by Speaker Puan Maharani for not only her designation as the Chair of PDIP Central Board for three consecutive periods and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture of the 2014 – 2019 Cabinet, but also her role as the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in Indonesia’s history.

Born in Jakarta, September 6th, 1973, Puan Maharani is a prominent political figure known for her position as the Chair of PDIP Faction in the 2012 – 2014 parliamentary period. She was a member of Commission VI, the standing committee dealing with state-owned enterprises, trade, and SMEs. She was also a Member of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation.

The panel of judges assigned to decide the recipient of this award includes Hendri Satrio (political communication analyst of Paramadina University), Margarito Kamis (Indonesian state administration expert of University of Indonesia), and former activist Malari Hariman Siregar. The award was given through a qualitative research with observation and interviews as the primary tools of the research.