Nursyahbani Katjasungkana is a veteran lawyer-activist-politician with an impressive track record in advocating legal justice and human rights protection for women in Indonesia.

She is the work group coordinator of Indonesia's NGO Forum on Women, a member of the National Commission on Violence against Women, and a parliamentarian with the National Awakening Party (PKB), among many other things.

Yet, she lost her seat in the House in the April election. In an interview with IPS she says that "competence" is the key if the new female lawmakers want to be heard in the House.

IPS: What do you think was the reason for your defeat in the election?

NURSYAHBANI KATJASUNGKANA: Several reasons contributed. But I guess the main one was my party's decision to have me competing in districts with very strong Islamic traditions, where my background was not fully appreciated. I competed in the regencies of Banyuwangi, Situbondo, and Bondowoso, East Java. The distance from Jakarta made it also difficult to travel there often.

IPS: What were your poll promises?

NK: I campaigned for women's rights and curbing corruption. But since I was competing in agrarian districts, I also emphasised the need to fight for land issues. I am a lawyer and I could have helped in that too.

IPS: What is your advice to the new, female parliamentarians? Most of them are said to be lacking in experience.

NK: There is no school for politicians. You learn by doing it. They will learn by taking part in the life of the House. They must be self-critical, accept their weaknesses and work on them. It is very important that they build their competence. In order to lobby people, they need to have a good and strong argument. They could achieve this by reading but also by interacting with civil society. Only when they become competent, will they be taken seriously.

IPS: What should women’s activists who want to compete in the next election, in 2014, be doing?

NK: It is important that they start preparing now. They need to create a relationship with the people, and they need support from the party too. It is much better if the party lets them contest the election in the area where they come from.