Female Legislators and Social Inclusion: Representing the Unheard for Resilient Communities in Majalengka Regency

Majalengka Regency constitutes a particularly relevant case for this study because it reflects the gap between descriptive representation and substantive representation. Despite the existence of female legislators and various local policies aimed at protecting women and children, cases of violence against these groups remain significant, while women occupy only 12 percent of seats in the local parliament. This combination makes Majalengka an appropriate setting for examining the extent to which female legislators can influence policy agendas and advocate for women’s and children’s rights within a male-dominated local political structure. The study used a qualitative approach with a case study design. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation studies, then analyzed using Hanna Pitkin's theory of political representation. The results show that female legislators play a role in bringing women's perspectives into the political process and strengthening the legitimacy of women's and children's issues on the regional policy agenda. However, their influence on policy priorities and resource allocation is still limited by a patriarchal culture, male political dominance, unequal distribution of strategic positions, and limited political resources. This research contributes to the development of studies on women's political representation by showing the gap between representation and influence (representation–influence gap), so that the quality of representation is not only measured by the number of women in parliament, but also by their capacity to influence public policy.