Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga has said she expects increased political participation among rural women to encourage them to make decisions and create programs that prioritize women’s interests.

“The emergence of a policy that employs women’s perspective will make it easier for women to pick up various opportunities that have been difficult for them to access,” she said at a webinar entitled ‘Inaugurating Women Leadership Promoting Women-Friendly and Caring for Children Villages’, accessed from here on Thursday.

Women are still considered a vulnerable group, despite the fact that they make up half of Indonesia’s population, she noted. This can be attributed to the deep-rooted patriarchal culture in the society, she said.

“It should be our concern that women’s vulnerability is not caused by being weak but because of a social construct and a perspective that places women in a lower position than men,” the minister remarked.

Development based on gender-mainstreaming must consider the empowerment of women and the best interests of children, Puspayoga said. Yet, in reality, women and children still experience discrimination and are not prioritized in development, she said.

To support development based on gender-mainstreaming, representation is needed, particularly from women leaders with extraordinary sensitivity so that they can support the development of women and children, she said.

The 2021 Rural Women’s Leadership Training was attended by 300 female participants from five provinces and 10 districts, she noted. The training will be held continuously in 34 provinces until 2024, she said.

“With this training, it is expected that rural women will become more confident to run for office and be more skilled in politics to voice women’s rights,” Puspayoga remarked.

Source: Antara News