The Presidential Special Staff for Social Affairs, Angkie Yudhistira, has said that Indonesia is trying to accommodate workers with special needs, like her. Yudhistira is deaf.
During a discussion on the West Merdeka 9 Forum (FMB 9), which was accessed online from Jakarta on Monday, she affirmed that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will encourage women with disabilities to contribute, the same way as she was appointed as the Presidential Special Staff for Social Affairs.
“I dedicate my work to the country, to Mr. President, and also to the disabled people in Indonesia to empower each other,” she remarked.
She said that at first, she was hesitant when given the mandate, however, the current government environment was very supportive of her work.
“All of these experiences became memorable and very extraordinary experiences. The Manpower Minister had helped a lot. As a technical ministry, we discussed a lot on how to realize policies and protect disabled employment,” she added.
She also said that the past two years have been difficult for workers with disabilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, a number of government policies have been implemented to provide support, including the successful vaccination program, especially for the disabled group in six regions categorized as red zones. The government has also implemented mass vaccinations for 500 thousand people with disabilities in Indonesia.
In November 2021, Jokowi attended the closing ceremony of the National Paralympic Week (Peparnas) in Papua. Then, on December 1, 2021, he inaugurated the commissioners of the National Commission on Disabilities.
In addition, women with disabilities were also involved in the G20 conference on women’s empowerment and the entire G20 event. Yudhistira said this was a momentum to prove that women with special needs are included.
“The country is actually present to accommodate women with special needs and we can see for ourselves how the President and other ranks in the government show the public regarding their commitment to providing equal opportunities to women with disabilities,” she added.
Source: Antara News