Women’s empowerment, especially economically, can curtail instances of violence, child exploitation, and child marriages, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister’s Expert Staff, Titi Eko Rahayu, stated during the Indonesian Confucian Women’s National Congress (Perkhin) I.

“For women, economic empowerment not only functions as a way to obtain income but also a tool to free themselves from violence and discrimination that binds them,” Rahayu explained here Monday.

Opening opportunities for women and involving them in various fields of development, including the economy, will encourage more equitable and fair distribution of resources to all strata of society, she remarked.

“Equality will neutralize various negative impacts that emerge as a result of the patriarchal culture, such as gender-based violence, child marriage, and exploitation against women and children,” she noted.

According to data from the 2020 Population Census, women constitute 49.42 percent of the Indonesian population, and around 54 percent of them are in the productive age group.

Despite the fact that women constitute half of Indonesia’s human resources, there is still a gap in access, participation, control, and benefit of development results between women and men.

“This can still be seen from various indexes and data, such as the Human Development Index (HDI), Gender Development Index (GDI), and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM),” she remarked.

The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry continues to undertake efforts to support economic empowerment of women broadly, such as women family heads, pre-prosperous women, and women survivors, both of violence and disaster.

“This is conducted, including through synergy with various ministries or institutions and public institutions that oversee women entrepreneurs and the business world,” Rahayu stated.

Source: Antara News