VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Minister Bintang Puspayoga has called for synergy and collaboration among various parties, including independent institutions, for resolving multi-sectoral issues concerning women.

"By building collaborative synergies, there will be no impossibility for us to settle various matters related to women," she opined in a statement issued on Wednesday.

She said she believes that cooperation among all parties will help improve the empowerment and welfare of Indonesian women, including fulfilling the five directives of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to the PPPA Ministry.

The directives include empowering women in the entrepreneurship sector from a gender perspective; increasing the role of mothers and families in the care/education of children; reducing violence against women and children; curbing child labor; and preventing child marriage.

To welcome the national Mother's Day commemoration, the PPPA Ministry, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), and women leaders of several independent institutions held a meeting to celebrate women’s leadership in Indonesia.

According to the chairperson of Komnas Perempuan, Andy Yentriyani, Mother's Day is also a commemoration of the Indonesian women's movement.

She noted that Mother's Day is commemorated in Indonesia to honor the implementation of the Indonesian Women’s Congress in 1928, which not only discussed women’s issues, but also talked about the vision of Indonesia as a nation that later became an inspiration for other congresses.

"The meeting (between the PPPA Ministry, Komnas Perempuan, and independent institutions) is conducted so we can mutually bolster (our) existing agendas, both concerning institutional cooperation and enhancing (our personal) friendship, as strengths for women’s leadership (in Indonesia)," she added.

Mother’s Day is commemorated across Indonesia on December 22 every year.

President Soekarno stipulated the national day through Presidential Decree Number 316 of 1959. He chose the date as a tribute to the First Indonesian Women’s Congress, which was held in Yogyakarta on December 22–25, 1928.

The main event of the commemoration in 2022 will be hosted by Bengkulu province to honor Indonesia’s first lady, Fatmawati, who was born in the province. (Antaranews)