“This is good news for women and the sports world. I am proud and thankful that 53 percent of the medals for West Nusa Tenggara are presented by women athletes. This is a form of gender equality in sports,” head of the Office of Women's Empowerment, Child Protection, Population Control, and Family Planning (DP3AP2KB) of West Nusa Tenggara, Husnanidiaty Nurdin, said here on Friday.
In this year’s PON in Papua, the West Nusa Tenggara contingent ranked 9th, bagging a total of 38 medals—15 gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze, she noted. Of the total, women athletes won eight gold medals, seven silver medals, and five bronze medals, she said.
According to her, this is an opportunity to support efforts for realizing gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights in all development sectors, including sports.
"These female athletes are important assets for the development of the nation. Therefore, the potential and abilities of these women must be supported by good empowerment efforts," she said.
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Regarding gender equality in sports, she said regulations had been made to encourage women's participation. In addition, the Constitution has also mandated that there is no difference between men and women, she added.
"Women should motivate themselves and be committed. Let us achieve the highest achievement. We must prove that women can achieve their dreams. Let's increase our capacity and quality so that women can equal or even exceed the achievements of men," Nurdin remarked.
The achievements of these female athletes have defined the success of the West Nusa Tenggara province as the province with the best gender equality rate in the country, she added.
Earlier, the province had received the 2020 Parahita Ekapraya (APE) Award, which is a form of appreciation from the central government for the commitment and role of local governments in the development of women and children, especially through gender mainstreaming strategies.
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Translator: Nur Imansyah, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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