According to a statement issued by the public relations office of the Klungkung district government on Monday, Minister Bintang Darmawati announced her decision of setting up the women and child-friendly villages at Central Banjar Hall, Dawan Klod Village, Dawan Sub-district, on Sunday (February 13, 2022).
Head of Klungkung District I Nyoman Suwirta; chairperson of the Klungkung Family Welfare and Empowerment Team (TP-PKK), Ayu Suwirta; chairperson of the Klungkung House of Representatives, Anak Agung Gede Anom; head of the Bali Anti-Narcotics Agency; and head of Bali Social Affairs on Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, also attended the event.
Klungkung District Head Suwirta said that the development of smoke-free areas in the villages had been initiated to protect women and children from cigarette smoke.
In addition, the One Village One State Kindergarten Program in Klungkung District is proof of the government's commitment to children's well-being, he added. Each kindergarten will be equipped with a school bus, he informed.
Suwirta voiced support for the ministry's decision to establish "drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring" villages in the district and expressed his commitment to implementing the program so that all villages can use it as an example.
Related news: Villages should ensure prevention of violence against women, children
Meanwhile, Minister Darmawati said that to ensure their status as "drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring" villages, the villages must fulfill 10 requirements. For instance, they will need to organize women and children in the village, maintain separate data on women and children, and issue a village-level policy on the program's implementation.
In addition, a village budget will be assigned under the policy, there will be women's representation in the ruling body, women's participation in entrepreneurship, there will be no children in the workforce, no violence against women and children, greater role of mothers and families in child care and education, and the absence of child marriage, she added.
Setting up "drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring" villages is part of the government's efforts to integrate gender perspectives and children's rights into village governance, village development, and the development and empowerment of rural communities, she said.
She urged the head of Klungkung district to promote and replicate the policy in all villages in the district.
Related news: KPPPA plans 142 women and child friendly villages by 2022
Translator: Ayu K P, Mecca Yumna N P
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022