Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Bintang Puspayoga called for the need to continuously campaign for empowerment starting from the village level.
According to Puspayoga, to prevent human trafficking, people can start by empowering women at the village level through tapping into their potential as was achieved by the women in Wulublolong.
“NTT is one of the provinces that supplies a lot of non-procedural migrant workers. We cannot fully blame these migrant workers because of the family's economic conditions," she noted in a statement received here Thursday.
She highlighted that the women in Wulublolong have shown good practice in empowering women's groups in the village to enable them to gain economic independence.
Puspayoga observed that women in the village were incredibly tough. With their determination to choose to work in their own country, they should be lauded amid the persuasion from labor brokers to work outside the province or abroad with higher salaries.
“We hope that these women would invite other women to join their movement. If women support each other, this will be an extraordinary economic power because women dominate half of the total population in Indonesia," she remarked.
She also lauded Du Anyam, a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME), which empowered local women by boosting their welfare through handicrafts in Indonesia. Du Anyam started its work in East Flores in 2015.
"I give high appreciation to Du Anyam, which has a high social concern to help improve the welfare of women in East Flores," she affirmed.
The minister noted that Du Anyam is training women to produce high-quality woven products and help them to find a market share, so that these woven products can be sold at reasonable prices.
Du Anyam came into being to address major socio-economic problems in East Flores to help women become financially independent and lead prosperous lives, she remarked.
Du Anyam founder Hanna Keraf said that her side is keen to empower women in NTT and help them become independent.
“This weaving activity is a way to accommodate their expertise by utilizing the natural resources around them. Weaving is no longer a fill-in spare time activity but also a main job that can improve their welfare. Some weave while waiting for patients at the health center or picking up school children. We appreciate the dedication of the weaver women here," Keraf affirmed.
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Translator: Kornelis Kaha, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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