"I am, Nasaruddin Umar, as Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, wish a Happy Mother's Day, especially to mothers throughout our country," said the minister in his statement, here on Sunday.
Mother's Day in Indonesia is celebrated every December 22. It is based on the First Indonesian Women's Congress in Yogyakarta, which lasted for four days, on December 22-25, 1928.
This year, the Mother's Day commemoration carries the theme, "Women Greet, Women Empower, Towards Golden Indonesia 2045".
The minister hopes that this commemoration will not only be a ceremonial moment, but also a milestone for strengthening women's empowerment.
"We hope that this Mother's Day will provide empowerment for women to be more useful and creative and to have power," he said.
"So, in the future, hopefully there will be gender equality, equality of roles between men and women. Hopefully, Indonesian citizens will be stronger if half of its population, which is women, are empowered like men," he added.
Deputy Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Veronica Tan previously said that women must be empowered so that they do not become victims of violence.
"One of the root causes of violence against women is economic factors and low education in the family. In fact, the most important element in empowerment is strong human resources," she said.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Katriana
Editor: Arie Novarina
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