"Women can play a crucial role. If empowered and given access, they can actively contribute to development initiatives. In fact, we have a large number of female farmers. I believe strong women are capable of strengthening villages and, ultimately, advancing our country," she remarked.
Tan made the remarks during an event marking the 2026 National Village Day in Butuh Village, Boyolali District, Central Java, according to a statement issued in Jakarta on Saturday.
She expressed confidence that Indonesian villages serve as strategic arenas for initiatives to build social and economic self-reliance among residents, provided women are actively involved.
"It is important that we empower rural women by giving them space to make contributions. After all, many families today rely on women as their backbone—no longer merely wives," Tan affirmed.
The deputy minister further stressed that women hold vast potential to support village development across Indonesia, noting that they make up nearly half of the nation’s population.
With this in mind, she called for collaboration among stakeholders across sectors to empower women and enable rural communities to build self-reliance.
She then highlighted the Local Food Garden program as a concrete initiative aimed at providing greater access for rural women to participate in economic activities.
The program, she continued, can be complemented or aligned with relevant initiatives from the Ministry of Agriculture to socially and economically empower women in villages.
"Our ministry is also implementing the Local Food Garden program to support the Free Nutritious Meals initiative," she added.
Furthermore, the deputy minister urged ministries and state agencies to strengthen synergy in supporting President Prabowo Subianto’s key initiatives, including the Red and White Village Cooperatives program.
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Translator: Anita P, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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