Deputy for Gender Equality – MoWECP Holds a Seminar on the Role of Religious Leaders in Preparing Women’s Leadership in Society

Indonesian women have experienced a lot of progress, but it was undeniable that the vortex of patriarchal culture was still deeply rooted in various lines of life. Therefore it was necessary to awaken the potential of women in order to grow in leadership, have the strength and courage to make changes.

Women’s leadership was a person’s ability to initiate change individually and collectively, influencing decision-making in the family, community and government domains, especially in gender-responsive development decision-making.

In the 2024 development targets, to improve the quality of human resources, Indonesia was targeting the Gender Development Index (IPG) which shows an increase from 91.06 in 2020 to 91.27 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Gender Empowerment Index has also increased from 75.57 in 2020 to 76.26 in 2021. This target can only be achieved if women get an equal and gender-just cultural climate.

One of the effort made by MoWECP in the field of Gender Equality was held seminar on the Role of Religious Leaders in Preparing Women’s Leadership in Society. The theme of this event “Peran Kepemimpinan Perempuan Lintas Agama dalam pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak: Refleksi dan Proyeksi Menuju Aksi Bersama”.

The event took a place on was aimed 21 November 2022 at JS Luwansa Hotel, Jakarta, this event was aimed for:

1. Strengthening the perspective of gender justice in religious figures.
2. Obtain input from stakeholders regarding challenges and obstacles as well as concrete efforts to encourage women’s leadership.
3. Strengthen the commitment of religious leaders to increase women’s representation in leadership and decision-making.

This activity was expected to increase the gender sensitivity of religious leaders. In addition, seminar participants were expected to have a commitment to encouraging women’s participation in leadership in various development activities. Not only that, the participants were also expected to be committed to increasing women’s representation in decision makers in the executive, legislative and judicial branches.