Deputy Minister of PPPA Hopes Women's Economic Protection Begins at Village Level
Makassar (ANTARA) - Veronica Tan, Deputy Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), hopes that protection and economic improvement for women and children begin at the village level, by formulating programmes through village development planning consultations (Musrenbang).
“We hope that integrated protection for women and children must start from the village. This is what we are pursuing through Musrenbang, how ministerial programmes from Musrenbang truly adopt a gender perspective,” she said in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Friday.
When speaking about integrated services for child protection in Indonesia, she stated, it cannot be left solely to the District/City Integrated Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Services Unit (UPTD PPA) level, but can be brought to the village.
This means, Veronica explained, many women are now the backbone of the family, so they need to be facilitated with accurate data through Musrenbang so that programmes enter planning for women and children to improve their economy or reduce stunting.
“That’s why, the Ministry of PPPA actually wants to collaborate through women’s community local food gardens, stitched together with the President’s food self-sufficiency programme,” she said.
In addition, how to integrate from that community garden to process local chicken farming from local to local. This programme is more about permaculture or a farming design system based on natural ecosystem patterns and characteristics.
“So, it doesn’t damage the environment, doesn’t harm the natural surroundings, but from the existing land, we can grow local vegetables, and of course, why there must be animals, fish, and so on, because we return the ecosystem to achieve zero waste,” she stated.
Furthermore, how livestock feed and water from fish ponds can become fertiliser again. How this cycle can be made into a platform for community gardens, while also educating through parenting to families.
“We must start from upstream to raise public awareness about what nutritious food is like. Don’t exchange fish for instant food, don’t just feed children until they’re full, when we have fish potential and other plant potentials,” she added.
According to her, the end result of violence that occurs or parents harming their children, even selling their own children, is because economic pressure is the root cause. There is family burden, poverty burden, quarrels, to very minimal education.
“This is what we must stitch together from the President’s priority programmes, which can connect to our smallest unit in the village. So that it can be data-recorded, we get accurate data, we include women as the endpoint, because many of them are already the backbone,” she said.
Therefore, she stated, the most important thing is that the village has innovations on how to translate Musrenbang and Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) in the village budget into one platform, accommodating or providing child protection and women’s empowerment included in planning.
Thus, this becomes an integrated unit platform to become an administrator protecting children. The hope is that with the food self-sufficiency programme, we can collaborate with local community gardens specifically for women.