Equal 'partnership' drive launched on Women's Day
Equal 'partnership' drive launched on Women's Day
MOJOKERTO, Central Java (JP): President Soeharto expressed his respect for Indonesian women yesterday on the occasion of Women's Day.
"I express my congratulations and my deepest respect to Indonesian women, mothers in particular, both those who live in big cities and busy towns and those who live in remote, lonely villages," he said in a speech delivered at a ceremony marking the event here.
"I call on all Indonesian mothers to continue with their struggle for the welfare and prosperity of the nation," he said. "As we did in the past, we will need in the future the sincere, noble dedication of mothers."
During the ceremony, held in Mojosari village, 45 kilometers west of Surabaya, East Java, Soeharto launched the National Movement to Strengthen Equal Partnership Between Men and Women.
Soeharto said that the drive was aimed at improving human resources, accelerating development and bettering the welfare of Indonesian women.
He said conditions conducive to the establishment of an equal partnership between men and women already exist.
"The task remaining is to help women prepare and improve their ability to play an even greater role in development," he said.
"I hope all Indonesian people will join the drive with a spirit which is as strong as that when we fought to gain our independence from the colonial power," he said.
The ceremony was attended by First Lady Tien Soeharto, State Minister for Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi, Minister of Health Sujudi and State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono.
Soeharto said that Indonesian women have always worked hand in hand with the country's men in the struggle against colonial powers. Indonesia's women have fought, not only for their own welfare, but also for the good of the whole nation, he said.
On Dec. 22, 1928, Indonesian women activists established the Indonesian Congress of Women to foster unity among the women's organizations in existence at the time. "What they did then was sowing the seeds of national unity," Soeharto said.
The President said today's women face great challenges in the future and that they should meet these by improving the quality of their education and training.
"We should be more disciplined, more creative, more critical and courageously take initiatives," he said. "Some of the qualities I mentioned can be obtained through schooling and other educational institutions."
"However, the foundation for all those qualities should be obtained at home, in the family," he said. "And the person who determines the character of family members is the mother."
Soeharto said two factors will determine whether Indonesian women progress: community efforts to improve the quality of women and an environment which treats women as equal partners of men.
"No one should feel better than or dominate the other," he said. "This does not mean we try to fight destiny -- that women are women, and men are men."
"Each should complement the other, one's weaknesses should be remedied by the strength of the other, and that's what we mean by partnership," he said.
Mien Sugandhi, in her speech, said the launching of the national drive for equal partnership between men and women was a realization of a number of plans of action agreed to at the September World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
"This movement is proof that Indonesia respects and appreciates the struggle of women in the past, today and in the future," Mien said.
Elsewhere in his speech, Soeharto said that greater opportunities are emerging for women to play a role in development. He said that the number of women enrolling in educational institutions has steadily risen to match the number of men.
"I have received reports that the women perform as well, even better, then men," Soeharto said to loud applause from the women attending the ceremony. (15/swe)
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