Foster-parents drive to prioritize girls
JAKARTA (JP): The national foster-parents drive, to be launched today by President Soeharto to generate more funds for poor children's education, will prioritize girls under 15 years of age, according to a government minister.
"Nowadays, there must not be any girls who don't go to school. Girls should be educated so they do not become the victims of men," said State Minister for Population Haryono Suyono.
"There are educated girls who are harassed, even raped, let alone uneducated girls," he said in Malang, East Java, when launching a family welfare movement on Monday.
He was quoted by Antara as saying that girls should be given as high a level of education as possible so that "with their brain, they will be able to change men's views about them.
"If men saw how smart a woman is, then they'll respect her, feel friendly toward her, and wish to be her equal partner. Those men will 'surrender' toward her not because of her looks, not because they want to rape her, but because they respect her."
Haryono said that an intelligent woman would also be able to motivate men to achieve more. "Men will say that if a woman can be that good, then I could do more," he said. "Now, because men and women compete with each other, we'll soon have better quality human resources."
He also called on activists in women's organizations, such as Dharma Wanita and Dharma Pertiwi, to help include as many girls as possible in the drive.
The President will launch the foster-parents drive today during the commemoration of the National Senior Citizens Day in Semarang, Central Java.
The drive is expected to raise public awareness as well as generate enough funds to meet the educational needs of some six million children, especially those who are disabled, live in remote areas or are simply too poor to go to school.
Minister of Social Services Inten Soeweno said last week the government expects to reach its target of sending all children to school through the nine-year compulsory education program within the next 15 years. If people are willing to help send children to school through the foster-parent drive, however, the target should be achieved much sooner, she said.
The government has established the National Foster Parents Drive Committee to organize the campaign. Any individual who wishes to become a "foster parent" is required to donate at least Rp 60,000 (US$25.6) a year through the committee's savings account, No. 31.51.17845 at Bank Rakyat Indonesia.
Elementary schools students picked in the drive will each receive Rp 60,000 (US$25.6) a year, while junior high school students will receive Rp 90,000. (swe)