Lawmaker urges incentives for housewives to strengthen human development
House of Representatives member Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat is urging the government to provide incentives and protection for stay-at-home mothers who carry out caregiving functions as part of efforts to strengthen human development.
According to him, caregiving work has a long-term impact on the quality of future generations because it is carried out every day by devoting time, energy, attention and opportunity.
“Mothers are willing to sacrifice everything they have — time, energy, attention, opportunity, even their own comfort — to ensure their children grow up well,” Viktor said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He assessed that the family is the first environment in shaping a child’s character. Values such as courage, responsibility, care and love for the homeland begin to be introduced through daily life at home.
“In a mother’s hands, life’s values are most often instilled. Courage, responsibility, care and love for the homeland begin to be shaped from home,” Viktor said.
According to him, character education does not depend solely on learning at school. The family environment also plays a role in shaping how children view themselves, others and social life.
Viktor said nationalism can also be instilled from an early age through teaching about diversity, unity, respect for others and concern for the nation.
“Nationalism also grows from home. From a mother’s stories about Indonesia, from lessons to appreciate differences, maintain unity, respect others, and dare to do something good for the nation,” he said.
Therefore, he is urging that attention to stay-at-home mothers who carry out caregiving functions be included in the human development agenda.
Viktor said state support is needed given that caregiving work carries great responsibility but is often carried out without adequate support and without fixed working hours.
According to him, it is time for Indonesia to give more tangible attention to stay-at-home mothers who carry out caregiving roles with limited support.
“Greater attention in the form of incentives and protection policies for them needs to be part of the human development agenda,” Viktor said.
He assessed that such policies need to be viewed as a long-term investment to improve the quality of human resources and strengthen the family as the foundation of development.
“For me, a mother is a child’s first school. What a mother instils at home will help determine what kind of person grows up and will one day build this nation,” Viktor said.
Viktor conveyed that support for caregiving is not only a form of appreciation for the role of mothers, but also an effort to prepare a generation that has the character and quality to build Indonesia.
“When a mother teaches her child to be brave, responsible, caring towards others, and to love Indonesia, she is truly planting the seeds of the nation’s future,” he said.