Lestari: Defending Women is a National Civilisation Agenda

Defending women is a necessity. Discussing women and positioning them is, in fact, addressing the nation’s civilisation agenda.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) RI Lestari Moerdijat stated that defending women to obtain justice and equality in various aspects of life is an absolute necessity.

Speaking at a public discussion at the Indonesia National Gallery on Saturday, Lestari said Indonesia does not lack remarkable women, but space, protection, and attention for women still need to be maximised.

“Defending women is a necessity. Discussing women and positioning women is, in fact, addressing the nation’s civilisation agenda,” said Lestari in a written statement received.

In the discussion titled “Empowerment and Protection of Women: Perspectives from Policy, Art, and Social Movements”, she assessed that Indonesian women still face various structural and cultural barriers that require great courage to overcome.

Additionally, 61 percent of working women are in sectors that have not yet received protection and social guarantees. Women’s wages are also said to be lower than men’s in the same positions.

“Women face a glass ceiling; they must have extraordinary courage to break through it,” said Lestari.

“It is very difficult to find women who are ready. Some are willing, but not accepted by their environment. Their husbands may be supportive, but their families do not give permission,” she said.

She emphasised that the main issue for women does not lie in their capacity, but in the unfair structures and the strong persistence of patriarchal cultural biases.

“The stereotype that women cannot make important decisions is still deeply rooted. However, when women are given opportunities, there is much evidence that women can lead,” she said.

“I am often asked the key to women’s advancement. I say women must be willing to be imperfect. We are demanded to be everything, but we must dare to let go of that,” she said.