Lestari Moerdijat: Quality Education is the Key to Women's Empowerment
Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), Lestari Moerdijat, has stressed that support for women’s empowerment efforts must be realised through easier access and quality education for every citizen. According to her, education is a vital instrument for expanding women’s leadership space in various sectors.
“Women’s empowerment cannot be separated from access and quality of education. This is the main pathway to opening knowledge, building self-confidence, and expanding women’s leadership space,” said Lestari Moerdijat in a written statement on Monday (6/4).
The statement responds to the step taken by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), which has officially declared April 2026 as the Month of Women’s Empowerment through Education. The agenda, launched at the Office of the Language Development and Cultivation Agency on Wednesday (1/4), carries the theme “Women’s Empowerment: Realise Quality Education for All”.
Lestari, who is familiarly known as Rerie, views this policy as a strategic response to the fundamental challenges faced by women in the country. She highlighted data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) for 2025, where Indonesia’s Gender Gap Index score stands at 0.692.
This achievement places Indonesia in 97th position out of 148 countries globally, or 7th out of 10 countries in ASEAN. Rerie assesses that this mid-to-low position indicates that the level of gender equality in Indonesia still requires significant improvement.
“This is our big homework. Quality education is the foundation to change this number, so that women are not only present but also lead in decision-making,” emphasised Rerie, who is also a member of Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR RI).
Encouraging Women’s Roles in the STEM Sector
Although the School Participation Rate (APS) for women aged 7-18 years shows a positive and consistent trend higher than that of men, Rerie notes a serious disparity in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
“Although access to education is already good, we still face gaps in the STEM field. Yet, STEM is a key sector for the future,” stated the member of the NasDem Party’s High Council.
She hopes that through this momentum of the Month of Women’s Empowerment, a generation of more competitive and competent women will emerge. Strengthening access to education is expected to produce female leaders ready to take strategic roles in supporting the national development vision towards Golden Indonesia 2045.