Women can help beat the crisis: Habibie

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie said yesterday that Indonesian women could play a pivotal role in restoring the country's economy if they were given adequate opportunity, especially in developing cooperatives and in distributing essential commodities throughout the country.

The President hoped that women, especially from poor families, would be involved in the government-sponsored labor intensive projects to enable them to better feed their family members.

"We need to... boost the country's women's economic potential," Habibie said when opening a national workshop on women's roles in national development at the Bina Graha presidential office.

The three-day workshop is chaired by State Minister of Women's Affairs Tutty Alawiyah and attended by the country's 27 provincial vice governors in charge of women affairs.

Habibie acknowledged that women had been particularly affected by the economic crisis which had caused people's per capita income to drop.

He was confident that his new government would be able to cure the ailing economy and bring back prosperity to the nation, although he said it would take time.

"We all believe that the Development and Reform Cabinet will be able to lead Indonesia out of the crisis and continue the development," Habibie noted in his address.

Habibie, who replaced president Soeharto in May, has repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to give women equal opportunity to participate in development and to protect their rights.

Tomorrow he is scheduled to launch the National Committee Against Violence Toward Women, the main mission of which is to investigate the rape of 168 women during May's riots.

In her report to the President, Tutty said her office was acting as facilitator to encourage women to increase their roles in the development process.

"We have also stepped up efforts to resolve all urgent problems caused by the current economic situation, and the impacts of the social riots, especially those related to violence against women," Tutty said.

Tutty, a noted Islamic preacher, has been widely criticized for her slow response to reports about the mass rape and killing of women during May's riots. (prb)