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ltered cultural perceptions, increased educational initiatives and more opportunities for disabled athletes were key factors in encouraging the growth of the female sporting industry, according to Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng.

“If you see the achievements of women in sport in Indonesia, they are excellent, even better than the men. At the SEA Games, 80 [gold medals] were achieved by the women and 102 by men,” Andi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Andi was the keynote speaker at the Indonesian Olympic Committee’s (KOI) seminar on women and sport in Senayan, Jakarta.

After sending 516 male and 355 female athletes to the 2011 SEA Games, critics said that there was still a long way to go for women’s sport in Indonesia.

But with many of the sports held at the SEA Games being only for male participants, this was not necessarily the case. In fact, according to Andi, the women’s team returned from the SEA Games more successful than the men.

Andi conceded, however, that there was still work to be done to lift the profile of women’s sport in
Indonesia, as the cultural perception of certain sports prevented many women in the country from getting involved.

“For example, soccer is considered a masculine sport that women should not play,” he said. “While in many other countries, it’s a ‘feminine’ sport. The challenge is to change cultural perceptions of women’s involvement in certain sports in Indonesia.”

The traditional stigma that a woman’s career was over once she became married also barred women from sport, said Andi.

“Getting married and having children does not diminish your career as an athlete,” Andi said, referring to Belgium tennis star Kim Clijsters, who yesterday qualified for the semifinals of a major tennis tournament, the Australian Open.

“She’s married, had kids and now she’s come [back] and won again.”

Education was also essential in encouraging the involvement of more women in sport, particularly from a grass-roots level.

“Very few women enter university wanting to become a sports teacher,” said Andi.

“Women athletes have specific needs. Having women sport teachers will help to get [children]
involved and will gain better achievements in sport when they’re still in school, especially when they are young.”

Despite the fact that Indonesia finished in second overall position at last year’s ASEAN Para Games, Andi maintained the reason Indonesia wasn’t the champion was because there weren’t more female athletes on the team.

“We need to develop a better understanding for [disabled] women in sport: that it is perfectly okay, that it is good for the country and that it is good for the women.”

Rita Subowo, president of the KOI and the only female International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative in Asia, was also present at the event, to announce several new initiatives as a part of the Olympic Solidarity program.

These include Olympic coaching scholarships, KOI internship opportunities, coaching programs, sports administration training opportunities and senior sports management opportunities, all specifically designed for Indonesian women.