As the COVID-19 crisis amplifies the existing inequalities, with women being impacted more severely by the pandemic, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has said that women can play a central role in the battle against the disease.

“The issue of women’s empowerment is always close to my heart. This is not because I am a woman, I see the potential of women being part of the solution,” said Retno as she spoke to The Jakarta Post in the opening session of the webinar series titled “Multilateralism during a pandemic: Indonesia’s Perspective” on Thursday.

According to her, the issue of women’s empowerment had become a very important element in Indonesian foreign policy in recent years. She added that a group of female foreign ministers from around the world regularly discussed the issue of global women’s empowerment through various perspectives.

“I always underline the importance of hitting the reset button in our approach,” she said. “Any policy must always consider women from the perspectives of both vulnerability and potential, so we must provide protection but we must also involve women as part of the solution.”

In almost all places, women earn less and are more likely to be in precarious jobs in the informal sector with little to no protection at work. Retno admitted that many women, especially in Indonesia, did not have sustainable incomes and they had been deprived of access to social protection schemes, proper health care and many social economic stimulus measures provided by the government.

In fact, according to Retno, women played a major role during the pandemic. Citing the International Labour Organization (ILO), globally women make up over 70 percent of health workers, including those working in care institutions.

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“In Indonesia, women own more than 64 percent of MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises]. Many of them have diversified their businesses during the pandemic to produce masks, protective gear and others,” Retno said, referring to the report published by the United Nations Women Asia Pacific.

Drilling down to the households where women actively played a role as the main caregiver and educator, Retno added that women could also take a role in educating their communities about COVID-19 preventive measures. She gave an assurance that the Indonesian government was committed to preventing further discrimination against women during the pandemic.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Monday that his administration encouraged the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) – a state-sponsored organization comprising community leaders and officials’ wives – to disseminate information on the importance of complying with health protocols, a move that was praised by the minister.

In contrast, however, women’s rights activists have criticized the Indonesian government for putting aside the gender-responsive perspective to address the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbating gender inequalities in the country.

As health care for women becomes less accessible during the pandemic, women have also found themselves vulnerable to domestic violence with reports showing a surge in numbers. Activists have also condemned lawmakers for putting women’s issues on the back burner by stalling deliberation of the sexual violence eradication bill, which its proponents hope will put an end to the systemic violence against women in the country.

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