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Papua: The sunrise province and a source of inspiration
Open-minded, goal-oriented and evidence-based problem solving must continue to be incorporated into the fabric of our national identity.
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Learning the ropes: Papuan children learn to read and write on March 4, 2019, during a class at YPPK St. Agustinus elementary school in Manasari, Mimika regency, Papua. (Kompas/Priyombodo)
I want to get right to the point. We need to change the narrative among Indonesians about my home province, Papua. “Out of sight, out of mind” is not working.
Like many others, I wish to see Papua’s contributions to the national conversation be acknowledged and celebrated by my fellow countrymen and women from Sabang to Merauke, just as those of Bali and Java are.
When I served as the women's empowerment and child protection minister in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s first Cabinet (2014-2019), I coined my signature program called “The Three Ends” — namely ending domestic violence, ending human trafficking and ending inequality of economic access for women and girls—not only in Papua—but across the entire country.
Through the honor of serving the nation in this way, I developed a reputation for “getting things done”. Now I call on all three presidential candidates, Bapak Prabowo Subianto, Bapak Ganjar Pranowo and Bapak Anies Baswedan to support my proposal and demonstrate that they too support Papua.
I am proposing two initiatives. First is a highly symbolic rebranding and the second is an apolitical forum for discussing how to better include Papuans in national projects.
I believe that both will have far-reaching nation-building consequences. They will not only challenge the way Indonesians think about themselves, but also inspire broad discussion about Indonesia’s identity and the country’s rapidly emerging leadership role on the global stage.
Indeed, there is no better time to propose these changes than during a democratic election campaign.
