Palu, Indonesia – Supported by UN Women and its project partner, The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN Indonesia), activists and government authorities who believe that women can play important roles in the effort are devising gender-responsive ways to tackle the risks of violent extremism in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province.

Andhika Chrisnayudhanto is Deputy for International Cooperation of the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) of Indonesia. He is the chair of the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), Working Group on Counter Terrorism, of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Working Group on Counter Terrorism led in developing the ASEAN Bali Work Plan 2019-2025 on countering extremism. BNPT partnered with UN Women on the report, Gender Analysis of Violent Extremism and the Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Security in ASEAN.

[Press release] The bill’s passage is a testament to the leadership of the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) and the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), and to the vigorous advocacy of civil society and women's rights activists across the country. It is a victory for all women, girls, and victims and survivors of sexual violence in Indonesia who have the fundamental right to protection under a comprehensive legal umbrella.

Dewi Rana is director of  Lingkar Belajar Untuk (Libu Perempuan), or Learning Circle Association for Women, a non-governmental organization that promotes women’s rights in Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The organization gathered members of civil society and government officials to draft the province’s action plan on preventing and countering violent extremism. That work has been supported by UN Women and its partner Aliansi Masyarat Adat Nusantara, or The Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago. Rana was interviewed by Xinyue Gu of UN Women.

South-East Asian countries seeking to stem the rise in online propaganda and recruitment by violent extremists during the COVID-19 pandemic must take into account how these efforts specifically target women and the different impact on women and men in the region, says a UN Women report released today.

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in Indonesia– they provide employment opportunities and reduce income inequalities, which drives the country’s economy forward and promotes social inclusion, as reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2018.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, the Indonesian Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, joined heads of international organizations, members of the business sector, and the Indonesian Stock Exchange rang the Bell for Gender Equality. Ring the Bell for Gender Equality is a ceremony that aims to raise awareness of the key role private sectors play in accelerating progress for gender equality.

On 6 January 2022, UN Women Indonesia supported the Government of Indonesia by hosting a Peace Festival (Kenduri Perdamaian) themed “build back better by protecting and empowering women and girls in social conflict".

[Press release] UN Women and The Public Service Agency (BLU) of Government Investment Center (PIP), a fund coordinator of The Ultra Micro Financing (UMi), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the economic empowerment of women ultra-micro businesses in Indonesia. The UMi from PIP is a social assistance program that assists micro-businesses, especially those who are not bankable to become independent business owners. The MoU aimed to further expand partnership in advocating for women’s rights to equal economic opportunities.

[Press release] On  11 December 2021, the United Nations (UN) in Indonesia will hold its inaugural Comedy for Equality showcase, featuring performances from 10 Indonesian comedians mentored by the multi-award winning Indonesian comic Sakdiyah Ma’ruf. Although the UN did not have a hand in crafting any of the comedians’ sets, each performer will address issues related to gender equality and the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence initiative.

Ever since I was a kid, I have seen many types of gender-based violence. It broke my heart seeing the people around me suffer because of the abuse they were subjected to. I learnt that violence comes in many forms; physical, psychological, financial, sexual, verbal and many more.

[:: This interview is also available as an Easy Read document ::] Dewi Tjakrawinata is the co-founder of YAPESDI (Yayasan Peduli Sindroma Down Indonesia, or Down Syndrome Care Foundation Indonesia), a Jakarta-based non-profit organization that empowers youths with intellectual disabilities to become self-advocates. To mark 16 Days of Activism, UN Women’s Access to Justice team spoke to Dewi about ending impunity for sexual violence against women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.

Jakarta, Indonesia  – Six Indonesian companies have received Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awards in recognition of their contribution to the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The winners of the 2021 Indonesia WEPs Awards were announced by UN Women on Friday. The awards are organized by the WeEmpowerAsia programme of UN Women with support from the European Union. This year’s WEPs Awards received 228 applications from 138 companies,...

Pannapa (Aimee) Na Nan has more than 14 years of experience coordinating disaster management at national, regional and international levels. As the director of International Cooperation Section at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior of Thailand, she co-chairs the Technical Working Group on Protection, Gender and Inclusion (TWG-PGI) convened by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management.

In the spirit of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport (JCRWS) of Juntendo University co-organised the Open Symposium on Gender Equality in Sports with the Japan Sports Agency (JSA) and ASEAN Secretariat, and support from the UN Women. The Symposium is part of the four-day ASEAN-Japan Workshop on Gender Equality in Sports held from 10 to 13 August.

In the past 18 months, by trapping women with their abusers, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have worsened the already-widespread violence against women while preventing many of them from getting help. But even those who do manage to contact the police come up against another long-standing challenge: a culture and system that treats the survivor as a big part of the problem.

Cecilia Permatasari Ritonga is a 24-year-old criminal investigator from Indonesia serving as First Sergeant Tactical Force with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). In light of this year’s International UN Peacekeepers’ Day, Cecilia shared with us some of the challenges and opportunities that a young woman peacekeeper may encounter during missions, and meaningful roles of women in sustaining international peace and security. "I am extremely proud to contribute to maintaining peace and resolving conflicts as Blue Helmet personnel, particularly when I see women playing roles in the field..."

Inayatun Nurhasanah (Ina) started her one-year deployment at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in September 2020. Before joining the UN peacekeeping mission, she was the Head of the Women and Children Protection Unit at Pontianak Police Office. After serving 23 years as a national police officer in her hometown of Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Ina is now the focal point of sexual abuse and exploitation as well as administration officer at the Formed Police Unit Indonesian contingent at MINUSCA.

‘Manels’ do not represent the diversity of our world and deprive us of a more holistic, innovative, and insightful perspective on any given discussion or topic. ‘Manels’ are like tunnel vision: they limit the understanding of a topic for they only bring men’s perspectives to the discussion. They may lead to incomplete — if not incorrect — conclusions.

Indonesian social and political activist Yenny Zannuba Wahid leads the Jakarta-based NGO Wahid Foundation, established with her late father, former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, in 2004. The organization has been working to support peace and foster interreligious dialogue to counter violent extremism.