MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, YOGYAKARTA — ‘Aisyiyah focuses on women’s economic empowerment as it enters its second century. Having achieved significant success in the field of education, ‘Aisyiyah is now determined to improve the overall quality of life for women.
“We need to encourage women entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses so that they can not only improve their own well-being but also that of their families and communities,” said President of ‘Aisyiyah Salmah Orbayinah during the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with the Indonesian Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at Universitas Ahmad Dahlan on Tuesday, September 10.
Salmah Orbayinah highlighted the alarming statistic that 9.68% of Indonesian women live below the poverty line, a rate higher than that of men. However, she also emphasized the significant role that women play in entrepreneurship, comprising 64.5% of all micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
‘Aisyiyah approach to women’s economic empowerment is rooted in Islamic teachings, particularly Quranic verses such as Al-Isra 26, which emphasize the importance of providing for one’s family, the poor, and travelers.
One of the organization’s key initiatives is the Aisyiyah Family Economic Business Development Program (BUEKA), a community-based program designed to provide women with the skills and resources needed to optimize their economic potential.
“We aim to cultivate a mindset that enables women to produce more economically viable products,” said Salmah.
The growing importance of the SME sector and the government’s supportive policies have created a favorable environment for women entrepreneurs. Salmah emphasized the significance of the MoU with the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, stating that it will strengthen the collaboration between ‘Aisyiyah and the government in empowering women to compete on a global scale.
