MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, NEW YORK – Delegates of ‘Aisyiyah, Secretary General of ‘Aisyiyah Tri Hastuti Nur Rochimah and Chair of ‘Aisyiyah Masyitoh Chusnan, shared views and experiences in empowering marginalized women in the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York.
In the session, focusing on “accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective,” Tri Hastuti highlighted poverty as the root cause of many issues faced by women and girls, including child marriage. She emphasized ‘Aisyiyah’s strong support for initiatives that improve women’s well-being and empowerment.
“‘Aisyiyah specifically spoke about how we support the most marginalized women in Indonesia, namely farmers and fisherwomen. We want this to be a key area of focus,” said Tri at the largest annual UN gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, conducted on March 11 to 22, 2024.
Aisyiyah empowers these women by encouraging them to form groups, gaining recognition that grants them access to essential services and resources, such as financing and training, previously available only to male farmers and fishermen. The organization also promotes women’s entrepreneurial capacity through training and empowerment programs and encourages the establishment of cooperatives to bolster the female economy. Additionally, ‘Aisyiyah supports work readiness programs for young people with disabilities to facilitate their entry into the workforce.
Tri Hastuti believes that collaboration and increased stakeholder involvement are crucial to reducing women’s poverty rates and strengthening gender equality. The CSW is expected to lead to agreements among UN member states. Tri identified six key areas for improvement:
- Encouraging government commitment to gender-responsive development financing
- Expanding fiscal policy for investment to eliminate poverty for women and girls
- Implementing gender-responsive economic and political policies
- Encouraging increased funding for women’s organizations that focus on women’s issues
- Encouraging valid data on multidimensional poverty rates to track progress in reducing poverty
- Ensuring development strategies in regions prioritize a sustainable community economy
“The biggest challenge faced by almost all countries is ensuring that governments in each country truly allocate development budgets with a gender perspective. This is what we call commitment,” said Tri at the sessions also attended by delegates of the Indonesian Women’s Congress (Kowani).
