goodmorningpapua.com – Pancasila as the basis of the Republic of Indonesia has five precepts and four of them describe the development of a just, civilized, united Indonesian citizen’s life, toward justice for all people.
This certainly also relates to all gender’s justice and equality. And the 1945 Constitution also contains basic provisions regarding Human Rights (HAM) to life and independence from discriminatory treatment. This is also in line with one of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) agenda that has been agreed upon by all UN member countries, namely achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.
Likewise the province of Papua. The province are also trying to help realize these expectations. If we look at the female population from the 2020 population census in Papua province, which is 46.68 percent, it means that almost half of Papua’s population are women who have a role in realizing a more developed Papua.
In achieving the progress of Papua it certainly cannot be separated from the world of education. With extensive knowledge, various appropriate innovations can be made, namely from, by, and for the Papuan people.
Various national journals have concluded that the higher the education of women (mothers), the lower the infant mortality rate, the lower the stunting rate, the higher the infant’s health level, the more helping the development in various fields, and so on. This can happen because education is not only a formal obligation, but also forms a person’s critical mindset.
The Gender Development Index (IPG) of Papua Province in 2020 was 79.59 percent or decreased by 0.46 percent from the previous year. This means that there are growing disparities in human development between women and men in Papua. If we look more deeply, one of the determinations of the Grade Point Average [GPA] can be seen in the education sector.
One of the basics of education is being able to read and write the letters of the alphabet. As for seeing this, it is based on the Literacy Rate (AMH) indicator.
Women’s AMH in Papua in 2020 was only 72.66 percent. This value is still far below the national figure which has reached 94.55 percent. One of the reasons is the Papua region which is still included in the 3T (tertinggal, terdepan, terluar) category. This results in difficulties in achieving access to education and the fulfillment of educators in these areas. In fact, if we look at the district level, there are still 5 districts that have AMH women population below 50 percent.
Then, on the indicator of the highest education diploma held in the elementary and junior high school categories, Papuan women have a higher percentage, which is 65.90 percent of the male population of 60.89 percent in the same category. Of course this is not a good thing, because this figure explains that women who do not continue their education to a higher level is much more.
The central and regional governments have tried to achieve gender equality from all fields with various juridical instruments, although the maximum results have not been seen, but there has been a movement to achieve this.
One of the things that can be done is to involve women in various strategic positions, both economic, political and other. So that it can change the paradigm regarding women.
To be able to make it happen, it is necessary to increase women’s access in the fields of economy, education, health, politics and various other fields. And it is also necessary to disseminate information to the wider community because this gender inequality can be carried out by the state, society and even the smallest circle such as family.
Author: Engellia, SST (a Young Expert for Social Statistics Function of BPS Mimika Regency, Papua Province)