Indonesia’s Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry will establish Dawan Klod and Nyalian Villages in Klungkung District as pilot “drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring” villages.
Antara news agency reported that Minister Bintang Darmawati announced her decision of setting up the women and child-friendly villages at Central Banjar Hall, Dawan Klod Village, Dawan Sub-district, on Sunday.
Klungkung District Head Suwirta added that the development of smoke-free areas in the villages had been initiated to protect women and children from cigarette smoke.
In addition, the One Village One State Kindergarten Program in Klungkung District is proof of the government’s commitment to children’s well-being, he added. Each kindergarten will be equipped with a school bus, he informed.
Minister Darmawati said that to ensure their status as “drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring” villages, the villages must fulfil 10 requirements. For instance, they will need to organize women and children in the village, maintain separate data on women and children, and issue a village-level policy on the program’s implementation.
In addition, a village budget will be assigned under the policy, there will be women’s representation in the ruling body, women’s participation in entrepreneurship, there will be no children in the workforce, no violence against women and children, the greater role of mothers and families in child care and education, and the absence of child marriage, she added.
Setting up “drug-free, women-friendly, and child-caring” villages is part of the government’s efforts to integrate gender perspectives and children’s rights into village governance, village development, and the development and empowerment of rural communities, she said.– Antara