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The Jakarta Globe
Friday, May 7, 2010
by Nurfika Osman
Free training and education provided by the government
in Aceh are helping empower women in a region that
still bears the scars of the devastating 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami.
Inem, a 30-year-old housewife from Banda Aceh, told
the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that with training from
the Women’s Development Center in the provincial
capital, she was now able to support her family by
making clothing and selling her wares through the
center. “Now I can support my family and make Rp
30,000 [$3.30] per piece of clothing I make,” she
said.
Women have played an active part in rebuilding Aceh
after the region was devastated by a tsunami. Many
lost their husbands, children, families and friends,
and the center has been helping them to build a new
life. “We all experienced loss from the tsunami, but
also realize that we should now take part in the
province’s development,” Inem said.
After receiving her training, Inem decided to become a
trainer for some 30 other women at the center. “I have
seen that women can be empowered by this program,” she
said.
Nurahmi, who is also being trained at the center, said
that women in the province were starting to get more
involved in the development process.
“People may think that this is small, but small things
can bring big changes to our lives,” she said.
Nurahmi said that more and more women had been coming
to the center since it opened in 2008 to learn a
variety of vocations, from information technology to
sewing, in order to improve their lives.
“We are trying to empower the women as well as
implement gender mainstreaming in Banda Aceh,” said
Badrunnisa, head of the city’s Women’s Empowerment and
Family Planning Office.
Despite the center’s limited facilities, Badrunnisa
said she believed it was helping to make a difference
in the women’s lives. |
