By: Rebecca Marian)*
Indonesia will hold a G20 Summit, one of which will include the Woman of Twenty (W20) meeting in West Papua. The West Papuan government is ready to be a good host and feels honored to be appointed to host an international event.
The G20 is an international forum where representatives from other countries come and discuss current issues and promote good cooperation. In 2022, Indonesia will become the G20 presidency so that it will automatically host, and this event will be held in Bali. But not many know that there is W20 (woman 20) which is a side event for the G20.
W20 will be held in West Papua. This was stated by W20 chairwoman Hadriani Silalahi. In a sense, this side event was deliberately held in Papua in order to introduce the natural exoticism of the Cendrawasih earth to international guests. So they not only hold meetings, but also enjoy the beauty of Papua.
If guests from W20 know that Papua is safe and has natural beauty, they will not hesitate to travel there again, bringing their families. The W20 event has become a free tourism promotion, once you paddle 2 islands you can pass. We will make big profits thanks to the G20 and W20.
Hadriani continued, in W20 there will be 5 speakers from other countries, namely Mexico, Germany, India, and Japan. They are the first ladies who will discuss the topic of W20 this year, namely Woman disability and rural areas inclusion. In addition to the first ladies, the guests who will attend are envoys from W20 and the pacific countries.
The theme of W20 is very interesting because if there are speakers from abroad, we will get new insights and they will share experiences, how to overcome women’s disability in their country. Who knows, it can be applied in Indonesia so that women are more advanced, even though the culture is certainly different from the guests.
The theme of woman disability is very suitable because in Indonesia, especially Papua, there is still the powerlessness of women. Woman disability is not defined as a disabled woman or disabled, but a woman’s inability to live forward and on an equal footing with men.
By discussing woman disability, it can be shown that women can come forward and become leaders, not just sidekicks or friends behind. Indonesian women and other countries should be more advanced and appreciated because they have good potential. Indonesia should be proud because it once had a female president and its ministers were also forward-thinking women.
To overcome this so that women can maximize their potential, W20 can follow the example of Indonesia, when some of the special autonomy funds for Papua were channeled as capital loans for mamas (mothers in Papua). They can trade in the market and are highly empowered, because they struggle to help their husbands earn a living.
Business is one way for women to get ahead, that’s why the W20 meeting also talked about international trade. It is hoped that the first ladies will be interested in Papuan produce such as coffee and sago and admire the beauty of noken. They can be a golden bridge to the export market.
The arrival of women at the W20 forum was not only to chat or accompany their husbands, but also to become keynote speakers and talk about important things such as woman disability. Women can be more advanced if given the opportunity and men should not feel inferior because emancipation has existed since time immemorial. The W20 event benefits Indonesia, especially Papua, because it also promotes Papua’s natural wealth and natural products.
)* The author is a contributor for Papuan students living in Jakarta