JAKARTA – The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, together with Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian and Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, signed a Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) on the Indonesian Shared Space (Ruang Bersama Indonesia / RBI) for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection at the Sasana Bhakti Praja Building, Ministry of Home Affairs, Jakarta, on Monday (September 14, 2026).

RBI is a cross-sectoral collaborative movement designed to empower women and protect children through holistic, integrative, and sustainable approaches rooted in local wisdom across villages (desa) and urban wards (kelurahan). This collaborative framework focuses on three core pillars: implementing gender-responsive and child-rights-based village/ward governance, executing women's empowerment initiatives, and strengthening local women and child protection efforts.

In his remarks, Minister Yandri welcomed the signing of the Joint Ministerial Decree as a strategic step to advance women's empowerment and child protection at the grassroots level. He emphasized that the execution of the RBI framework will strictly honor local wisdom across Indonesia’s 75,266 villages, leveraging their unique regional characteristics and potential.

"During implementation, we will prioritize local wisdom to ensure that the unique dynamics and local assets of each village remain at the forefront. We have highlighted several ongoing Kemendes PDT initiatives aligned with women's empowerment and child protection," Minister Yandri stated.

"This framework seamlessly aligns with key Kemendes PDT priorities, including our Integrated Village Economic Transformation Program (TEKAD). Women and mothers serve as primary participants in TEKAD to boost household incomes and foster female economic empowerment," Minister Yandri added.

Furthermore, he stressed that women in rural areas must no longer be viewed merely as passive beneficiaries of development, but rather as active subjects and primary drivers of progress, including in child protection efforts.

With social challenges in rural communities escalating—such as juvenile delinquency, drug trafficking, and online gambling—the role of women becomes increasingly vital in mitigating these issues. Concurrently, Kemendes PDT continues to address these social challenges through initiatives such as the Drug-Free Village Program (Desa Bebas Narkoba) and the Village Youth Pioneer Program (Pemuda-Pemudi Pelopor Desa).

"Our fundamental objective is to ensure that women's empowerment and child protection originate directly from local village communities. When every village successfully implements these measures, we effectively empower Indonesian women and safeguard Indonesian children nationwide," Minister Yandri affirmed.

Following the decree signing, the event proceeded with the 2026 Regional Inflation Control Coordination Meeting, focusing on the verification and validation of the Red and White Village/Ward Cooperatives (Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih / KDKMP).

Accompanying Minister Yandri at the event were Deputy Minister of Villages PDT Ahmad Riza Patria, Secretary-General Taufik Madjid, and Head of BPSDM Agustomi Masik.

Foto: Didi/Kemendes PDT 
Teks: Rifqi/Kemendes PDT