The Contribution of Balai Sakinah ‘Aisyiah Programs for Women Empowerment
Eko Kurniasih Pratiwi1, Istania Widayati1
Universitas Muhammadiyah Magelang
Abstract
Womens empowerment is an essential goal in achieving sustainable development worldwide. But, in 2016, Indonesia ranked 105 out of 159 countries in the Gender Inequality Index. It indicates that womens leadership capacity and gender equality in Indonesia must be improved. Balai Sakinah Aisyiah (BSA) is a leading program of Aisyiah, which aims to increase womens independence to be more empowered. This study aims to find out how the BSA Program implemented and its contribution to improving womens empowerment. The research method used a descriptive exploratory approach with in-depth interviews. The result shows that the BSA Program had various activities, including public health, reproduction, economic and religious. Through the BSA, the community is also educated to advocate the formulation of village governments policies that accommodate womens concerns. The activities carried out through the BSA program have been able to improve the quality of women in terms of economic, religious, and health. It implies that the program is recommended to become a broad womens empowerment program.
Keywords: empowerment, women, Balai Sakinah Aisyiyah
Topic: Religious Studies