Australia's Ambassador For Women And Girls Visits Indonesia

Jakarta, Feb 19 (Antara) - Australia`s Ambassador for Women and Girls Natasha Stott Despoja successfully concluded her visit to Indonesia as part of Australia`s international engagement on gender equality and women`s empowerment. "Empowering the women in our society has significant effects: it drives economic growth and is a significant factor in improving the lives of the people in the community at large," Ambassador Stott Despoja stated in a press release from the Australian Embassy in Indonesia, received here Wednesday. During the visit, Despoja spoke at the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children and also met Indonesian Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi. Despoja also visited the women who had benefited from a poverty reduction program, which offers loans to run small businesses. Women from civil society organizations also outlined their agenda to improve women`s economic empowerment, support leadership by women, reduce violence against women, and protect the Indonesian migrant workers overseas. Ambassador Despoja emphasized that the visit had highlighted the value of advancing the political, economic, and social empowerment of the women and girls in Indonesia and elsewhere in the region. "I learnt a great deal about how gender equality issues are being tackled in a country that is as geographically and socially complex as Indonesia. I heard Indonesian perspectives and stories on women`s empowerment and it will help guide my ongoing work on these issues," Despoja claimed. Despoja also participated in a live chat session with the Facebook fans of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. She answered numerous questions posed by Indonesian men and women on how to improve the condition of women and girls.