TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Secretariat of the Indonesia Forum for Budget Transparency (Seknas Fitra) urges Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to return the budget to the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) to the initial allocation before the budget cuts.

Moreover, Seknas Fitra also advocates that the government emphasize the importance of budget tagging or thematic marking of Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB). This marking is carried out to identify activities and budgets in ministries/agencies related to gender equality and women's empowerment efforts.

"Seknas Fitra recommends the government, through the Ministry of Finance, to restore the budget amount for KemenPPPA and Komnas Perempuan to the initial allocation for 2025 or even increase it," said Fitra Researcher Siska Barimbing in an official statement received by Tempo on Saturday, March 8, 2025. "Including emphasizing the importance of ARG tagging to ensure the achievement of gender-responsive programs."

As known, this year saw massive budget cuts across all ministries/agencies, including KemenPPPA and Komnas Perempuan. KemenPPPA suffered a reduction of up to 48.86 percent from the initial allocation of Rp 300.6 billion to Rp 153.7 billion. Meanwhile, Komnas Perempuan now only receives a budget of Rp 28.9 billion from the initial allocation of Rp 47.7 billion. "These cuts have resulted in both institutions being unable to carry out their functions as mandated," said Siska.

Seknas Fitra also noted a reduction in GRB within the Prabowo government. Based on data from the Directorate of Family, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports of the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Kementerian PPN/Bappenas), the proportion of GRB to the total expenditure of ministries/agencies in 2025 experienced a drastic decline.

This year, GRB is set at only Rp 26.3 trillion or 2.7 percent of the total 2025 state budget. Whereas in 2021, the total GRB was Rp 55.46 trillion. Then, GRB increased to Rp 63.61 trillion in 2022 and even reached Rp 70.02 trillion in 2023. "This certainly impacts the certainty of programs targeting women, especially those for poor women," said Siska.

According to Siska, the International Women's Day should serve as a reminder that the eradication of poverty faced by women and gender justice needs to be supported by concrete, transparent, and fair budget commitments.

Siska argued that the budget cuts policy shows that President Prabowo Subianto is not committed to realizing the fourth precept of Asta Cita, which is to strengthen gender equality and the empowerment of women and persons with disabilities. "Without budget commitments, the promise to strengthen gender equality and the empowerment of women and persons with disabilities is merely an accessory," said Siska.

Siska stated that without a budget that is in favor of women, gender equality will only be rhetoric without real change. "Indonesian women have the right to demand this promise," she said.

Editor's Choice: How Business Owners Prepare Holiday Allowances in Difficult Business Conditions