Promoting Access to Justice and Peace, Wahid Foundation Strengthens the Capacity of the Peace Village/Kelurahan Working Groups and Womens Groups in West Java

Bogor-Friday, (03/25), the Wahid Foundation held a training on the prevention of violent extremism and legal literacy with the title "Strengthening the Capacity of the Working Groups in Preventing Intolerance and Violent Extremism, Women's Rights, and Community-Based Protection Mechanisms" at the Whiz Prime Hotel Pajajaran in Bogor, West Java.

The training participants consisted of 36 working group representatives coming from several Peace Village/Kelurahan in West Java, namely Tajur Halang Village, Pondok Udik Village, Kelurahan Duren Seribu, and Kelurahan Pengasinan. Each working group that participated in the training also consisted of many community elements such the village youth, women’s groups, government officers, community leaders from various religions, and the police’s security and public order officers (Bhabinkamtibmas).

The Peace Village/Kelurahan program has been running since 2017. The Wahid Foundation has been collaborating to develop the Peace Village with UN Women through the Women Participation for Inclusive Society (WISE) Program. The WISE program aims to encourage women's participation at the local level in efforts to promote peace in Peace Villages/Kelurahans in three provinces, namely West Java, East Java and Central Java.

Mujtaba Hamdi, Executive Director of the Wahid Foundation in his speech said that the Peace Village/Kelurahan Program was in line with the government's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"For example, the Indonesian government has launched a holistic program called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Well, this program (the Peace Village) contributes to a number of SDGs, particularly those related to women, peace, and the reduction of violence," he said during the opening of the training.

In addition, Mujtaba explained that there was a special approach at the United Nations (United Nations) level called the human security approach, which means that humans must not only be free from crimes or conflict triggered by war, but humans should also be free from various things that may trigger conflict, such as unequal social status, unequal religious status, unequal economy and access to justice. Subsequently, the Peace Village Program is part of this approach.

Mujtaba concluded that inequality can trigger conflict and the important solution to this problem is equal access to justice for all. Therefore, the role of the working groups, particularly women's groups, is crucial in mobilizing all activities related to the access to justice in the Peace Village program.

"Today's training has a special position in the overall scheme of the Peace Village program. Legal literacy is not just memorizing laws and regulations, but also program schemes that have been implemented by the government and can be accessed equally and fairly by the public, particularly women. Why do women need to access justice? Because women are important actors in creating peace according to the research by the Wahid Foundation," Mujtaba explained the importance of the training and the role of the working groups, specifically the women's groups.

He added that the role of women's groups has been proven to strengthen community resilience against all potential crises. Thus, it is essential to involve women to participate in policy-making with the village government and to be the key actors of peace in their respective villages.

Apart from being in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the Peace Village program is also in line with the Presidential Decree No.7 year 2021 concerning the National Action Plan on Countering Violent Extremism that leads to Terrorism.

The training, which was held from Friday to Sunday, March 26-28, 2021, equipped the Peace Village/Kelurahan working groups with knowledge and skills regarding law and human rights, including the role of women in the prevention of violent extremism, religious interpretation of equal relations between men and women, the framework of international and national laws on women's rights, as well as skills for women to access justice in the domestic sphere. With increased capacity, the working groups are expected to strengthen the implementation of the Peace and Equality Village Action Plan and the establishment of mechanisms for early detection and response to conflict, including legal services for women that are victims of violence, a community-based women’s protection mechanism, and access to justice for women.

Contact person: Ahmad Saeroji (081299211930)