The Empowerment of Indigenous Papuan Women Through Home-Based Industries: A Case Study in Papua, Indonesia

Abstract

The importance of women's empowerment in poverty alleviation programs in eastern Indonesia became the main objective of the research. This research aims to identify the approaches to empowering indigenous Papuan women in Yoboy Village, Jayapura. In addition, this research aims to find out the supporting and inhibiting factors in this empowerment. Indigenous Papuan women are a group of indigenous peoples from Indonesia. Several factors diminish the role of women in Jayapura, such as poverty, domestic violence, and the difficulty of self-reliance. Yoboy village has limited options for economic facilities. Therefore, this research conducted Andrew Barlette's Empowerment Theory as an analysis tool. The data collection techniques in this qualitative research were conducted by observation, interview and documentation. Three entry points must be completed to optimize empowerment in poor communities. This research indicated that the empowerment of indigenous Papuan women is also applied through participation, self-reliance, and partnership techniques. The creativity and self-confidence of indigenous Papuan women have made these empowerment programs successful. However, business capital, lack of concern, and cooperation among indigenous Papuan women have become inhibiting factors in empowerment. Therefore, the empowerment of indigenous Papuan women still requires developing and strengthening various programs. The participation of partnerships is one of the important keys to this development.

Received: 5 July 2023 / Accepted: 24 August 2023 / Published: 5 September 2023