Pekanbaru, Riau, April 21 (Antarariau.com) - Women who are domiciled in seven rural areas in Riau Province are still underdeveloped, as they have not yet received developmental support in terms of economy, education, health, and creativity development.
"A number of development policies have changed, or are not sustainable, due to the replacement of leaders. As a result, gender equality is not entirely practiced in the seven community areas," Head of Community Participation and Data from the Department of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (DP3A) of Riau, Helmidayati Kadir, stated here on Friday.
According to Kadir, the women who live in underdeveloped regions are of the origin of Malay residents of Riau Province who depend on the sea and the forest for their livelihoods.
She noted that the rural people still adopt the economic principle of "tapak lapan," which refers to the economic principle of Malay people based on natural wisdom such as moon, stars, season, or the wind. The use of their instincts is very strong.
"In daily life, the residents adopt many things as their role models based on the principle. Besides, they have also taught the community on how to farm and catch fish," she noted.
There are a number of traditions which are popular from this region, such as Gogi Dance and Bulian Hunt. These are hereditary traditions carried on by fishermen, which involves dancing in the evening when they become tired after catching fish.
Nevertheless, these traditions are also carried out maximally in several fields, including solving the problem of the tribal women who do not have marriage certificates due to their beliefs of animism.
"When they hold a marriage ceremony, they only passed by the head of the tribe who believes to the dog. If the dog has sounded a 'king' then their marriage is believed as legal," she explained.
In addition to DP3A, alleviating the problems of the rural community should also be the responsibility of the Department of Social Affairs and the Department of Culture and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Seven communities where women are domiciled in the underdeveloped regions include the Laut Tribe in Tembilahan, Bonai Tribe in Rokan Hulu District, Sakai Tribe in Siak District, Talang Mamak Tribe in Rengat, Petalangan Tribe in Pelalawan District, Akit Tribe in Strait of Bengkalis, and the Doano Tribe in Tembilahan. *** 4 ***
