JAKARTA. Along with his aggressive efforts to stimulate national infrastructure development, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has pledged that the country’s development will benefit all citizens, including women and those living in remote areas.

Speaking on Monday at a ceremony in Ciracas, East Jakarta, held to celebrate national Women’s Day, President Jokowi said that he wanted to see next year’s event held in one of the country’s remote areas, so that the public could look more closely at the real problems faced by many Indonesian women.

“Why must we celebrate Women’s Day in a village or hamlet? So that we can see the actual facts and realities faced by our women in the field,” Jokowi told hundreds of women at a packed sport hall in Ciracas.

“We must honestly open up such pictures so that we can aim our development in a clear direction and [select] which regions need our attention the most.”

Born in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, on June 21, 1961, businessman-turned-politician Jokowi is the eldest of four siblings and the only son of Javanese native Noto Miharjo and his wife, Sujiatmi.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post last year, Sujiatmi recalled the years her son spent struggling as a rookie entrepreneur, despite his being born into a family with a furniture business.

Sujiatmi, for example, cited how Jokowi was deceived by a buyer at the outset of a deal and lost all of the capital he had, adding that it was not the only time he suffered significant losses.

When asked by reporters whether he had congratulated his mother on national Women’s Day, Jokowi replied, “I have”.

“Mothers are [our] invincible heaven in the world,” he said.

The father of three, however, said he had also congratulated his wife, First Lady Iriana, who could not hide her smile when Jokowi said so. (Hasyim Widhiarto)

Editor: Hendra Gunawan