Women play a significant part in Indonesia’s economy. Statistics Indonesia data from 2018 revealed that 64.

5
percent of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia were managed by women. In 2017,
MSMEs accounted for 99.9 percent of all businesses in the country. Despite their significance, gender
inequality still hinders the fulfillment of women’s economic rights.

Recognizing this obstacle, UN Women, a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women,
recently teamed up with Indonesian super app Gojek to empower Indonesian women economically.

On Sept. 7, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlining how they could strengthen
their synergy to advocate for women’s economic rights. Building women’s capacity for entrepreneurship will
also be a big part of this collaboration.

The collaboration seeks to address several specific issues. The current COVID-19 situation has further
worsened women’s economic problems. Both UN Women and Gojek believe that by empowering women
economically, we can push towards gender equality, benefiting women, their families, our communities and the
nation itself.

The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has confirmed the deaths of five more doctors due to COVID-19,
bringing the total count to 114 while also urging the government to provide better protection to medical workers
fighting in the frontline of the ongoing pandemic.
IDI mitigation team head Adib Khumaidi said that Two days ago, 109 doctors, 2 doctors died yesterday and
another 3 died today from COVID-19. East Java recorded the highest doctor fatalities with 29, followed by
North Sumatra with 21. As many as 55 doctors, or around 50 percent of the tally, were general practitioners and
the remainder specialists.
According to IDI’s investigation, not all the doctors had been infected in treatment or isolation rooms. IDI also
confirmed that nine dentists have died from COVID-19 as of early September, in addition to 70 nurses, as
reported by the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI).
Previously, IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country has
affected the well-being and performance of medical workers. A recent survey by the University of Indonesia’s
(UI) School of Medicine also reveals that 82 percent of healthcare workers across the country are suffering from
burnout. On Friday, health authorities announced 3,737 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, putting
the national tally at 210,940 with 8,544 fatalities and more than 150,000 recoveries.
Giring Ganesha, the newly appointed Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) acting chairman, has declared his
intention of running in the 2024 presidential election. The former vocalist of pop rock band Nidji revealed his
plan during a virtual press conference on Monday.
Giring said that he will run for president in 2024. He believe we will stand up for an increasingly victorious
Indonesia. The 37-year-old said his candidacy was driven by the party's concern that young people would make
up half of the total eligible voters in 2024 and therefore they needed to have a young leader. The PSI has billed
itself as a political party for the young and has a strong social media presence. It has declared support for
President Joko Widodo's administration.
In late 2018, Giring decided to take a hiatus from his musical career to focus on politics. He ran in the
legislative election in 2019, however, he did not get a seat in the House of Representatives after the party failed
to meet the legislative threshold at the national level of 4 percent of the total vote.