Empowering Women in Papua New Guinea as Part of the Green Economy

Abstract

The empowerment of women has been shown to have a positive effect on economic growth. Previous studies have established the importance of women in supporting the family economy. Indigenous Papuan women become empowerment agents who have a tangible impact on improving the family economy and society as a whole. In Papua New Guinea, the concept of the green economy has been incorporated into the process of women’s empowerment. Mama Papua, the term for a native Papuan woman from Jayapura City, is a shining example of women’s empowerment achieved through the use of natural products. Mama Papua sell natural products to the city after simple processing. Women as subjects of development, according to this concept, will provide economic benefits while also playing an active role in environmental sustainability. Women and nature play an important role. The concept of a green economy ensures that economic empowerment for women can coexist with environmental protection and preservation. This research examined the interactions that occur during the process of empowering women in Papua who use natural resources. The concept of the green economy maintains traditional ways of processing nature. The research methods used were observation and interviews which were conducted with the provincial Bappeda, representing the Papua City Government, and Mama Papua, representing the Papuan government’s empowerment policy. The researchers conducted field research in the Mama Papua market to observe empowerment practices in action. This was followed by a review of the literature on the interactions between empowerment and the green economy from a variety of sources, including policy documents and journals. Triangulation of sources and data was carried out to ensure the data’s validity and reliability. The process of empowering women was examined through four factors: access, participation, control and benefits. The findings revealed that government access is still restricted to indigenous Papuan women, also known as Mama Papua. Given that levels of poverty in women are higher than in men, this is a form of affirmative action. Women’s aspirations have been accommodated in terms of participation, as evidenced by the presence of the first Mama Papua market in Jayapura, a traditional shopping center that offers a variety of natural products. Women’s representation is a factor that influences the long-term viability of women’s empowerment in Papua New Guinea. The control factor demonstrates that women have more control over government policy than men in the Mama Papua market. With the designation of the Mama Papua market as a tourist destination by the Papua City Government, it can be concluded that the empowerment of women through the use of the green economy was successfully implemented, namely the empowerment of women based on promoting small producers and integrating Papuan businesses and local service providers into the value chain. The success of the green economy concept in empowering women must be maintained. The Government’s expansion of women’s empowerment to the interior of Papua will have a greater impact on the program’s long-term viability. The green economy is a unique idea that should be implemented, especially for Papuan native women whose assets are still underutilized. The Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of Papuan women by making policies that are sustainable and friendly to Papuan women was another finding in this study.
 Keywords: poverty, women’s empowerment, green economy