Jakarta. Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar said Thursday that gender equality would be pivotal to Indonesia's development.

Speaking at an online conference, Nasaruddin highlighted how a country's development plan should always involve women. A male-centric approach would only weaken a country's competitiveness on the global stage -- something that could cause a setback to Indonesia's goal of becoming an advanced economy. Despite their significance, Nasaruddin realized that women to this day remain excluded.

"Gender equality is always relevant. But women are still not in an ideal position to play their role as a driving force in a nation's development," Nasaruddin said.

He added: "The female population is greater than male in many countries. It is about time for us to make women one of Indonesia's driving forces."

While Indonesia has made some progress towards gender equality, there are still gaps that the country needs to address. 

"There is no prohibition for women to play an active role in public spaces. They can become leaders. Many women have shown what they are capable of, be it as heads of state or as single mothers who have successfully raised their children. This is proof that women are also capable and are not inferior to men," Nasaruddin said.

"Don't let religion be used to belittle the quality, achievements, and dignity of women. Stop discrediting women in the name of religion," the minister told the forum.

Indonesia is home to a sizable population of over 270 million people with a slight male predominance. About 133.5 million people of them are female, while 136 million are male, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Indonesia's gender inequality index (GII) stood at 0.447 in 2023, down 0.012 points compared to the previous year. The lower the score, the better a country's gender equality. More women are also joining the workforce. BPS reported that the female labor participation rate had grown from 53.41 percent in 2022 to 54.52 percent the following year. Even so, these figures are still much lower compared to men whose labor participation rate hit 84.26 percent in 2023.