JAKARTA - The 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia and Chairman of the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Megawati Soekarnoputri, reminded young women that having public aspirations and family commitments are not contradictory and asked women not to be trapped in a dilemma between home and society.
"I want to remind women not to be trapped in a false dilemma between home and society. What is needed is time management, communication that is equal to a spouse, and structural support from the state and social environment," Megawati said in a written statement received by Antara Jakarta, Wednesday, February 4 morning.
This was conveyed by Megawati at the Zayed Human Fraternity Award 2026 forum at the Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Tuesday, February 3 local time.
Megawati told the story of her long process of becoming a leader. She was taught by her parents, President Soekarno and First Lady Fatwawati, about the important values that made her the person she is today.
"As a leader, I became a person who was made by my parents, my father was a president, of course my mother was a First Lady, who came from a different ethnicity, who made me but now became this kind of human being, it was because of belief, firmness, tenacity, courage, and patience, combined with moral ethics and conscience," said Megawati.
Megawati is also grateful that she is able to continue to play the role of a wife and mother to her three sons. In addition, Megawati also has a long experience in politics ranging from PDIP General Chair since 1993, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Vice President to President of the Republic of Indonesia.
"My late husband was also the Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly. Leadership, both at home and in the community, never grows in solitude. And in my family, both at home and in the community, it is all leadership," added Megawati.
For Megawati, women's leadership is about the ability to unite roles, not to contradict them. Women's leadership is also, he said, about presenting social empathy and a real contribution to humanity.
"When women bring human values, empathy, and justice into all spaces of their lives, leadership is no longer just about positions, but rather a real contribution to the realization of what we all aspire to, namely Human Fraternity, as aspired to by the founders of nations everywhere, and relevant for the future of global civilization," said Megawati.
This Assembly of Human Fraternity is one of the most important meetings in the annual Zayed Award calendar, which brings together world female leaders such as Lebanese First Lady Nehmat Aoun to Pakistan's First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari to formulate a path to world peace through inclusive leadership insights.
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