Children with low self-esteem will portray a certain behavior like uncertainty, often feeling confused about themselves, shy, modest, submitting readily to other people's influence, and lacking confidence in themselves. Moreover, Sheslow said that children with low self-esteem tend to be overly critical, "exhibit a low tolerance for frustration, giving up easily or waiting for somebody else to take over. They tend to be overly critical of and easily disappointed in themselves. Kids with low self-esteem see temporary setbacks as permanent, intolerable conditions, and a sense of pessimism predominates" (Sheslow, 2008).
The Struggling Between Multiple Roles
According to the facts on the ground, single mothers in Gampong Birem Puntong have a series of challenges in raising their children. Single mothers are concerned about family finances, therefore they must work alone while providing for their children's education and nurturing them [6]. According to the research, a single parent's financial situation mostly is a lower-middle-class family where a single parent must meet the needs of their children even under difficult circumstances. There are numerous efforts made by single parents in meeting the needs of these children, there are hustling side work, loans, and regular social gathering/lottery club (arisan).
A single parent must fulfill two roles. Act as both a father and a mother. Juggling between two roles is not an easy matter. The condition's demand will be a burden that can cause stress, and if left, it will affect mental health (Fitria et al., 2021).Â
How to Get Away from Misery
To escape from poverty, a woman as the head of the family needs a support system, whether it is from an extended family or community so she can comfortably earn a living. For example Pekka (Yayasan Perempuan Kepala Keluarga) collaborated with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection and a few regional governments by distributing social aid throughout the pandemic to help single mothers in Indonesia. Another example is from a community in Indonesia which is Single Moms Indonesia (SMI). SMI was initiated to support single mothers in Indonesia on September 8 2014 by Maureen Hitipeum who's a single mother by divorce. SMI was initiated to support single mothers in Indonesia by creating a safe zone and a stigma-free community for single moms. SMI has values to empower single mothers. By joining the SMI Community, its members can inspire one another to rise and rebuild families. According to Maureen, if single mothers are empowered, they can create a better and happier life for themselves and their children [7].Â
Komnas Perempuan Commissioner, Rainy Hutabarat, offered some solutions to empower single moms in Indonesia, she said that it's necessary to develop programs with a gender perspective so that women as the head of household are involved in discussing programs that boost their economy so their needs are accommodated and fulfilled. It is also important for the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection to embrace more women's organizations in the regions in developing economic empowerment programs for women as heads of household. She also asked that those religious institutions be involved in empowering women as heads of families so that those institutions will remove single mom stereotypes in Indonesia. Last but not least, single mothers in Indonesia require some respect to strengthen and raise their dignity.
Written by: Salsabila Nur Shabrina
EIEI'21
References:
[1] Krisiandi. (2020, August 4). Melihat Kondisi Perempuan kepala Keluarga Saat pandemi... Halaman all. KOMPAS.com. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/08/04/07293301/melihat-kondisi-perempuan-kepala-keluarga-saat-pandemi?page=allÂ
