On National Father’s Day, last November 12th, 2021, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Research and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, wrote letters for his three daughters. Those letters were written on his Instagram account and contained the invaluable lesson his daughters had given to him, COURAGE. Courage to fight sexual offenders in college by passing on the law and regulation through the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Research and Technology Number 30 the Year 2021 about Prevention and Maneuvering of Sexual Assault in the Campus Environment.
Sexual assault does not only happen within college institutions, and it can also occur at school or even in our children’s surroundings—the courage to fight not only in self-defense. The courage to fight is always a choice—the choice to fight or otherwise, speak up or stay silent, stand firm or let it be.
However, the courage to combat immoral actions is not fostered just like that. We, as parents, should embed COURAGE in our children at an early stage. We can start from the simplest thing: giving children the space and time to have the courage to choose. Courage to propose ideas on what to wear when they go out, courage to choose one of two options: swimming lesson or piano lesson, courage to speak up rather than stay silent, and more. Allowing children to voice out their preferences must be fostered at such a young age that they will be accustomed to it when they are older.
COURAGE is one of the values that we can and must pass on to our children.
Trinita Hestiana