Gender Inequality: The Husband-Wife Relationship and its Impact on Under-Five Children with Stunted Growth in Labotan Kandi Village, Banggai Islands Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

The high incidence of stunting in isolated, outermost, and underdeveloped areas has not yet been successfully resolved. This study aimed to identify husband and wife relationships that affect decision-making patterns in handling children with stunted growth. Ethnographic research was used to find the root causes of gender inequality in the people of Labotan Kandi Village. Observations and interviews were conducted from July to August 2022 with 18 mothers of children under five with stunted growth and four male informants. Data analysis used a gender approach to allow for a valid analysis of gender relationship. The dominant role of men, owing to the patrilineal system and men as the main breadwinners of the family, leads to gender inequality. Women's lower education, younger age at marriage, and non-participation in family income improvement cause them to accept roles that are part of their commitment. Women are not decision makers in family matters, which makes them unable to address the root causes of stunting. Consequently, the suffering of the stunted children does not improve because of a lack of improvement in the underlying factors of stunting in the family.