In The News
This piece was originally published in the Sun on 30 May 2007.
Ng Tze Yeng
It was personally exasperating as the fiasco in Parliament unfolded. As much as it was an asinine display of sexism by the two vulgar MPs, I was more disgusted at the language and attitudes employed to defend the sexist MPs. It was no different than those which are used when blaming victims of sexual crimes: that the woman MP was inviting the attack, that most women are manipulative liars, that the man didn't mean to have gone overboard, that the woman couldn't handle what she asked for, and most disturbing of all, that the statement was a joke.
What was particularly disturbing was these "leaders" sent out a very strong message that they do not understand that women, just as men, have a right to a life of dignity and respect. Where did the work by the women's organisations to improve the lives of women in the last 20 years go?
By women's organisations, I mean that of autonomous, self-directed, non-state affiliated women's groups. Women's groups like All Women's Action Society (Awam), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Sisters In Islam (SIS), Women's Centre for Change (WCC), Women's Development Collective (WDC), Sabah Women Action Resource Group (Sawo), and Sarawak Women for Women (SWWS), just to name a few.
Some of these women's groups have, since 1985, worked to create awareness about the issues of violence against women. It started off with a group of women and men who, fed-up with violence and the tolerance of violence against women, organised a national workshop and exhibition to educate the public on the issue.
Realising that the grassroots public education work needs to extend to the formal systems that govern our everyday lives, the work for awareness and towards change soon covered the legal system and the "public political" arena, adopting strategies of cooperation or opposition with the state according to context.
The first inroad made was with the 1989 amendments to the laws relating to rape. In 1994, the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) was a milestone that marked many years of lobbying. It was to take effect only in 1996. The Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace was only introduced in 1999, though the response by employers has been lukewarm.
There was even an amendment of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender in 2001. The Amendment to the Islamic Family Law Bill Federal Territories (2004) was changed after the women's groups launched a protest. And finally, now, after 12 years since ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), an international bill of rights for women, a Gender Discrimination Bill is in the pipeline.
The Women's Manifesto, that aimed to secure commitments from political parties to improve the status of women in Malaysia, greeted the 1990s. Political will was again called for in the 2000 elections with a document outlining 11 key concerns affecting women from human rights to sexuality. Aptly titled the Women's Agenda For Change, this political lobbying tool was endorsed by 76 NGOs in Malaysia.
Women's groups have also been a part of larger coalitions and movements. Taking up issues ranging from bringing back local council elections, to the anti neo-liberal globalisation movement, the feminist perspective provides a framework to examine formal and informal systems of oppression.
So if the women's movement is about changing power relations, one would surmise from the list of advancements that the women's movement has been, in spite of the loopholes in the legal system and the vacillating political will, to a certain extent, effective in improving the status of women in Malaysia. However, if one were to expand and further analyse the notion of power relations to also mean changing the dominant ideas and attitudes, then the sexist display by the MPs, and the reoccurrence before, means that the women's movement has little to show for itself.
However, I felt a sense of personal vindication as I stood outside the Bukit Perdana Government complex, protesting with the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) together with other male and female members of civil society groups. No longer is the mistreatment of women confined to "women's issues", it is now seen in the larger context of a violation against human rights.
As the letters of outrage poured into the media (my favourite being the story of a taxi driver declaring that he will not provide his services to the two kurang ajar MPs), it cemented a sense of comfort that Malaysian society will no longer put up with power relations that reflect a system of gender subordination, or any systems of oppression for that matter.
The process of change has been on going and it's gaining momentum. And perhaps it is only lost to this small group of ignorant politicians, because they are the ones with so much to lose.
We still have a long way to go, but I'm taking a pause to reflect and celebrate!
Tze Yeng will be celebrating at the Fiesta Feminista, a gathering which welcomes all interested in feminism and activism in Kuala Lumpur from the 15-17 June. For more info please log on to www.fiestafeminista-malaysia.org or call 03 7784 4977 .
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