Press Statements

Clarification of article: "Women feted at festival"

Dear Editor,

I refer to the report "Women feted at festival" dated 25 June 2007. I would like to make some points of clarification.

Firstly, the event has been misrepresented as an event "of women's achievements, apsirations and attitudes as well as issues affecting their lives". The Fiesta Feminista was in fact conceived an event to connect, exchange ideas and educate about the issues surrounding feminism, women's rights, development and democracy, that not only affect women but also men. The event attracted 500 participants (not 150 participants as reported) who were predominantly women, but men were also present and two were keynote speakers in our plenary sessions.

Secondly, the theme "Embracing diversity" is not as it has been inaccurately reported, "to reflect a common bond among women despite their diverse lifestyles" but in recognition of how acknowledging and celebrating diversity is a necessary step towards bridging and addressing differences.

Thirdly, the event was organised by JAG and the University of Malaya's Gender Studies Programme. The latter is not part of JAG but had specifically collaborated with JAG in this event. Women's Development Collective should be "(WDC)", not "(MDC)".

Finally, Ng Tze Yeng's speech has been taken out of context and bears the danger of misinformation. Tze Yeng's speech explains that as human beings, we have multiple identities, we are not just women, but also workers, mothers, daughters, teachers, etc. We have to be aware of how we benefit and yet are discriminated against bearing these multiple identities .

The example she gave was, that as a businesswoman, she benefits from the system of capitalism as a boss, but at the same time, she is discriminated against by patriarchal laws and policies. She called for the eradication of not just gender discrimination, but also discrimination based on sex, religion, class, race/ethnicity, etc. Also, Tze Yeng is not a journalist as reported and she is a member of the All Women's Action Society (AWAM).

For more information to facilitate more accurate and responsible reporting, please refer to www.fiestafeminista-malaysia.org . We hope that such serious misreporting can be avoided in future.

Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,
Hwa Yi Xing
Co-coordinator
Fiesta Feminista Publicity and Promotional Materials Working Group