The Sorry State Of Malaysian Women
They play second fiddle to men and they appear to accept their fate.
Despite its aspiration to be a developed nation, Malaysia allegedly ranks lowest among Asean countries when it comes to having women in leadership positions.
The sad thing is that the women appear to acquiesce to their menfolk. Perhaps they have been put in a difficult position. Going by anecdotal evidence, the husbands of many so-called influential women view their wives’ success as a slight to their egos. With dented male pride, they tell their wives, “If you go against my wishes, I may just take a younger wife. The choice is yours.” Few women can stand up to that sort of challenge.
This emotional blackmail happens not only in politics, but in industry and commerce as well.
Last March, on International Women’s Day, the PAS Ulama information chief, Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali At-Takiri, urged women to become homemakers because, he said, the family institution had broken down and divorces were rising. He said that women should be asked to stop working and fulfil their roles as wives and mothers so that the family unit could be strengthened.
Why are women picked upon all the time? What about the importance of the role of men in sustaining the family unit? And what about the missing fathers in many polygamous families?
Why does Malaysia bother to send thousands of girls to study overseas and waste taxpayers’ money on education if PAS wants them to become housewives?
PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang showed his true colours when he rejected Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s nomination for the post of Selangor MB in 2014. He said her gender was the main stumbling block.
Women make up half of the Malaysian workforce and 70% of Malay undergraduates. They dominate the civil service and occupy the important positions in industry, but only a handful of them make it to the top of their professions.
Women politicians play second fiddle to the men in the ruling party and behave like good obedient housewives. When Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said fast-tracked PAS’ hudud bill, did she understand the consequences of her actions? Why didn’t she listen to her conscience?
In the First World, women can be elected leaders of their parties and become prime ministers. Theresa May, as Britain’s Conservative Party leader, is now Britain’s second woman prime minister. Her leading contender, a former banker is a woman. The Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is being challenged by a woman. The leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party is a woman. Germany’s leader is Angela Merkel. In the United States, Hilary Clinton is her party’s presidential nominee.
However, this phenomenon of women rising to the top is not confined to the western world. South Korea, Thailand, India, Israel, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan have all had strong women leaders.
Sadly, in Malaysia, women are an afterthought.
Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist
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