by Husain Ahmad
Photo source: Rutgers University LibrariesThe right to political representation is constitutional and fundamental to the functioning of a stable democracy. The ‘cat and mouse’ politics in Malaysia has however obstructed the pursuit of this right being practised fairly. In reality, women play an important role in Malaysian politics and in its vulnerable governing system. Although they are the backbones of political parties in triumphing over the people’s confidence, political representation has been relatively low due to inert patriarchal mindsets amongst the traditionalists in our society, but it is of recent actions by the Joint Action Group (JAG) that Malaysian governments over the years paid heed to the issue. JAG is a coalition of NGOs, with one of its prominent affiliates being the Women’s Aid Organization (WAO). They amplify the voices of women, especially those from minority groups who are victims of battery and domestic assault, for social reform in the government.
What is expected of the government would be the amendment or introduction of certain laws that may solve the problem. From the very beginning, the JAG has lobbied for the passing of a legislation that will highlight the wrongfulness of domestic assault such as the Domestic Violence Act which was recently amended in 2005 as well as the amendment of laws pertaining to rape. Issues such as violence against women have been a major concern because as seen prior to these efforts, some victims have been manipulated to believe that physical attacks on them are normal and is a way of proving one’s obedience in a relationship. Undoubtedly, as years pass, such distorted mindsets are at a reasonable decline. The civil society has been more vocal in championing the rights of affected minority groups such as women and members of the LGBT, thus instilling fear in the minds of certain politicians who take little to no heed on gender issues.
At present, Malaysia is sorting out its gender issues and there have been substantial improvements since its endeavours in appearing to clasp itself to the global accountability standards on women’s rights in 2008. During Najib Razak’s years in office, the JAG took great lengths in persuading the government to improve and install new and amended domestic violence related laws. Malaysia’s ostensible ‘hand raising’ at times when the world took a collective stand against the issue of violence against women was seen as an opportunity by many activists. Viewing this as an opportunity, the civil society uses platforms such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) processes, sometimes linking with international human rights organisations to scale-up pressure on the government to deliver on its reform promises.
Furthermore, the fear of radicalised religious ‘mandate’ from certain religious conservatives and the continuance of anti-democratic laws (i.e. The Seditious Act 1948 and the Internal Security Act 1960) may haunt us but we have since diverted our worries of such situations from reoccurring after witnessing the true potency of democracy when the ruling government lost its majority in the 2018 general election. I may not claim a biased political view on this matter but we have to credit the facts. According to the 2018 Gender Gap Index, Malaysia has narrowed the gap between sexes with increased women empowerment in politics being the greatest contributor with a 71.1% boost from 69.7% the year before (Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). It may not be as substantial as one might hope for, but in practice, it is a huge win for gender activists and reformers.
As conscientious Malaysians, we can absolutely change the views of the traditionalists in our society. There is hope since women make up 48.58% of our population and closing the gender gap is now far from fantasy. The discriminated in our society must be vocal and not feel subdued by the puppets in our politics, puppets whose strings are attached to their hunger for power and toxic masculinity.