Gender Studies in Malaysia

Lecture Note Prepared by Dr M Sultana Alam Dept of Malaysian Studies Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Sultana Idris University of Education

Outlines Of the Discussion

Historical Background of Feminism in Malaysia Factors behind Feminism in Malaysia The gender based equality in Malaysia

Background of Feminism in Malaysia

The origins of feminism in Malaysia started about twentieth century. Feminism is seen in Malaysia as a western concept Like western feminism, the characteristic of Malaysian feminism was political revolution. It can be traced to the political struggle against colonial rule. Malaysian feminism was dynamism, forcing to changing realities

Factors behind Feminism in Malaysia

The feminism of Malaysia has been a result of many factors. Feminism is forced by many cultural and ideological factors that compete for social acceptance Another factor is the establishment of a strong and authoritarian national state which showed democratic expression.

Nationalist feminism
In Malaysia, the feminist movement fought against foreign domination about womens role in the workplace, their right to formal education and participation in political organizations. Three major races live in Malaysia: the Malays, the Chinese, and the Indians. Of these, the Malays were the earliest settlers.

Ethnic integration
The colonial administrator never had a clear policy of ethnic integration Women of Malay, Chinese and Indian origin were all able actively to participate in nationalist movements. The Malay Nationalist Party (MNP) was one of the first political parties to establish womens group.

The Form of UMNO

In 1948, The British Military administration banned the MNP. Then, British administrators cultivated and more moderated nationalist but British aliened party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). It is said that UMNO was male dominated. Women issues were not the main concern to judge by UMNO

National Council for Womens Organization (NCWO)

After six years of independence, 1963, a nongovernmental multiracial womens organization, National Council for Womens Organization (NCWO) was formed. This was encouraged by the issue of womens unequal pay which was first highlighted by the Womens Teachers Union (WTU) formed in 1960. The movement of the formation of also came from an overall global trend in 1960s to gain the rights for working women

Collaboration of NCWO and Wanita (UMNO)

International bodies like Young Womens Christian Association contributed significantly towards the formation of the NCWO. NCWO was also encouraged by the Wanita UMNO. The Wanita UMNO leader Fatima Hashim saw in the NCWO a formal structure. She felt that as a partnership they could serve as an Umbrella coalition.

Collaboration of NCWO and Wanita (cont)

NCWO and UMNO celebrated National Womens Day on 25th August. The NCWO leaders were elected from among women of the three major ethnic groups. It struggled for womens rights and achieved the equality for equal pay, womens equal access to public service jobs and marital rights were achieved.

Islamic Feminism in Malaysia

Islamic feminism is Muslim womens challenges to Islamic Law. According to Islamic womens movements, in Malaysia, women can work, can be a part of civil society, and can vote on equal terms with men The Malaysian government has pursued an authoritarian control of civil society and the interpretation of Islam

Islamic Feminism (cont)

Government limits feminist movements in the country. Despite this, womens movements were active in Malaysia.

Islamic Feminism (cont)

These movements, such as the Malaysian group Sisters in Islam, advocate equal rights for men and women and do not accept the patriarchal interpretation of Islam taken by the government.

Political and Social Feminism

Within the islamic context the feminist movement began to take on political charater. Some new women organizations were formed

Political and Social Feminism (cont)

New organizations are: Violence against women (VAW) The Women Aid Organization (WAO) Womens Crisis Centre (WCC- later womens centre for change ) All Womens Action Society (AWAM) Sabah Action Womens Resource Group(SAWO) Sarawak Womens for Women Society

Political and Social Feminism (cont)

These are initiated by middle class urban women, many of whom completed tertiary education in the west. At the various times, these organization came together under the umbrella of the joint action group (JAG) and violence against women (VAW).

Political and Social Feminism (cont)

The violence against women (VAW) campaing is an unfinished agenda of the Malysian women movement. This can be seen now a day. Many organigations especially (WA0) are campainig in order to bring justice for women.

VAW Campaign in Malaysia

In the early 1980s, a group of about 20 women aged between 20 and 30 came together in Petaling Jaya , Selangor to discuss issues related to the status of women in Malaysia. Womens Aid Organization (WAO) joined this campaign in 1998.

VAW Campaign in Malaysia

WAO began this campaign in Malaysia by working with The Star newspaper to produce a 16-day series on Violence Against Women. The campaign grew with more partners when Amnesty International Malaysia (AI), Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) and Sisters in Islam (SIS) joined WAO in 2004.

Gender Based Equality in Malaysia

In Malaysia, women and men were not equal before the law. Women continues to suffer due to sexual discrimination. Even though law has been formulated in the formulation of laws, the lack of enforcement of law were unable to protect women against discrimination. Since independence, some progress and equality have been achieved in various areas. In Malaysia, women are actively contributing towards the development of the country.

Gender Based Equality in Malaysia (cont)

According to Dato Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil Over the past four decades, we have seen
significant improvement and equality in Malaysia

Gender Based Equality in Malaysia (cont)

Equality is preserved in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, All persons are equal before the law

and entitled to equal protection of the law (Article 8 (1).

The Governments steps to bring equality

Increase womens participation in decision-making. Safeguard women's rights to health, education and social well being. Remove legal obstacles and gender discriminatory practices.

NGOs and Women organizations Involvement

Womens groups and NGOs in Malaysia have a vital role to highlight areas where women continue to face discrimination. They are doing work to remove the barriers in order to bring womens equality in all spheres of womens lives.

Gender Based Equality in Malaysia (cont)

In Malaysia, the educational attainment of women is at a higher level. The participation in the labor force has increased and legislation that grants equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in Malaysia. The result we can be observed that the country now has a growing number of women ministers and policy makers.

The areas of Improvement

Access to education Employment legislation Economy Ownership Rights Legal protection Family Code

Access to education
All Malaysian have equal right to education under the Constitution of Malaysia. This implies that there is no discrimination against women and men in education. Women in Malaysia have made significant progress in education.

Access to education (cont)

Increased literacy rates and enrolment in schools and tertiary institutions are indicators of their access to education. Although women have achieved significant progress in education, gaps still exist between the sexes as well as between the rural and urban population.

Improvement in Employment
The Employment Act 1955 is the major legislation which regulates all labour relations and equally to men and women, such as: contracts of service Wages rest hours hours of work Holidays Annual leave sick leave and termination and layoff benefits.

Improvement in Employment (cont)

There is no stipulation in the Act which prohibits employers paying lower wages to their women employees, as compared to male workers, for doing the same amount of work.

Participation in Economy
In Malaysia today, women can be seen actively working alongside their male counterparts, We can see them in offices as diverse as that of the nations policy - makers to the municipality and district public administration.

Participation in Economy (cont)

The participation of women in the labor force has been on a rising trend since Malaysia gained independence in 1957. Women are engaged in paid employment in all the economic sectors or are employers, selfemployed and unpaid family workers.

Ownership Rights
The Constitution gives men and women equal rights to inherit, acquire, own, manage or dispose of any property, including land. A married man and woman may have separate property, but any assets that have been acquired during the marriage shall be considered joint property and, as such, divided equally in the event of divorce.

Ownership Rights (cont)

In Malysia, women have the legal right to apply for bank loans and enter into any type of contractual relationships. Access to credit depends on the level of income and poverty in Malaysia is more prevalent among women than men.

Legal Protection
Improvement can be seen with regards to legal protection especially to the protection of women against domestic violence . With regard to the protection of women against domestic violence, the Domestic Violence Act was passed in 1994 and implemented in 1996.

Legal Protection (cont)

Domestic violence is now dealt with as a criminal offence with appropriate penalties imposed. In Malaysia , though domestic violence is seen as a criminal offence, still violence against women is growing.

Family Code
Women in Malaysia have a moderate level of protection in regard to family matters, The civil Law Reform Act (LRA) entered into force in 1982 and set the legal minimum age of marriage to 16 years for women and 18 years for men.

Early marriage is relatively infrequent in Malaysia. The LRA states that all marriages shall be based upon mutual consent.

Family Code (cont)

Polygamy is illegal under the LRA, but polygamous marriages contracted before the law came into force are recognized. Islamic law allows Muslim men to take as many as four wives, provided they can support all wives financially and agree to treat them fairly.

Conclusion
Overall we can that, feminism brought the equality between men and women some areas especially in education, employment , economy, legal protection and family code. It is important to note that the major achievement has been achieved in education and employment

Conclusion (cont)
The different religions and cultures of Malaysia have many positive/negative aspects in women's lives. It is reported that each ethnic group in Malaysia is influenced by values that determine the role of women in the domestic/private sphere, while men dominate the public sphere.

Conclusion (cont)
Still, many customary and traditional practices continue to distinguish between the sexes In Malaysia, violence against women still a major problem in Malaysian societies.

Terima Kasih