Women’s Day: No cause for joy

The realisation of the real meaning brought about by the International Women's Day has yet to sink into the consciousness of most Malaysians, be they policy makers, politicians or the media houses.

COMMENT

March 8, 1975, the International Women’s Day was first celebrated by the United Nations, to recognise the achievements made by women in all fields.

In many countries, IWD is declared a public holiday with some gazetting it as a holiday for women only. But in the land of “Bolehland” Malaysia, the feeling of rejoice vis-a-vis March 8 is a long way coming.

No doubt women in this country have made great strides but with those achievements come too the neglect in reaching out to “sisters and daughters” who remain victims of violence against women.

One such painful episode concerns the rapes of the tribal Penan girls and women by the timber loggers in Sarawak. Label it as indifference or irony, these women have failed to receive both justice and help from the authorities they had turned to.

Exasperated, these women mustered the courage to approach Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s flamboyant wife Rosmah Mansor to intervene and she like the authorities, found the issue of rape and violence against women rape unworthy of her time.

The Penan women continue to be hopeful that a “saviour” will turn up and help put an end to the rapes. As for the premier’s wife, she continues to lap up the various accolades given to her by foreign universities for her “charitable” efforts.

While our leaders keep rattling about what is best for the people, they, much to the chagrin of these rape victims, conveniently ignore the travesty of justice that is taking place on our very shores.

The cries of the Penan girls and women have produced no effect on Rosmah, whom they had pinned their last hopes on. Where will they go from here and who else can they beg for help in safeguarding their dignity?

With such a despairing scenario, one wonders how does the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry get all excited in celebrating the International Women’s Day?

Malaysia’a IWD celebration no cause for joy

The rapes of the Penan girls and women is not the only setback that haunts the commemoration of the IWD. The lack of dedication from Rosmah, who heads Bakti (Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers) and who proudly toots the horn of having created “genius talents” through her Permata project, in helping women who desperately need to be saved says it all.

It tells us that gender-based violence is not being taken seriously by women “leaders” like Rosmah. It also reveals the refusal by these women leaders to lend a helping hand to women who are at the backwaters of the socio-economic ladder.

As the Penan girls and women suffer sleepless nights worrying, the premier’s wife found it more important to devote her time entertaining Hollywood actor Robert de Niro and her “first lady” friends through her extravagant, the biennial “First Ladies Summit” first held in Kuala Lumpur on October 2010 and which is to recur this year.

With the women leaders themselves portraying a bad example, there is little point in holding a grudge against the chauvinistic authorities for trivialising incidences of violence against women.

It is never too late to change and for Rosmah, a little time and commitment in reaching out to the Penan girls and women will bring her all the “recognition” she so looks forward to.

Women have to fight their own battles

While the likes of Rosmah contemplate the benefits of lending support to rape victims, unsung heroes like the former Malaysian Bar president S Ambiga continues with her commitment in pressing for changes to the electoral system.

Ambiga, chairperson of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih 2.0, earned the respect of thousands of Malaysians when in spite of the obstacles placed in her way by the “powers that be”, successfully led a crowd of 50,000 to “Walk for Democracy” on July 9 last year.

For her noble intentions, Ambiga received death threats and even threats of gang rape. An effigy representing this award-winning lawyer was set afire by Umno-loyalists screaming for her blood.

Even Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil joined in the fray, castigating Ambiga for using Bersih 2.0 to further a political ambition. Paradoxically, it is Shahrizat who is now in the rakyat’s bad books, facing allegations of misappropriation of funds given to the National Feedlot Corporation which is headed by her husband Mohamed Salleh.

As for Ambiga, she remains steadfast in her fight against a corrupted electoral process. Likewise, she holds firmly the belief that all humans are born equal and free and with that conviction, she was willing to inaugurate the Seksualiti Merdeka festival, an event aimed at providing a platform for the lesbians, gays, transsexuals, bisexuals and queers to converge and share their concerns.

As with her “Walk for Democracy” endeavour, Ambiga’s willingness to attend the Seksualiti Merdeka festival earned her the wrath of Umno, the country’s largest political outfit.

Recently, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) condemned posters depicting Ambiga and national laureate A Samad Said which read “Undi Ambiga, Undi Seks Bebas” (Vote for Ambiga, Vote for Free Sex).

As JAG rightly put, the posters are part of a smear campaign to undermine the integrity of Ambiga, a Malaysian of exemplary character and a role model to many.

“Ambiga is a human rights defender who has achieved much in her career. She is a pioneer member of the Women’s Aid Organisation and past president of the Malaysian Bar Council. She has continually demonstrated an unwavering commitment to social justice.

“As a leader with a strong social conscience, Ambiga is to be commended for her tireless work for the betterment of our country. The posters insult the intelligence of Malaysians, who can see that they are a crude attempt to discredit Bersih 2.0, the civil society movement led by Ambiga and Pak Samad that calls for clean and fair elections and demands an end to government corruption and dirty politics,” JAG wrote in a letter to FMT on Feb 29.

IWD not mere fun and merry

When thousands of Malaysians turned up to support the “Walk for Democracy” rally, it was an endorsement of Ambiga’s resolute to bring about changes to the country’s electoral system.

Sadly, the move by a woman to demand for a “bersih” or clean electorate has unsettled the federal government of Barisan Nasional. The government’s move to create a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the eight demands put forward by Bersih 2.0 to reform the electoral process has yet to match the expectations held by both Bersih 2.0 and the rakyat.

The realisation of the real meaning brought about by the IWD has yet to sink into the consciousness of most Malaysians, be they policy makers, politicians or the media houses.

Perhaps that is one reason why the significance of March 8 is lost to them, for as far as these people understand, IWD is all about speeches and having a merry day.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.