Family behind the success of women who rose to fame

 

Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Norhasram Mohd Muharami, Louisa Ponnampalam and Jo Kukathas have carved a name for themselves and women in their careers.

PETALING JAYA: Family support from parents, husbands and children was instrumental in allowing four women to carve out careers in diverse fields.

The four spoke of the obstacles in their journey to excellence during a webinar today to shed more light on gender inequality issues in Malaysia.

The four are infectious diseases expert Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Royal Malaysian Navy commander Norhasram Mohd Muharami, marine mammal scientist Louisa Ponnampalam and actress Jo Kukathas.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, the gender equality progress in the country has been slow.

Since 2018, Malaysia’s ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has dropped 11 places, from 101 to 112 among 156 countries, with a stagnating score of 0.68 across four key dimensions – economic participation, educational attainment, health and politics.

This has made Malaysia the lowest-ranking among Asean countries.

Speaking at the webinar, titled “Trusted to lead: Iconic women who broke traditions and gained success for self and organisations,” Adeeba said that despite her conservative family upbringing, her passion for science and wanting to contribute to society motivated her to keep moving forward despite the gender stereotyping and criticism of her AIDS advocacy work.

Adeeba, who is president of the International AIDS Society, said family support became an important aspect in her career progression.

“I’m lucky to have the right husband and a mother-in-law who always provides support,” she said.

Norhasram and Ponnampalam shared similar sentiments, saying family support was essential to pursue their passion, despite the backlash they received for not fitting into traditional gender roles.

“It is hard to maintain work-life balance and to take care of your family while pursuing your dream.

“I’m grateful to have supportive parents who took care of my children,” Norhasram said.

Throughout her career in the navy, Norhasram has gone on numerous peacekeeping missions and tours of duty which took her away from her family for months.

She had served in a mission in Lebanon and was honoured with the prestigious Navy chief’s commendation medal.

Ponnampalam, the co-founder of MareCet, Malaysia’s first and only NGO dedicated to research and conservation of marine mammals and their habitats, said a cultural reset was needed to help the younger generation pursue their ambitions.

“We need a cultural reset on gender roles. We need to change the way we teach young girls and boys about their roles in society.”

Meanwhile, Jo said her family had been very supportive.

“People should speak up when they face discrimination due to their gender, race or social status.

“It does not make sense when people tell us we cannot do certain things because of our gender.

“You have to speak up about it,” said Jo, who is also a writer and theatre director. - FMT