More women candidates in GE15 but fewer winners, says group

 

Young Syefura Othman was one of 15 Pakatan Harapan women candidates who won in the general election. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The number of women who won parliamentary seats in the general election (GE15) dipped to 30 from the 33 who were voted in at the 2018 general election (GE14), a coalition of women’s NGOs said.

Pantau PRU15, which previously called for political parties to field women in winnable seats, said despite an increase in the number of women candidates many lost as they went up against other women candidates in 38 seats.

Some 127 women were fielded in GE15, compared with the 103 who stood as candidates in GE14.

However, 24 women candidates effectively lost by going up against other women in the election.

“Our checks also show that many women candidates were fielded in seats that are considered hard to win by their party.

“It is clear that more needs to be done for more women in leadership roles in politics.”

Of the 30 women who won in the polls, 15 were from Pakatan Harapan (PH), three contested under Barisan Nasional (BN), six were from Perikatan Nasional (PN), five from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and one from Warisan. - FMT