SKILLS BUILDING PROGRAMME NeWSLink

Women’s Centre for Change
24-D, Jalan Jones
10250 Penang
Malaysia
NeWSLink
Tel: 04-228 0342
Fax: 04-228 5784
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.wccpenang.org
Quarterly Newsletter of Women’s Centre for Change
Official Flyer
April —June 2008
Internal Circulation
SKILLS BUILDING PROGRAMME
W
CC’s experience shows that the majority of
our shelter clients are Indian women who are
unaware of their rights and had suffered many
years of abuse before coming forward for help.
Many of these women have limited financial
resources and job opportunities. Thus, WCC has
undertaken a three year skills building project
specifically for Indian women leaders. WCC hopes
that through this programme, these women will be
better equipped with basic skills and knowledge to
assist other women in their community who need
help. WCC conducted the first skills building
programme for Indian women community leaders
on 14th and 15th June. A total of 13 participants
from various Penang based organisations
participated in this two day programme held at the
YMCA Penang.
The objectives of the programme were to:
 Create awareness on women’s rights
 Expose participants to gender issues
 Train women leaders on handling procedures
for common challenges faced by women
 Establish a pool of gender sensitised Indian
women leaders
The programme started with an introduction on
WCC by our committee member, Maria Francisca
and continued with a session on Gender
Sensitisation by WCC Project officer Jaya Samuel.
In the afternoon, WCC Programme Director, Dr.
Prema Devaraj gave a talk on Domestic Violence
and our Service Coordinator, Annie Yeap
conducted a group exercise with the participants
where they had to analyse case studies on domestic violence and work out the steps they would
need to take to address the problems. In the
evening, participants had dinner and then watched
a Tamil movie ‘Magalir Matthum’ which
portrayed sexual harassment and other gender discrimination issues.
The next morning, Jaya
facilitated a discussion
on violence against
women, based on the
scenes in the movie. The
morning programme
continued with group
work on common
problems faced by
women, facilitated by
Prema and WCC Vice
President, Lalitha Menon. Participants listed down
common problems women faced in their community.
These were categorised as domestic violence, divorce and
custody issues, unregistered marriages, late registration
of birth certificates and marital problems. Lalitha then
spent the rest of the morning skilfully addressing their
questions. The participants had a
very good Q&A session with
Lalitha. The two day programme
ended with the participants getting
certificates of attendance from
Lalitha. The overall evaluation
from the participants showed that
they enjoyed the two day
programme and found it to be very
useful.
Here are some extracts of their
feedback:
“I learnt many interesting topics that are not discussed outside”
“Continue do more programmes for women to make them more
confident & to help other women in society”
“Good programme, gained new knowledge, hope to be chosen to
participate in other such programmes again”
WCC would like to extend our grateful thanks to our
volunteers; Lalitha, Maria, Praba, Kanageswari and
Roshini for helping out in this programme.
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SERVICE AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH UPDATE
Talk on Violence Against Women
Annie gave a talk on Violence Against Women at
the Penang Medical College for 58 medical students
on 2nd May and 27th June. In both the sessions, the
students participated fully. They found the session
on male and female characteristics very interesting.
Their perceptions towards men and women were
however gender biased. Their participation in the
role-play was very interesting. They were able to use
their skills to empathise and ask pertinent questions
when they handled domestic violence clients. The
feedback from the students was that they felt that the
session was good and the knowledge gained would
be useful in helping them with their future patients.
Training for Facilitators on Conflict Literacy
As part of our work to reduce violence in our
society, WCC has embarked on a project on conflict
literacy for primary school children. The objective of
the project is to raise awareness on what is conflict
and to help the children understand different levels
of conflict and how they react to conflict. This year,
WCC recruited volunteers to facilitate the
programme. A pilot project will be carried out at the
end of the year using these trained facilitators. A total of 14 facilitators including four staff have attended four training sessions which began on 26th
April and will end in August. There will be another
two sessions scheduled in the month of August. The
training conducted by Janet Pillai, involves
experiential learning and is very interesting. The
facilitators had to create games and try these games
on each other. The activities in the training helped
the facilitators understand the concept of conflict.
REACHING OUT TO CHILDREN
Talk on Personal Safety
Jaya conducted a personal safety programme on 6th
April at the Church of Immaculate Conception. A
total of 15 children participated in this one hour
event. The programme started with a brief introduction on personal safety and continued with the Ok
Tak Ok Siri 2 VCD viewing. Overall the children
enjoyed the programme.
A similar talk was held at
Methodist Girls School on
22nd April by Jaya and
Project Officer Tasha
Merican. A total of 240
girls participated in this
programme. Overall, the
girls enjoyed the session.
Besides reaching out to
the girls, on 23rd April, Jaya and Tasha went to SRK
Telok Kumbar to give a similar talk to a hundred boy
and girls. The students were shy in the beginning of the
session but gave positive feedback to questions raised
by the presenter.
On 11th April, Annie and WCC volunteer, Kae Shih,
went to SRJKC Chong Teik to give a talk on personal
safety to
approximately
110 Standard Four to Six
students. The students
were well-aware of the
current issues on child
sexual abuse in the
country. The facilitator
invited students to roleplay on one of the scenes
presented in the VCD.
Overall, they enjoyed the session and they were able to
relate to the scene in VCD with regards to their safety.
WCC has been conducting prevention of child sexual
abuse programmes for primary school children for the
past 10 years. Our prevention programmes have been
well received and successfully conducted in schools.
WCC is currently undertaking an evaluation to access
whether students exposed to our prevention program
have gained new knowledge on personal safety skills
and whether they are able to retain this information two
months after the programme. On 23rd April, WCC
staff Jaya, Tasha and volunteers Zahemah and Theviga
conducted a pre-test with 120 Standard Five students
of SK Convent Green Lane. A follow up evaluation
was conducted on 18 June.
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2008
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SERVICE AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH UPDATE
Training on Responding to Child Trauma
Prema attended a 3 day course on Penang Child
Trauma Psychosocial Response Training at the B
Braun Training Centre, organised by Jabatan
Psikiatri dan Kesihatan Mental, Hospital Pulau
Pinang and Mental Health Association of Penang
from 9th to 11th June. The training was sponsored
by B Braun Medical Industries. The course was
divided into 3 main sessions dealing with children
which included Intrusive Memories, Arousal and
Avoidance and one session for parents. The skills
taught at this course, enables a person to help someone with a post traumatic stress disorder which arises
from a traumatic event. Prema attended this course
to gain some skills to help her with some of the rape
victims WCC is working with. To attend this course,
Prema had to commit to a maximum 7 day a year
call out by the Penang Child Trauma Psychosocial
Response Team, an initiative of the Health Ministry.
REACHING OUT TO YOUTH
Gender Sensitisation Workshop
On 19th April, WCC outreach team Jaya, Prema
Tasha and WCC volunteer Zahemah conducted a
one day Gender Sensitisation workshop at the
Malayan Teachers’ College (MTC) for 58 teacher
trainees from the New Cohort 1. The workshop
began with an introduction session on WCC by
Tasha. Next Prema conducted a session on Gender
and Sex. In this session students did a quiz on
gender and learnt the differences between gender and
sex.
The following session was a talk on Rape in Malaysia
by Jaya. She gave an overview of rape situation in
Malaysia, types of rapes and what to do if in risky
situation. In addition to this, the students also played
a game on myth of rape. The afternoon session
started with a talk on Sexual Harassment by Prema.
She gave an overview on sexual harassment and what
to do if they were sexually harassed. In this session,
the participant participated in a quiz on sexual
harassment and watched the AWAM video on sexual
harassment cases. At the end of the workshop, 22
students signed up to become WCC volunteers. Most
of the students found all the three sessions to be good.
Zaitun Kassim, 41, better
known as Toni amongst
friends, passed away on 4th
June 2008 leaving us
shocked and empty.
She is rare among us. Not
only was she a committed
women’s activist, but also a
dedicated human rights campaigner. Toni
portrayed to us the all encompassing civil society
advocate. She fought for what she believed in justice, human rights, democracy, freedom of
religion, the poor and marginalised - the belief
that every human being has the right to live in a
world free from oppression, discrimination and
violence. Her past active involvement included
women and human rights organisations like
AWAM, SIS, SUARAM and Amnesty International (AI) Malaysia. She became the first
independent woman candidate during the 1999
General Election under the Women’s Candidacy
Initiative and would have contested the March 8
Election if ill health had not overwhelmed her. She
lived her life full of passion and energy.
Toni’s sudden passing has left a lacuna in our
lives. May those whom Toni touched along the
way continue to carry on her struggle for justice
and democracy.
May Allah bless her soul.
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Outreach Programme with Kedah Youth
2008
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Next, Prema conducted an open question and answer
session with the students. Some of the questions
raised by the girls were:
“Bagaimanakah berlakunya rogol dalam perkahwinan?”
“Bolehkan seorang wanita rogol wanita lain?”
“Bagaimana kita tahu bahawa kita masih dara”
“How do we recognise oral sex?”
On 28 April, WCC outreach team Jaya, Prema,
Tasha and volunteer, Shariza were invited by
Women’s Crisis Association (WCA) Kedah to
conduct two workshops in Alor Setar. In the
morning, the team conducted a half-day workshop
on “Kesedaran Remaja” for a hundred Form Six
boys and girls at SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman. The
workshop began with a brief introduction on WCC
by Tasha, continued with an ice breaker by Shariza.
Jaya started the first session by brainstorming the
definitions of
‘Man’ and
‘Woman’. It was
interesting to look at the young people’s
descriptions of man and woman. A man was considered tall, short hair, a leader, lazy and egoistic. A
woman was described as cute, sweet smile, sensitive,
‘mami jarum’ and ‘mata duitan’. Jaya went on to
explain the differences between Sex and Gender.
Prema continued this session by giving a simple explanation on gender stereotyping and how it can
lead to violence against women (VAW). The last
part of the workshop dealt with ideas and expectations of ideal partners and how gender influences
peoples’ choices.
In the afternoon, the WCC team went to SMK
Sultanah Asma, to conduct a two hour workshop
with Form Five and Six girls. The session began
with Jaya giving a talk on Rape in Malaysia. This
was followed by the viewing of ‘Mabuk Cinta’ from
WCC’s VCD on building healthy relationship and a
discussion on the scenarios by Shariza.
“What’s the difference between oral sex and onani
(masturbation)?”
The students overall enjoyed the Q & A session and
found it to be a good learning process.
WORKING WITH MEN
In June, WCC’s male social worker, Thomas
started a series of group work sessions for men
in Kulim. This was organised by the Sunshine
Home. Five men from different backgrounds
attended these group work sessions. The men
were very open in their discussions and some
even shared their personal struggles in
controlling their anger.
The sessions helped them explore the effects of
violence and how to manage their anger
positively. The men found the session where they
had to identify changes that takes place in their
body when they are angry, useful. This gave
them a means of identifying when to stop an
argument from escalating into a violent situation.
This series of 6 sessions ended at the end of
July.
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Feedback Session with Teenage Girls
2008
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Young People’s Creativity
Prema and Jaya were invited by KDU School of
Communication on 22 June to assess 30 second year
Mass Communication students on their assignment
which was to design a pamphlet or poster or booklet on
child sexual abuse for children. It was an interesting
session and the students presented various types of
posters, pamphlets and book marks on child sexual
abuse.
On 7th May, Jaya visited SM Sungai Ara and had a
brainstorming session with 20 Form Two girls. In the
session, the girls were given a draft copy of WCC’s
latest teenage rape pamphlet. They were asked to read
the pamphlet and give their feedback. Many of the
girls found the information useful. They suggested that
information such as sexual assault by family members
and how to avoid rape be added to the pamphlet. A
similar session was also conducted with 20 Form Two
and Form Four girls at Methodist Girls School on
22nd May. Jaya plans to incorporate these comments
from the students into the proposed pamphlet.
Talk with Teenagers on Personal Safety
On 10 June, Tasha, Jaya and Baizura, the WCC intern
from UKM, went to SMK Sg. Nibong to conduct a
talk entitled ‘Teenagers and Personal Safety’ to
approximately 150 Form One and Form Two girls.
The students were quiet and very few of them spoke
-up and responded to the facilitators questions. Most
of the students were interested with the images on the
power point slides. During the Q&A session, a few
questions were asked on sexual assault. Some students stayed back after the session, to ask the
facilitators further questions.
Annie gave a similar talk in Mandarin at the SMJK
Sacred Heart on 18th June to Form One and Form
Two students. Around 400 students attended the talk.
Annie talked about boys and girls perceptions towards
each other and how the prejudiced perceptions could
lead to violence against women. She concluded the
talk with an input on how to build healthy
relationships between boys and girls. In the question
and answer session, Annie received 23 written
questions. Many questions were related to dating and
relationships.
REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY
Volunteering at the World Refuge Day Celebration
Prema and WCC volunteer; Sudandara attended the
World Refugee Day Celebration organised by JUMP
(Jaringan Utara Migrasi dan Pelarian) at a church in
Seberang Jaya. The event was sponsored by UNHCR.
Over 120 refugees from 4 different communities (Chin,
Rohingya, Mon, Arakan) from Myanmar attended the
celebration which saw refugees taking part in games, a
cultural show and having a simple tea. WCC offers
assistance to women who have suffered from sexual
violence including refugees and migrant workers via the
JUMP network.
Promoting WCC Services
Through Radio Interview
On 3rd June, WCC was
invited by RTM to speak
on WCC services. Tasha
represented WCC as the
radio channel was targeted to the Malay audience. The
introduction was recorded and went smoothly. Some of
the questions asked by the Radio Deejay were on the
role of WCC, our services, future programmes, our
temporary shelter and why domestic violence occurs.
The radio programme was aired on Thursday, June 5 at
3.00pm.
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PARTICIPATION IN TALKS & MEETINGS
Networking for WCC’s work
Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan
On 8th April, Prema and Cheng Kooi had a meeting
with Dr Teo Aik Howe, the Head of Emergency
Department and Dr Elizabeth Anthony, Senior Medical
Officer to discuss the possibility of setting up a support
system for rape victims when they come to the One Stop
Crisis Centre (OSCC) at Penang General hospital. It was
agreed that Prema would go on call when such cases
come in. Since the meeting, Prema has handled eight
cases. Six of whom were below 18 years of age.
WCC’s vice president Lalitha Menon and executive
director, Cheng Kooi have been appointed as committee
members of the Penang State
Majlis Mesyuarat
Kerajaan on women, family and community
development and participated in regular monthly
meetings on policy and issues affecting women and
family. This council is headed by the Penang state
women executive councillor, YB Ong Kok Fooi. One of
the projects proposed is the setting up a service centre in
the mainland to cater to women in the mainland and
WCC has agreed to work in partnership with the state
on this project. Also in the pipeline is a day care centre
for young children in the lower income area like Rifle
Range.
Prema and Thomas had a meeting with the Penang
Jemaah Islam Malaysia (JIM) representative Hj
Jamaluddin B Abdullah and his wife Puan Fareha on
10th April. The meeting was held at the WCC office to
share WCC programmes for men and boys with JIM.
Currently Thomas conducts small group sessions for
men (through church groups) on violence against women
and also a programme on sexual harassment for
secondary school male students. WCC is looking to
broaden the scope of men and boys currently targeted by
WCC by linking to other groups which conduct activities
for men and teenage boys. WCC is happy to share the
material with other groups.
As part of outreach to educate future teachers on prevention of child sexual abuse, Prema had a meeting with
Malayan Teachers College’s (MTC) Pengarah Mr Rijeng
Jahet on 2nd May to talk about incorporating a lecture
on Child Sexual Abuse for MTC teachers on a more
regular basis. The Pengarah has agreed to organise a
meeting with his staff and have WCC come and deliver
the lecture with them. In the mean time, six final year
MTC students carried out the OK Tak OK programme
in 4 schools, reaching approximately 340 students.
Syabas to these students (Muhammad Noor, Nurul
Wazna Mohd Zuki, Mogana Kandiah, Reshma Rajasaigran, Tulsy Subramaniam and Sara Peters) who put their
training to good use in SRK Jelutong, SRK Jelutong
Barat, SRK Convent Pulau Tikus and SRK Batu
Lancang. Besides collaborating with MTC, WCC has
also been taking steps to work with USM on the issue of
prevention of child sexual abuse.
Talks at KANITA
Women’s Development
Research Centre, USM
(KANITA) has been
regularly conducting
talks and discussions on
current issues especially
pertaining to women’s
rights. On 8th April,
Prema, Legal officer
Karen, and Executive
Director Cheng Kooi attended a talk on “Do Numbers
Matter” by Prof Cecilia Ng. Basically Cecilia talked
about the concept of 30% quota for women as the critical
number to have women’s participation. There was a discussion on how other countries involve women in
politics and how critical events help push forward this
agenda. The following week, Prema and Annie attended
a presentation on “Putting Women First: Ethical and
Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic
Violence against Women”. This talk was presented as
KANITA is embarking on a project “A Country Level
Study of Women’s Well-being and DVAW” which is an
adaptation of the WHO Multi-country Study on
Women’s Health and Domestic Violence 2005. Another
KANITA talk was held on 19th June on “Trend and Issues in Women’s Work” by Dr Cecilia Ng and Dr
Jacqueline Fernandez which was attended by Prema.
2008
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Training in Empowerment of Women
On 12 May, Prema gave a talk “Starting Them
Young: Creating Awareness about VAW amongst
children and Young Persons” to 20 participants
attending a training on Violence Against Women.
This was organised by the NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) in collaboration with
KANITA, USM. The participants came from
different countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and
Philippines. Prema talked about how violence against
women (VAW) affected children and teenagers and
why there was a need to talk to young people about
violence against women (VAW). She presented and
discussed WCC programmes which introduced the
topic of VAW with teenagers and children. Karen
was also invited to conduct a training session on
“Tackling Violence Against Women through Law
and Social Change” on 14 May. This session was part
of a larger NIEW training module on VAW which
aimed to provide members of NAM government and
non-governmental agencies with theoretical and practical knowledge on gender-based violence in order to
build their capacity to combat VAW in their respective countries and agencies.
Talk at USM
On 6th May, Prema and Tasha gave a lecture to 100
students from Programme Khas Pensiswazahan Guru
and Diploma students on child sexual abuse and
the need for preventive programmes. The lecture was
organised by Dr Mohd Zurighani from the Education
Faculty of USM. WCC hopes that this collaboration
between USM and WCC will develop further to
allow the incorporation of Child Sexual Abuse
lectures into the curriculum of education students.
APWLD Training on Feminist
Legal Theory and Practice
From 15 to 20 June 2008, Karen attended a Training
of Trainers-Plus on Feminist Legal Theory and Practice (FLTP) organised by the Asia Pacific Forum on
Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in
Chiangmai, Thailand. There were approximately 15
participants at the training, led by senior trainers and
prominent women’s human rights and law activists
Imrana Jalal (Fiji) and Eleanor Conda (Philippines).
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Each participant conducted at least one session of
APWLD’s existing FLTP programme under the
assessment of the senior trainers as well as peer
assessment from the other participants. Participants were evaluated based on the content of the
presentations as well as their skills as trainers.
Revisiting Fairy Tales:
A Feminist Perspective.
This session had a
group of 16 people, 5
of whom were staff
members and 10 of
whom were either
WCC
members or
volun tee rs.
Jaya
started the session of
by getting participants to look at fairy tales they
were told in their youth and the types of roles
women were given. She then went on to show a
hilarious fairy tale The Princess and The Dragon
which challenged traditional gender roles of both
the princess and the dragon.
Dr Shakila Manan, a USM lecturer and a
previous member of the WCC general committee
then gave an input of the history of fairy tales and
offered an alternative interpretation of Red Riding
Hood. The group then went on to have a
discussion on how women are perceived in
society and what expectations people have of men
and women. There was disagreement when
existing gender perceptions were challenged.
WCC looks forward
to the next meeting.
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Penang NGO Forum and State Dialogue
In response to a new
state government,
Penang NGOs got
together on 13 April
and held a full day
forum on issues of
concern affecting the people. The organisers of the
Penang Forum is a coalition of Penang NGOs who
organised Pesta Rakyat Merdeka in 2007. An encouraging 160 members of the public from various ethnic
and religious backgrounds turned up for a full day
discussion on issues ranging from environment, traffic,
arts and heritage, women, labour, disabled, youth and
students to local government. WCC is one of the key
organisers of the Penang Forum. WCC staff, Prema
presented the powerpoint on women’s issues and
committee member, Lim Kah Cheng on the disabled
people’s rights issue and Cheng Kooi chaired a
session. The discussions were lively and participants
made many suggestions on how to improve the
situation of Penang and its people. Participants
enthusiastically signed up for the 10 working groups
which will work further on each specific issue and
come up with working papers to be presented to the
state government in the later part of the year. At the
end of the day, the participants adopted a Penang
Forum declaration. For further details on Penang
Forum, go into www.penangforum.net.
On 14 May, a delegation of 13 NGO representatives,
including Kah Cheng and Cheng Kooi, met up with
the Chief Minister, YAB Mr Lim Guan Eng and
presented him the Penang Forum declaration. Among
the concerns raised were NGO’s accessibility to public
venues and halls b) regular NGO dialogue with CM
and a range of other issues like PGCC, crimes and
security and public transportation. The CM acknowledged the important work of the Penang NGOs and
agreed to the regular dialogue to enable NGO to raise
concerns on issues affecting people of Penang. The
state government currently has an open policy where
any NGO can apply for usage of public venues. In
appreciation of Penang NGOs dedication and work,
the Penang Chief Minister hosted a dinner for NGOs
in his residence, Rumah Tetamu, on 27 May. Some
130 people from 40 NGOs, including WCC staff and
volunteers, turned up the social and informal
gathering with CM and the state executives.
TREAT WOMEN AS EQUAL CITIZENS
This letter was published in News Strait Times (edited)
& Malaysiakini on 30th April 2008
Ms Mabel Teoh’s joy of becoming a first time mother in Switzerland
turned into shock when she discovered that if her child is born overseas, the child will not be entitled for Malaysian citizenship unless her
husband is a Malaysian (New Straits Times, 25 April 2008). The only
recourse left for Ms Teoh is to fly thousands of kilometers back to
Malaysia to deliver her baby in order for her child to obtain Malaysian
citizenship. The fact is gender inequality still exists for Malaysian
women despite 50 years of Merdeka. Malaysian women with foreign
spouse face blatant discrimination while this does not apply to
Malaysian men living abroad with foreign wives. Underpinning this
discrimination is the archaic patriarchal value that sees women as
being worth less than men and who can only be dependants on their
husbands.
In simple words, Malaysia still treats women as second class citizens.
This is an outright injustice and unfairness. Ironically, the government
amended the Article 8 (2) of the Federal Constitution in 2001, which
recognizes that women are equal before the law and entitled to equal
protection of the law. Internationally, Malaysia ratified the United
Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women
(CEDAW) way back in 1995. There has been many proclamations by
the government that women in Malaysia do not face gender
discrimination, but right at the heart of the matter, women still face
gender inequality and discrimination, both overt and covert. Another
area of discrimination is the plight of foreign spouses of Malaysians,
both women and men, living in Malaysia. They face many difficulties
trying to get permanent residence status to allow them to stay in this
country and have the right to work. Currently, for most of them, their
stay are dependent on their Malaysian spouses. If the Malaysian
spouse does not renew the spouse social pass, s/he has to leave the
country or face deportation. Foreign wives who experience domestic
violence have to face the daunting decision whether to take legal
action to protect themselves and their children for if they do, they face
the threat of their social passes not being renewed. Many have no
choice but to suffer in the silence of their homes. The Joint Action
Group for Gender Equality (JAG) has been lobbying for the removal of
such discriminatory laws in the last two decades. JAG urges the new
Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Dr Ng
Yen Yen to take pro-active steps to review and amend all laws which
discriminates women including those on citizenship and immigration.
After all, isn’t 50 years of waiting enough? Shouldn’t women be
treated as equal citizens in this country or do lawmakers still view the
issue of women’s citizenship as secondary and not to be taken
seriously?
By Loh Cheng Kooi on behalf of JAG
Women’s Centre for Change Penang (WCC)
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On 30 April, some 20 members of
the Joint Action Group for Gender
Equality (JAG) turned up at the
Parliament and distributed a
striking folder with bold words,
Kotakan Kata
to surprised
Members of Parliament. JAG’s
creative campaign was another
lobbying effort to remind the MPs
about the fulfilment of their
election promises. Inside the folder
was a wish list by JAG highlighting
concerns that need their actions
and also a ruler to monitor the progress made by the MP on our demands.
After distributing the folders, JAG
then held a press conference to
reiterate our demands to promote
gender equality for women in Malaysia and to urge the MPs to
“walk the talk” during their term of
office.
See next page for JAG’s demands.
As the final stage of the Asian Public Intellectual (API) fellowship, Cheng Kooi spent four weeks from 26th
May to 20th June in the Philippines to study about Filipino women’s groups’ work on violence against
women. Philippines has one of the most vibrant NGO movement in this region and their work inextricably
linked to the political struggles of the country. Cheng Kooi met up with women’s groups and activists in
Manila including Women’s Crisis Centre Manila, Women’s Legal Bureau, ISIS and individual activists.
WCC Manila leads the work on feminist counselling and coordinates a national coalition of NGOs on VAW.
The API Fellowship has taken Cheng Kooi to Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines in which she was able to
explore the similarities and different approaches undertaken by local women’s groups in dealing and
advocating on VAW issues. Most inspiring has been the Indonesian groups which has established a National
Commission on Anti-Violence Against Women, the formation of some 50 women’s crisis centres all over the
country and an integrated system on trauma response for women survivors in hospitals. Philippines women’s
groups are actively engaged in building a coordinated national coalition to stem out VAW from the communities and also in human rights struggles. Overall, Cheng Kooi gained many insights from visiting local
communities to institutions and see how women’s groups work and campaigns are translated into action.
There is a Malay saying which we all hold dear: Kata mesti dikota. Your word is your bond, and promises must be
kept. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) congratulates you on winning in the 12th General Elections,
look forward to the fulfillment your election promises.
The Malaysian orchid symbolizes our sincerity and willingness to work with you to end discrimination against
women, and to bring about gender equality. In your folder, you will find a ruler: We will be measuring your
performance, Yang Berhormat. We are confident you will measure up.
We list below the main areas that need your urgent attention and action:
Amend the following:
 the Islamic Family Law Act according to JAG’s proposal. Standardise the Syariah Laws in all States and the
Federal Territories;
 the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976;
 the Domestic Violence Act 1994;
 the Parliamentary Standing Order so that sexism is disallowed;
 the Penal Code, to criminalize marital rape, stalking and domestic violence which is psychological in nature; and
 the Local Government Act 1976 to enable elections to be held at the local government levels.
Enact the:
 Gender Discrimination Act to incorporate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) into national law;
 Sexual Harassment Act; and
 Freedom of Information Act.
Repeal the:
 Internal Security Act;
 Official Secrets Act;
 University and University Colleges Act;
 The Printing Presses and Publications Act; and
 all existing Emergency Ordinances.
Re-activate the Parliamentary Gender Caucus into a body that is pro-active in dealing with gender discrimination
and inequality within the Parliament, and nationwide.
Institutionalise regular dialogues between MPs and civil society organizations to bring about substantive
democratic and gender responsive policies.
Form a permanent Standing Committee on Integrity and Governance to advocate for legal reforms to bring
about greater transparency, accountability and participation.
These are exciting times, and the space to make changes for the greater good is now open. We wish you a fruitful
term.
Kotakan Kata!
This statement is issued on 30th April 2008 by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality comprising:
 All Women’s Action Society (AWAM)
 Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti, Selangor (Empower)
 Sisters in Islam (SIS)
 Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)