KUALA LUMPUR – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Malaysia on behalf of the United Nations in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, as lead of the UN Gender Results Group, brings the second annual Malaysia Women and Girls Forum (MWGF) this week.
This year’s theme is Bodily Autonomy: Ensuring Rights & Choices for Malaysia's Women & Girls, and the forum is scheduled to be live-streamed on UNFPA Malaysia’s Facebook page on December 17 from 10am to 3pm.
Bodily autonomy is defined as the right to make decisions about one’s own life and future. It is about being empowered to make informed choices. In most countries, this is far from a reality for women and girls.
Even though bodily autonomy is a pillar of human rights, its application and understanding are far from ideal. Policymakers, the government, institutions and CSOs have a leading role to play by amplifying and connecting Malaysians to this universal human right.
Under the umbrella, topics to be discussed include:
- Bodily autonomy as a core pillar of human rights
- Comprehensive sexuality education and bodily autonomy
- Bodily autonomy as a basis to end violence against Women
- Bodily autonomy and its basis to end violence against Women
- Bodily autonomy and the role of media
- Bodily autonomy – the youth & social narrative
MWGF encourages the participation of the media, private and public sectors to contribute their perspectives and derive vital insights on the importance and impact of prioritising bodily autonomy when it comes to the welfare of Malaysia’s women and girls.
Featured keynotes and panellists
The forum will feature keynotes and plenary sessions by several speakers from Malaysia’s private, public and civil sectors, including:
A welcome address by Karima El Korri, United Nations resident coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei Darussalam, opening remarks by Dr Asa Torkelsson, UNFPA representative Malaysia, UNFPA country director Thailand, and a special keynote by Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Health, Malaysia.
Other speakers include:
- Fuziah Salleh, Member of Parliament, Kuantan & Member of Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for Women, Children & Social Development Issues
- Nurul Izzah, Member of Parliament, Pematang Pauh
- Ong Bee Leng, CEO, Penang Women's Development Corporation (PWDC)
- Nisha Sabanayagam, Executive Director, All Women's Action Society (Awam)
- Dr Melissa Yoong, Assistant Professor in Sociolinguistics & Discourse Analysis, University of Nottingham Malaysia
- Dr Fatimah Al-Attas, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Islamic International University Malaysia (IIUM)
The full programme and list of speakers are available on the MWGF official website and Facebook event page. – The Vibes, December 15, 2021
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