KUALA LUMPUR – It is the fundamental duty of political parties to increase female representation in politics, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff told the Dewan Rakyat today.
The PAS MP for Rantau Panjang said while the ministry is committed to supporting any effort to get more women involved in the legislature, parties are the ones that should take on the lead role.
“The ministry is of the opinion that efforts to increase female participation in Parliament are the basic responsibility of political parties, as this depends solely on the number of seats they contest and win in the elections.
“In this regard, parties must take on the responsibility of playing a more significant role to train and give the opportunity to women politicians to contribute to championing the rakyat.
“I understand that parties choose their candidates not merely to fulfil the quota (of women representatives) and contest in the polls, but to win elections.”
She was replying to a question from Nor Azrina Surip (Merbok-PH) on the efforts taken by the ministry to institute and increase female representation in Parliament to 30%.
Nor Azrina also asked if the government intends to amend election laws so that parties that do not fulfil the quota of 30% women candidates are not allowed to contest.
Meanwhile, Kasthuri Patto (Batu Kawan-PH) said the reason why not many women are interested in joining the political arena is due to Malaysia’s toxic politics in which the group is mistreated, even in the Dewan Rakyat.
Abusive and sexist remarks are often hurled against women. I would like to know if there will be amendments to the laws and policies for the government to create a safe space for women in politics.”
To this, Siti Zailah said the ministry welcomes any changes or programmes to empower women, adding that Putrajaya is in the midst of reviewing policies and laws that discriminate against women.
In her response earlier, the deputy minister said there are only 33 women of the total 220 living MPs, and eight among the country’s 53 senators.
She said the Gender Gap Index 2020 found a staggering gap between men and women’s involvement in politics, with the latter scoring only 0.198 out of a full score of 1. – The Vibes, September 29, 2021
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