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KUALA LUMPUR – The Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) today described Budget 2022 as a good platform to address fundamental inequalities that hinder the development and well-being of women in the country.
In a statement, WAO executive director Sumitra Visvanathan said she is also of the view that the budget has addressed gender-related issues including violence against women, employment, health, and social protection.
“There are several important announcements, for example, RM13 million that is allocated to strengthen the Sexual, Women and Children’s Investigation Division of the Royal Malaysia Police, including creating 100 new posts and implementing the Waja Squad for community awareness programmes on violence against women nationwide.
“Overall, while we acknowledge there is an emphasis on gender allocation in the budget, we also feel the budget should be more ambitious, especially as the gender gap widens following the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Seremban, Negri Sembilan Women’s Affairs, Family and Welfare Committee chairman Nicole Tan Lee Koon is of the view that the government’s effort to allocate RM5 million to the Women Leadership Foundation could boost the group’s participation in the economic sector.
She said the allocation should be channelled to those who are truly eligible and not be based on the available list.
“More women, especially single mothers, can get involved in the economic sector through young leadership training and entrepreneurship programmes,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tan also praised the government’s efforts to distribute free basic personal hygiene kits every month to 130,000 young women in the B40 group.
However, she said the delivery system should be scrutinised so that the effort achieves its objectives.
Meanwhile, commenting on the individual income tax relief of up to RM3,000 for the payment of daycare and kindergarten fees until the year of assessment, 2023, she feels that it should be expanded. – Bernama, October 30, 2021
