KUALA LUMPUR – Assistance for women, especially to empower them through business, will be given in a targeted manner to ensure the aid benefits the group involved, said Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said women had benefited a lot from government aid through the e-Kasih system, especially to purchase equipment to start businesses.
However, she said that, due to certain circumstances, some of the help provided did not meet the needs of the group.
“So we have to be selective in terms of providing assistance because the effort to empower the economy is not just by providing assistance with business equipment, but also to support them in terms of knowledge, skills, and education as well.
“If the aid recipient does not have the knowledge to convince and empower herself, then she will be in a difficult situation. So, we (the government) have to look at this aspect comprehensively,” she said at a press conference after opening the Post-15th General Election Women’s Political Leadership Forum, with the theme “Moving Forward”, here today.
Meanwhile, Nancy described as a progressive and positive signal for women with the increase in the number of female candidates who won in GE15 and were appointed to the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Nancy hailed the increase in female candidates who won in the national polls and were appointed to the cabinet as a progressive and positive signal for women.
She thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for appointing women to hold important government portfolios,such as education, health, youth and sports, and law and institutional reform.
“These are vital strategic positions for issues such as keeping girls in school, providing women with family healthcare and support systems, or getting the younger generation involved in activism and volunteerism,” she said.
In another development, Nancy said the ministry would ensure operators of shelter homes for children abide by all stipulated regulations, saying that she had received information that some children at these homes were not well-looked after, despite the operators getting government allocations or grants.
“Although the allocation is not much, we (the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry) want to make sure that they (operators of shelter homes) really want to do the job because they need to have the passion to make it work,” she added. – Bernama, December 10, 2022
