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THE International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration has been around for over a century. The Socialist Party of America had organised a Women's Day in New York City on February 28, 1909.
And for about the same amount of time, feminist movements have been fighting for equal rights as per their male counterparts.
From being allowed to vote, to being allowed to work, to be able to walk on the street without fear of being objectified – the battle has been multifaceted among generations, societies and countries.
Some countries have been able to bridge the gender gap better than others. Having graduated from the United States of America under the International Women’s Leadership (IWL) scholarship by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, I can attest to the fact that we Malaysians are still a long way away from being able to play on an equal playing field.
Recently, The Vibes held a “Vibeinar” in conjunction with International Women’s Day, addressing whether Malaysian women are truly empowered.
We’ve even carried articles such as “M’sians ready to see women in power positions” and how the “Time is ripe for women’s rights to take centre stage,”. Women of Malaysia are prepped and ready to take charge and move forward.
However, this does not discount the fact that there are still major obstacles that we need to overcome before even being able to accept this change.
Being part of the IWL scholarship, I have had my fair share of IWD events and talks. In my four years of speaking at events, the most jarring difference that I find is that Malaysian women are still fighting for recognition.
During the Vibeinar, Datin Dr Winy Sekhar in her opening speech hit the nail on the head when she said that gender inequality is still a “prevalent issue”. It has “plagued our communities and hindered our efforts to become a truly progressive nation.”
Heidy Quah shared how as a young woman leader, her voice is often stifled by her older male counterparts.
Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi shared how frustrating it is to still be sidelined despite it being 2021.
MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said that the environment that we are set in is “usually conducive for the growth of women,” and that “by virtue of our gender make-up, we face more challenges – either intrinsically or externally.”
Even as women of high power, the conversation that took place still echoed the frustration and urgency to fight for recognition.
While this conversation is still crucial today, the need to have conversations as such muffles conversations around celebrating the successes of women.
From my experience with past IWD in America, talking points and events surrounding the day focused on the great things we as women have achieved despite swimming against the current and fighting an uphill battle.
Inspiring young girls and women that our capability is bottomless and even as women, who are at most times oppressed in our own society and country, when given the right tools, can flourish abundantly.
To me, this is because they, the Americans, have internalised the idea that the issue of gender equality has to be fought for on a regular basis instead of an annual event.
As Heidy pointed out during the Vibeinar: "We need more young women to step forward. Not just on International Women's Day, but every day."
But, what stands in our way is our mentality where we assume that to level out the playing field, men need to give way to women.
In college, I was introduced to this quote when my professors talked about White Privilege to my fellow White American classmates.
“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”.
And such has been the root of the fear in society, men in particular if I may add when the idea of women being able and allowed to rise to the top.
MP Nurul Izzah Anwar shared at one point during the Vibeinar that when there were suggestions of women rising to take top positions, especially in rural areas, it is the elder men that worry about their positions.
Datuk Ariff Farhan Doss, said: “All these global feminist movements are still very new and, in defence of men, we are on unfamiliar ground, where learning is still ongoing.”
To me, the only reason men are currently on unfamiliar grounds is that they have always had the upper hand compared to women, and now that the tables have turned, we have shaken up the status quo in society.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect men who are willing to suppress their toxic masculine ideas to learn about the ways they can better support the women in society.
However, this is still a minority in Malaysia. At most, men in Malaysia are non-compliant with the societal expectations of women.
Angela Y. Davis, an American political activist, philosopher, academic and author wrote this when it came to the issues of racism in America.
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
Similarly, when it comes to fighting and achieving gender equality, it is not enough to just not be compliant, we must be against the system before anything can change; and this is the biggest difference I have seen between America and Malaysia.
Again, I acknowledge that this ideology is not internalised by the whole of America, but compared to Malaysia, they have surpassed us by leaps and bounds.
Issues surrounding gender equality and women’s rights must be fought for every day of the year so that we can reach a point of time where we can spend a day fully celebrating the successes of women. – The Vibes, March 10, 2021
