KOTA KINABALU – Women should not be seen as only serving men in decision-making positions, but instead should occupy these positions and make the decisions themselves.
Sabah Women’s Action-Resource Group (Sawo) president Winnie Yee said women hold an important role in a family, community, state, country and the world.
“So, why are women not there at the decision-making level? Less than 10% of the state assemblymen are women, and the state cabinet has none.
“Women should fight for their place at the decision-making level.
“That is why we encourage more women to join politics, so that we could be empowered to make the call on important matters,” she said at the launch of the Gender and Political Empowerment programme via Zoom today.
The Sawo-organised programme, which was held for the first time, saw the participation of 31 women leaders from various political parties, civil society organisations and local community groups.
These women hail from eight districts in Sabah – Keningau, Kota Kinabalu, Pitas, Penampang, Ranau, Sandakan, Tawau and Telupid.
“The programme aims to improve the quality of women leaders to represent the 50% women population in Sabah,” said Yee.
She added that Sawo’s long-term goal for the programme is to produce leaders who have the ability and commitment to fight for the interests of women in Sabah.
The programme includes a mix of experiential activities, seminars and inputs from experts, as well as key community and civil society leaders, to optimise participant learning and interaction.
Participants include Datin Fazar Arif (Pergerakan Orang Wanita – Empowerment and Revolution founder); Hanaa Wong Abdullah (Soroptimist International Kota Kinabalu president); Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas (Wirawati Warisan deputy chief); and, women leaders from 12 political parties.
Yee, who is also a gender and development specialist, said the programme highlights five modules, comprising development, gender awareness, strategic communication, women empowerment in politics and the implementation of activities in their areas. – The Vibes, June 5, 2021
