‘We need more women at Parliament, state assemblies’
by Theleaders-Online | March 7, 2020 9:19 am
PETALING JAYA: We need more women in Parliament to address the gender imbalance at the administrative level, said Bukit Lanjan state assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong.
“Although, we had a woman Deputy Prime Minister, we still need more female politicians in Parliament and also in state assemblies,” she said, in conjunction with International Women’ Day, which falls tomorrow.
To celebrate the occasion, several women leaders of the country held a workshop called ‘Girls Jom Skate’ at Taman Aman Park, Petaling Jaya earlier this morning.
Also present at the event were Kampung Tunku state assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei and Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.
Echoing Wong’s sentiments, Maria said that she hoped that Malaysia would have its first female prime minister in the future.
“Its all depends on the public. If they choose and vote the right person, then we may get a woman prime minister,” she said.
When Pakatan Harapan took over the federal government, PKR leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail created history by becoming Malaysia’s first female deputy prime minister.
Also in charge of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, Wan Azizah addressed substantial issues affecting women and community as a whole.
One of the issue the Pandan MP was trying to abolish was child marriages but she received lacklustre support from several states.
Unfortunately, Wan Azizah lost post after the Pakatan government collapsed following Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation and Bersatu leaving the coalition.
On today’s programme, Lim said “Skateboarding teaches us not to be afraid. That is why I chose this activity for women.”
Approximately 40 people participated in the activity.
Lim said that the Selangor state government has enacted various programmes to empower women, such as one called ‘Pusat Wanita Berdaya’.
“Every state assembly area in Selangor has one ‘Pusat Wanita Berdaya’ centre. In the last 22 months, we organised several programmes related to women’s health and domestic violence,” she said.
On the participation of teenagers, Maria praised Lim for reaching out to teenagers in an attempt to include them in such programmes.
“I think this is something that teenagers like. Lim is quite good in identifying what attracts teenagers.
“After this programme, we have another activity at Bandar Utama and also my own programme at Padang Timur. My programme will be more on addressing violence against women,” she said.
Arnold Tham Unn Lord, 26, who participated in the activity, said he loves skateboarding and so does his female friends.
“There is no limit for girls to play games as sports. Don’t be afraid to skate.
“Try to find a friend and skate together. Watch more videos and you can learn skating,” said Tham, who has been a skateboarding coach for five years.
Another participant, who just wanted to be known as Syidah, joined the workshop just for the thrill of it.
“This is the first time I’m even touching a skateboard,” said the excited girl from Ampang.
By S Jeevita
Source URL: https://theleaders-online.com/we-need-more-women-at-parliament-state-assemblies/