Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: A Young Women’s Parliament will be held next month, with 222 young delegates debating policies on women’s issues, gender equality, social issues and more in a bid to encourage more female participation in politics and policymaking.

The umbrella body for women’s organisations in the country predicts that the gender gap, particularly in the areas of economic participation and political empowerment, will widen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While female political representation has increased under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, progress remains slow and women are still impeded from advancing towards roles of leadership.

The political earthquake in Malaysia that brought Pakatan Harapan (PH) into power on 9 May 2018 also shattered the glass ceiling for women in government. PH outperformed its predecessor, Barisan Nasional (BN), in appointing more female politicians in the cabinet and across key institutions.

PKR Women chief Zuraida Kamaruddin today urged state Pakatan Harapan (PH) and rivals Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to field more women candidates in the coming state election.

She also noted that the ruling coalition GPS has not been fielding many women as candidates in the past elections.

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Women's participation in politics has long been recognised as an important measure of the status of women and in Malaysia, the women have indeed stamped their mark in the Cabinet, the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara.

The trend in women running for political positions and holding office is gaining momentum, and their contributions and impact would be best seen in about two to three years, said two women in politics.