AS we celebrate women’s amazing achievements in various fields across the world during International Women’s Day (IWD), we also recognise and honour the long and continuous struggle that advocates and activists have fought throughout the years to create a better and more just world. While there has been some progress for women’s rights in Malaysia, there is still much to do.
In addition to prevailing challenges, effects of the Covid-19 pandemic proved detrimental to gender equality as it reversed some of the progress that has been made and deepened pre-existing inequalities. Still, we must continue to raise awareness against bias, and to take action for gender equality in all spheres of life. One of the ways we can do this is to advocate for important legislation to remove gender-related barriers and uplift women.
This week, Sunday Star looks at the laws and policies that are still needed in Malaysia to create a more gender-equal society.
Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill
One of the most important laws that must be passed in Parliament and implemented this year is the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, which will help to address rising cases and provide better protection for survivors.
Currently, sexual harassment cases are dealt with using existing laws such as the Penal Code and Employment Act, as well as other regulations and guidelines. However, these are insufficient, and an inclusive legislation will be more effective in curbing unwanted sexual misconduct.
“It’s being tabled in parliament this month for a second reading – finally, after 30 years of demands and engagement from women’s groups. Every person in Malaysia is deserving of protection against Sexual Harassment, and critical to this is the inclusion of organisational duties in the Bill,” says Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) Head of Campaigns Abinaya Mohan.
Abinaya calls for the current draft to be amended to include organisational duties, among other things. Organisational duty in this context refers to the responsibility of organisations both public and private to set up initiatives that would prevent sexual harassment from taking place. This can include awareness campaigns, introducing guidelines, and providing reporting channels for survivors among other measures.
By making organisational duties a compulsory responsibility, survivors would have the option of addressing harassment within the organisation itself, which may be preferable. It also ensures that survivors who want to speak up on their experiences can do so without facing backlash and consequences, Abinaya explains.
Is it crucial that the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill is not only passed this year, but that the legislation is also survivor-centric, says the All Women’s Action Society (Awam).
Awam president Premalosani Arivananthan points out that the Bill, in its current form, is not comprehensive.
“Crucial provisions that can effectively prevent sexual harassment, such as those related to organisational duty of care to prevent sexual harassment via implementing measures such as anti-sexual harassment policies, as well as prohibition of sexual harassment, victimisation and assisting sexual harassment are omitted from the tabled Bill, despite tireless engagements by women’s groups with the Government over the years on their importance,” she explains.
Premalosani urges the Government to make corresponding amendments, so that this legislation does not just address but can also truly eradicate sexual harassment.
She adds that lack of political will has been the greatest challenge encountered by women’s groups in advocacy efforts.
Anti-Stalking Law
There is commitment from the government to criminalise stalking but passing the legislation cannot be delayed any longer, says Abinaya.
“In April last year, a woman was murdered in front of her children. She had several police reports on incidents of stalking in the months leading up. This is not the first time this has happened, where survivors of stalking live in perpetual fear of harm,” says Abinaya.
Stalking is not just a minor inconvenience done by someone “in love”. It is obsessive, repetitive behaviour that threatens and harms the victim, says Abinaya, who explains that stalking can happen both online and offline, and disproportionately affects women.
“The fact that it isn’t a crime in Malaysia means that there is very little recourse for justice for survivors, and that it’s difficult to track and trace statistics of stalking incidents – as they cannot be reported. This really undermines the seriousness of the issue and survivors face,” says Abinaya.
Premalosani adds that while the Domestic Violence Act offers protection against stalking via interim protection orders (IPO) and protection orders (PO), there are existing gaps, such as the legislation’s limited coverage to only married couples, that must be addressed by a comprehensive Anti-Stalking law.
“At the same time, Malaysia must work to ensure adequate protection for victims, more effective punishments such as restraining orders against perpetrators, along with mandatory rehabilitative sessions to mitigate possible recidivism,” says Premalosani.
Gender-responsive budgeting
Having first been introduced in 2005, gender-responsive budgeting is not a new policy in Malaysia, but there is ample space for improvement.
Gender-responsive budgeting ensures that the annual national budget takes a serious look at the needs and interests of different groups of citizens – boys, girls, women and men – in Malaysia. It notes the differences in situations, roles, contributions, and requirements of different communities and strata of society when allocating government funds and spending, Abinaya explains.
Through the efforts of the Gender Budget Group (a coalition of 20 civil society organisations), the Finance Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, some elements of Budget 2022 were gender responsive.
However, it doesn’t just fall on the shoulders of these two ministries. Gender analysis must be done across the board – in healthcare, in education, in manufacturing and other labour sectors, Abinaya says.
“This Women’s Day, I hope that we don’t get empty wishes, promises and social media posts. Women in Malaysia deserve to be protected and empowered every day of the year and I hope on IWD, we pledge to be proactive about this. All of us must fight for this as gender inequality is not just a women’s issue, it impacts everyone – including children and men,” she says.
Gender Equality Act
Monash University Malaysia’s Dr Sharon Bong hopes to see a Gender Equality Act for Malaysia, which will function as an overarching framework to advance women’s human rights and gender justice to all, including sexual minorities.
“This act would take off where the Constitutional amendment leaves off - Article 8(2) on non-discrimination on the basis of gender. The Act, as informed by the principles in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, would ideally reflect political will in reviewing laws, policies and programmes that are not in sync with the understanding that women’s human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible,” says Dr Bong, whose area of specialisation is gender and religious studies.
According to Dr Bong, the act would also entail gender mainstreaming across the various government ministries.
Gender-inclusive employment laws
In order to empower women in the workforce, Malaysia will need to level up policies and practices to be in line with international norms, says the World Bank’s Tan Mei Ling.
This includes closing loopholes in existing labor laws, such as the Employment Act, Industrial Relations Act and Trade Unions Act, says Tan, who is World Bank Malaysia’s Senior Country Operations Officer and the Gender Country Focal Point.
One of the first steps is to prohibit the dismissal of pregnant women and assure that this prohibition cannot be circumvented by private contracts or collective agreements.
“In Malaysia, termination of employment during pregnancy is not prohibited and has been an explicit clause in various employment contracts and collective agreements. Qualitative evidence from World Bank’s focus group discussions conducted for the 2019 Breaking Barriers Report shows that it is relatively common for women to try to hide their pregnancies from their employers,” Tan explains.
She adds that Malaysia should also work towards ensuring mandatory maternity leave of at least 14 weeks (98 days) in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) minimum standards, along with paid paternity leave of meaningful duration such as seven days.
Another necessary action will be to legally mandate nondiscrimination in employment based on gender, and equal remuneration for work of equal value in all relevant labor laws.
“Although Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender, the prohibition of discrimination only binds the government, not private parties, such as those agreeing on an employment contract or negotiating a collective agreement,” she says.
According to Tan, achieving real gender equality will require more than changes to laws.
“The laws also need to be meaningfully implemented – and that requires changes to ingrained sociocultural norms and attitudes, strong advocacy and engagement, and leadership.”
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