PETALING JAYA: The United States ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir has suggested that the Youth and Sports Ministry emulate the country’s federal civil rights law to boost equal participation of male and female in sports.
Kamala said that when she was growing up, her school only had basketball, volleyball and field hockey for girls.
“We didn’t have many sports. Then there was Title IX. There was a change in schools. Why did we win four World Cups? It’s because of Title IX. Why do we have a professional basketball league (WNBA)? It’s because of Title IX. There should be equity in teams, athletes and coaching,” she told the Deputy Youth and Sports minister Steven Sim, who was at her residence in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate the United States’ victory at the recent Women’s World Cup in France.
“My hope for Malaysia is to see something like Title IX happening.”
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 states that: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education programme or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Steven said his ministry is eager to promote gender equality in sports starting from the grassroots and one of the first things they did was to set up a gender mainstreaming committee.
“The key mission or objective is to look at how we can create a more gender-sensitive policy in general. In continuation of that measure or move, the minister has also initiated an internal ministry discussion to look into and come out with a paper on Title IX of the United States legislation.
“We have instructed our officers to come up with a research paper. Title IX is just one example around the world. We are looking at different models to adopt.
“The objective is to ensure there is gender sensitivity in terms of sports policy, resource allocation, and anti-discrimination measures.”
Meanwhile, Holland’s ambassador to Malaysia, Karin Mossenlechner, who lost a bet to Kamala after the United States beat her country 2-0 in the final on July 7, wore an American jersey and also treated lunch at Kamala’s residence.
Mossenlechner, who was once a Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) coordinator for security policy and public affairs, said she is proud of all women, especially those who played in the World Cup.
“It’s the fastest growing sport among girls. When I was in KNVB, I fought for women’s football to go professional and we can see its growth in the last few years.
“We can now see children in my country wearing jerseys with the names of our female footballers. These women are becoming role models and we should continue supporting the game and also women’s participation in sports.”
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