Reimagining Malaysia Part 12: Rape

Occasionally, we see social media users expressing outrage over high profile rape cases, such as the Kelantan gang rape, which saw 38 men gang-raping a 15 year-old girl [1], or the heartless father in Chow Kit who repeatedly hit and raped his underage daughter who had just arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Sarawak in search of a better life only to have it turn into an unimaginable nightmare[2]. Despite such cases, only a few people recognise the severity of the rape culture problem in Malaysia.

On average, there are 3,000 rape cases reported yearly in Malaysia. What is even more astounding is that only two out of every 10 cases are reported. Even worse, two out of three rape victims are minors (under 16 years old)[3]. How do these numbers translate into real life?

Including the non-reported cases, it is estimated that there are as many as 15,000 rape cases in Malaysia every year. Hence, a rape takes place every 35 minutes – by the time you finish reading 2 articles of this series, one female would have been raped in some corner of Malaysia. And 80 percent of rape victims, many of whom are girls, suffer in silence.

Reimagining Malaysia Part 11: Women in Politics and Economy

In the previous part of this series, I’ve discussed that despite no apparent formal barrier, direct discrimination and a complex pattern of hidden barriers prevent women in Malaysia from achieving their full potential in the economic and political sphere. In this article, I will drill down further on the topic of gender equality for Malaysian women in politics and economy.

Politics should not be an “uncle-only” game 

When I first joined the DAP, I attended many party dinners and meetings. One of the first impressions I had of the party was that the majority of people involved in it were “uncles”. There were very few women and young people.

Now that I have been in politics for a while, I have discovered that this “uncles only” phenomenon isn’t confined to the DAP – it exists in all our political parties. In fact, low female representation in politics happens around the world, although in Malaysia, only a dismal 10 percent of parliamentarians are women compared to the world average of 22.8 percent in June 2016 [1].

The table below is the breakdown of female representation according to parliament and state assemblies (2013-2018 term). Except for the Selangor state assembly, with 27 percent female lawmakers, women’s representation in other legislatures is low.

Reimagining Malaysia 10: Leaders Who Wear Skirts

“The world will never realise 100 percent of its goals if 50 percent of its people cannot realise their full potential.” 

-Ban Ki Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations- 

I’ll focus the next 3 articles on issues related to women. When we talk about women and gender equality, the first question we need to ask is why do we need gender equality?

I never thought I would champion gender equality issues until I stumbled across a number of charts in the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2012. The charts indicated that countries with better gender equality are usually richer and more competitive, and are better countries to live in. The trend is consistent with increasing evidence that empowering women leads to a more efficient use of a country's human capital. Therefore, reducing the gender gap enhances economic growth and development. In short, when we empower women, the whole country benefits.

Aren’t we already equal?

When we talk about gender equality, women’s rights and women empowerment, many people, both men and women, often ask, “Aren’t we already equal now?” After all, boys and girls can go to schools and men and women can contest and vote in elections in Malaysia.

Let’s now have a look on how statistics say our gender equality in Malaysia.