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This update dated September 4, 1999 went out to WCI"s supporters.
RIPPLES INTO WAVES
Although barely more than a year old, the Women's Candidacy
Initiative (WCI) is making waves in Malaysian politics. There
is increasing support for women's concerns from communities
on the ground. The WCI's growing team of women and men is in
the thick of the movement for change in the country. We are
especially working to make sure that women stay at the forefront
together with men and that women's concerns are not sidelined
in all of the excitement. Whatever your political affiliations,
there are ways for you to help.
The Women's Candidacy Initiative is working hard to promote real
participation by EVERYONE, especially women, in the decision-
making processes of our country. The WCI believes ALL issues are
women's issues, especially issues of social justice and fundamental
human rights.
There may be some confusion between the WCI and another important
effort by women's activists - the Women's Agenda for Change (WAC).
WCI and WAC are actually separate, although they complement
each other and the teams overlap to some extent. There is a
conscious effort to maintain cooperation between these two
initiatives to promote women and their issues.
FOCUS ON ELECTORAL POLITICS
The WCI wants more women in decision-making positions and we
have a special focus on the electoral process.
We have been working to help voters understand the power that they
have in their hands. WCI team members have been distributing
"Women and Men for Change" voter education leaflets (in 4
languages) at various political events and door to door in strategic
electorates. Our leafleting teams are also getting feedback from
voters, especially women, on the issues that concern them most.
About 30% of eligible women voters did not vote in the last
elections so we have also been asking about barriers that may be
preventing women from voting and how to make it easier to get out
and vote.
Women make up half the population, they are 54% of total voters and
they are almost half the paid workforce. Yet, only about 8% of the
representatives in Parliament are women. WCI wants at least 30% of
candidates from all parties to be women in the coming elections. Most
of our MPs have so far largely failed to fulfil their promises on
women's issues. Most have simply lacked the commitment to dedicate
themselves towards making a difference.
TOWARDS AN INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S CANDIDATE IN PARLIAMENT
In response to these problems, the WCI supports the push for at
least one Independent Women's Candidate to stand in the coming
general election.
The candidate is to be Zaitun Kasim, a prominent women's activist
for almost 5 years and with 10 years experience in social movements
for poverty eradication, sustainable development and justice.
She is also involved in disabled people's issues and environmental
issues including sustainable transportation. If elected, she will
stand for justice, democracy and good government for everyone and
at the same time be a special champion for women and for youth.
Her activist background also gives her the experience to become
a capable advocate for the people of her constituency.
WCI's investigations show that many women may vote differently
from the men in their households. Women voters have suddenly
become a focus of campaigning by all of the parties. BN especially
thinks women's votes are a winner for them. But how sincere are
they in addressing women's issues? The need for an Independent
Women's Candidate was highlighted again on 1 September when the
Women's Agenda for Change (WAC) committee announced that they had
received only 7 responses to their "Report Card" which was sent
to all MPs asking for their views on key issues of concern to
women.
We believe that the campaign for an Independent Women's
Candidate is already playing a key role in bringing women's
voices to the forefront of politics. It is an integral part of
the overall movement for change.
In the face of great challenges, the women's candidate team is
working with determination to make the candidacy a reality. The
team is working hard on several fronts to prepare to run in a
specific Klang Valley seat.
The campaign is a race against time with the elections possibly
coming very soon. The campaign team needs all the help that it can
get. Please contact us to get involved.
Various activities have been pursued in the campaign so far. For
example, members of the team have been doing grassroots leafleting
and canvassing in a number of areas (including Bandar Baru Selayang,
Kuang, Rawang, Pantai Dalam and Bangsar). In addition, the team has
pursued negotiations with various relevant people, organisations and
parties. Media work and a series of speeches and other events have
been pursued to raise the profile of WCI, of the candidate and of
women's issues.
MEDIA WORK
Successful media work is raising the profile of the candidate.
Zaitun has appeared on TV and Radio and in the newspapers many times
in the last few months in her various capacities as an activist. The
interviews have been on a variety of issues, including the National
Human Rights Commission, the plight of the Orang Asal communities
from the Bakun Dam area, the rights of students to be involved in
politics, women and politics, violence against women, sexual
harassment, and the Women's Agenda for Change. This growing
media profile will be of great benefit to the campaign.
Recent TV/radio appearances have included:
NTV7's "Dateline" program (twice)
TV2's "Moving on Two" morning program (twice),
TV2's "Minda Wanita",
TV3's "Soal Jawab",
TV3's "Face to Face",
Radio 4's "Millenium Women" program.
Radio Netherlands Asian current events program
Press interviews and comments from Zaitun have also appeared in
recent months in many of the nation's print media, including the Star,
New Straits Times, Sun, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Berita Harian, Jelita
magazine, Marie Claire, Aliran Monthly, and the Asian Wall Street
Journal. WCI members also met with the editors of Harakah in early
August to discuss including more articles on women's concerns and to
run some of WCI's materials. Since then there does seem to be a
noticeable increase in the number of articles highlighting women's
issues in a sympathetic way in Harakah.
SPEECHES, CERAMAHS, SEMINARS AND OTHER EVENTS
Zaitun presented at the launch of the Women's Agenda for
Change on 23 May.
Zaitun was one of the speakers at the "Women and Politics"
seminar at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on 30 May.
Zaitun spoke at a panel forum on "Malaysia on the Eve of
Elections" at Loyola Hall, PJ on 20 June.
Several WCI team members participated in road show to the
North organised by Gerakan Pemuda Insaf (GAPI). This
included speeches by Zaitun in Permatang Pauh (1 July)
and Kubang Pasu (2 July).
Zaitun spoke at the opening of the KeADILan branch in
Dusun Tua (Ulu Langat), 18 July
WCI organised a seminar on "The Distribution of National
Wealth: Do Women have a Say?" on 1 August in KL. Zaitun
and several prominent women from each of the Alternative
parties spoke at the seminar, which received favourable
media coverage (especially in the Star) for WCI and for
all of the Alternative Parties.
WCI members joined the Majlis Graduan Malaysia on a visit
to the Nipah virus-stricken areas in Bukit Pelandok,
Negeri Sembilan on 22 August. The event included detailed
dialogue with community members and included a speech by
Zaitun.
WHAT NEXT?
Members of WCI are playing a key role in the drafting of a
"People's Manifesto" to give a renewed voice to the various
community and NGO manifestos that have been launched in the
run-up to the elections.
On 5 September Zaitun Kasim will be a panellist at the
"Malaysia at the Crossroads" event at Selangor Chinese
Assembly Hall, sharing the platform with Dr Chandra Muzaffar,
K.S. Jomo and Sivarasa Rasiah.
WCI will run an election training on 11 September for
volunteers working on the Women's Candidate campaign.
The Independent Women's Candidacy will soon be publicly
launched.
Seminar series: the WCI will hold a series of seminars on
key issues, especially those of greatest concern to women.
The next seminar is to be on housing issues.
Leafleting and canvassing efforts are intensifying - targeting
a certain electorate - door to door and at political events.
Negotiations are continuing with relevant parties.
Campaign machinery and infrastructure are being quickly
developed and strengthened.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
You can help in many ways. The campaign team urgently needs more
members. We need volunteers to help with leafleting and canvassing.
We need volunteers to help during the campaign period and on
election day. You can also contribute funds.
And if you don't want to work on the Women's Candidate campaign
then you can always help WCI with its voter eduaction and other
activities. If you are a political party member then urge your own
party to run more women candidates (at least 30%) and also to endorse
the Independent Women's Candidate.
LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT UPDATE
Stay tuned for more details on the WCI and on the campaign for an
Independent Women's Candidate in our next update. For more
information on the Initiative and how you can help, contact:
The Women's Candidacy Initiative
c/o Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Selangor,
21 Jalan Muhibbah 8, Taman Muhibbah, 43000 Kajang, Selangor.
Tel/Fax: 03-837 8380; E-mail: women_candidate@yahoo.com;
Web: http://www.candidate.freeservers.com
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