I refer to the letter (Mar 13) and would like to present my views.

If we were to use the Pareto principle and apply its management problem solving tools, as the writer suggested, we would need to tackle women's issues from the root cause — and that is changing the mindset of both women as well as men.

From young to adulthood, the social construct is such that men have more say in a family unit and thus it will be more effective for the father rather than for the mother to influence the children. Yet, this is often not the case.

At the end of it, it is a never-ending circle — women's issues equal to social issues equal to male issues. We should not leave women's issues to women NGOs and then criticise them for following the Western model. We all should look to our innerselves and ask what have we, as human beings, contributed to this cause.

The issue of single mothers is without doubt an important one, though it is nothing new among women NGOs. But who has the most power and capability to improve their status and situation?

Politicians who could draft and implement a policy to improve the single mothers lot — or the scattered voice of a few women's groups which often lack the resources? Again, do we criticise the politicians as much as the women NGOs when no headway is made on an issue?

I would also like to know how much have the Women and Family Development Ministry or Puteri Umno done? Has any legislation been put in place to ensure that young women are given equal opportunities for jobs so that they do not end up with lower paying jobs than their male counterparts?

The issue of domestic foreign helper needs to be resolved as they are now part of our social construct. We cannot ignore their rights just because they are not Malaysians. We should develop Malaysian women to know their rights, but at the same time not condone a double standard towards non-Malaysian women.

There are many perspectives and approaches to an issue. Some women NGOs are silent on certain issues because they are not directly involved and feel that it would be better for others better qualified to deal with them. Some women NGOs are more vocal than others and even take up issues happening in another part of the world.

Be it women under Taliban oppression, Filipino female domestic helpers or single Malaysian mothers, they are all women's issues to be addressed, not only by women NGOs but by various parties using different strategies.

If each of us just contribute a little towards resolving the issue — instead of just criticising — the result would be much more visible.