Keadilan today lashed out at the government for allotting a pathetic sum of money for women's development programmes in the country.

Wanita Keadilan chief Fuziah Salleh accused the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition of putting in a "half-hearted" effort in its mission to accomplish further development of women and overcome contemporary women's problems.

Fuziah cited, for example, the RM59 million which was allotted in the 2002 Budget for national women's development programmes.

"This [RM59 million] is for 11 million women in Malaysia, which means that on average, RM5 is to be spent on each woman. This just goes to show their [BN] languor in addressing women's issues," said Fuziah in a press statement.

The Wanita Keadilan chief also expressed grave concern at the recent figures which showed an increase of female convicts from 1,335 in the year 2000 to 1,398 last year.

"Although the number of male convicts far outnumber the women, it is still a disturbing phenomenon which reflects the state of our society," she said.

Aggressiveness in women

Fuziah pointed out that aggressiveness in women was mainly due to abuse by their own husbands, while women prostitution and drug trafficking stemmed from pressure by their husbands or male friends as well.

"[Therefore] we can conclude that most violent acts and crime perpetrated by women is a direct result of violence and pressure first inflicted upon them," she added.

Fuziah also stressed that the responsibility to develop women's potential fell on the Women and Family Development Ministry, which is headed by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

"We [Wanita Keadilan] will continue to put pressure on the ministry as long as this issue of the escalating number of women involved in criminal activities is not given due attention," said Fuziah.

This comes on the heels of increasing criticism of Shahrizat.

Last Friday, the one-year-old ministry came under heavy attack by DAP's national women executive committee chairperson Chong Eng as Malaysians observed International Women's Day.