Hand that rocks the cradle is yet to sway the votes

With women making up half the population, and indeed half of the electorate nationwide, the women's movement is a potential force to be reckon with.

Founding member of the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Ho Yock Lin (right) , said while women have made great strides since the 80s, they are not quite a formidable force.

"Our influence in swaying public opinion at the ballots is still quite small even though we are speaking on behalf of half of the electorate," she said.

"This is because women in Malaysia still do not vote as women , but vote on party and ethnic lines," she noted.

She added that her experience with AWAM, which has predominantly middle-class urban presence, has led her to believe that most women do not feel the need to advocate women's right, as they do not feel vulnerable.

"(But) the rise in crime and fundamentalism or religious conservatism is a great threat to women. Women are self-imposing curfews because they are afraid of going out at night, and religious conservatism is curbing their freedom to choose what to wear, say or do," said Ho.

While this is not the case for rural women, whose circumstances may mean greater likelihood of abuse, the awareness that they are vulnerable does not translate into a large electoral sway.

"I don't think that the women's movement among rural women can have a large effect through the election and campaign system in our country," said Paul Sinnappan (below, left) of the People's Service Organisation, which does work in advocacy and gender awareness among women workers in rural areas, like Batang Berjuntai.

Views not taken seriously

For one thing, he noted, candidates hardly visit rural areas, making it difficult for women to assess if they are sensitive to gender issues. And even if they do, women find that their views are not taken seriously, thus dampening their will to take an active role.

"There have been candidates who have come in to visit women in the areas that we work in, and these women have sat down in a dialogue with the politicians, saying we will vote for you if you uphold our rights, or address the issues we are facing.

"But after the elections, we hardly see the politicians anymore and cannot hold them up to their promises. We were even unable to meet them when we went to their offices," he said.

Furthermore, he added, rural women live in a far more patriarchal society compared to their urban counterparts.

Despite more than a decade of gender workshops, many of the women that Sinnappan has worked with still feel "trapped" because their newly-acquired values are not shared by their husbands or families.

In fact, the mismatch in values has also led to higher divorce rates and wife battery cases, where men who feel threatened resort to using physical force to reinforce their traditional role as head of the family, he said.

As such, he believes that the main area of impact for the women's movement is not electoral politics, but in providing input for public policy.

This is a view echoed by Makmor Tumin, of Universiti Malaya, who has been researching the impact of the women's movement on development in Malaysia.

"We are going through a very intense period of participatory politics. Given this, the government can no longer afford to not respond to issues that are raised by civil society," he said.

A good example of this, he said, is the formation of the Women Ministry in 2001, which was a direct reaction to pressure by the women's movement. The Association of Women Lawyers, he added, also had a hand in pushing for legislations against domestic violence and rape.

An important development, Sinnappan notes, is the fact that government is not just reacting to NGOs, but is actually being proactive in seeking consultation in policy-making.

Steps in the right direction

"We have a good political climate in the country right now, because both the Pakatan and the BN are in the mood to listen to civil society to get the votes for the next general election. BN, for example, invited me for a discussion on how to engage Indians for the Tenth Malaysia Plan," he said.

But this widening of democratic space can only be capitalised if civil societies become more organised and work in a more concerted manner.

So far, the women's movement has taken steps in the right direction through what Ho dubs as "solidarity building" efforts, through joining forces with other civil society movements like like Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) and Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih).

Indeed this decision to look outside of the women's agenda, Makmor believes, will actually be the key to shifting the very agenda into the mainstream.

"In the long run, I believe that women in Malaysia will have greater political consciousness," he said.

But this, he adds, may only happen in the span of the next 20 years - a view shared by Ho.

And when this finally takes place, he notes, those eyeing the coveted seat in Putrajaya can do themselves much good by being more sensitive towards the women's agenda.