The Federal Constitution will soon be amended to include a provision against all forms of discrimination based on gender.

In conjunction with the launching of the Women Against Violence (WAVe) campaign at the KL Sentral Station in Kuala Lumpur today, Minister for Women Development and Families Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said that on July 18, the cabinet has given her the green light to push for the constitutional amendment in Parliament.

"This means the word 'sex' will be added to Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution," she said.

Shahrizat added that she hoped to table the bill during the second seating of the third parliamentary meeting which is currently in session.

Currently, under Article 8(2), it is stated that "there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment."

However, there is no mention of gender discrimination.

Watershed decision

"This amendment is clearly a watershed decision and a great breakthrough for the women of Malaysia," Shahrizat proudly declared.

According to her, when the amendment becomes law, the Constitution will specifically spell out that there shall be no discrimination by virtue of sex and this means a lot to the women of Malaysia because they are subjected to discrimination, either blatantly or implicitly.

The campaign today was officially launched by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and attended by women representatives from various political parties and non-governmental organisations.

In his officiation speech, Mahathir said that the cabinet approved the constitutional amendments in recognition of women's contributions to the development of the country.

The premier said that there are more highly-trained females in various professions in the country's workforce than men, citing the example of local universities which comprise more female undergraduates who are serious in their pursuit of knowledge.