PARLIAMENT | The government is still planning to enact the Gender Equality Act to ensure that the rights of women are protected, Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said.

She told the Dewan Rakyat during the Ministers’ Question Time this morning that the ministry is still in the process of consulting stakeholders about the new law.

Listing the various efforts taken to solicit feedback, Rohani said the law is aimed at inserting the principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) into the statute books.

This would address issues such as the gender pay gap, the low participation of women in leadership positions and stereotypes against women in professional settings.

“Therefore, the government plans to enact a bill related to women’s rights that will incorporate the principles of Cedaw, such as the Gender Equality Bill...

“The enactment of this law is still in the consultation stage with various stakeholders, to ensure that all views are taken into account in the enactment of this law,” Rohani said.

She was responding to a question from Normala Abdul Samad (Umno-Pasir Gudang), who asked for the latest developments on the enactment of the Gender Equality Act.

Rohani said the latest development was on March 29, when the ministry held discussions with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and NGOs.

This would be followed by several series of follow-up discussions with all government agencies, all state governments, the parliamentary women’s caucus, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

Prior to that, she said the ministry had held a workshop on drafting the new law on Aug 30 last year, together with the UN Development Programme.

Participants included the Population and Family Development Board, Economic Planning Unit, AGC, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and several NGOs, including the National Council of Women’s Organisations, Joint Action Group for Gender Equality and Women’s Aid Organisation.