#111Initiative wants to equip women to take half the Dewan Rakyat
Following their successful campaign to lower the voting age to 18, the team behind #Undi18 has launched an initiative to encourage and equip women to take part in politics.
Named the " #111Initiative", the goal is to make the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat better reflect Malaysian demographics by being filled with 111 women MPs.
Following their successful campaign to lower the voting age to 18, the team behind #Undi18 has launched an initiative to encourage and equip women to take part in politics.
Named the " #111Initiative", the goal is to make the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat better reflect Malaysian demographics by being filled with 111 women MPs.
“We are trying to push for 50 percent women representation in the Dewan Rakyat because women make up 50 percent of the population.
“We are trying to create awareness by asking society, and most importantly political parties, to address women representation at its root cause. You can’t vote for women if women are not running for elections,” campaign lead Qyira Yusri told Malaysiakini when contacted.
Elaborating, she contended that having more women in the legislative house would detoxify Malaysian political culture and bring a more diverse range of voices to the fore.
This, in turn, would enable issues like gender discrimination, sexual harassment, child marriage and paternity leave to be debated more comprehensively.
“How do we change the mindset of women being helpless and left behind, to wanting to take charge of the narrative?
“We have to push our concerns and issues forward and make sure that politics is not just an old boys club in Malaysia,” Qyira (below) said.
At present, 33 MPs (14.9 percent) are women. In the Dewan Negara, eight out of 54 senators (14.8 percent) are women.
In the recently dissolved Pakatan Harapan cabinet, five out of 27 ministers were women. Four deputy ministers were women.
Training future women leaders
By June, the team aims to take the awareness campaign to different states and have women MPs from across the political spectrum headline the events.
“We want to highlight their achievements and their work within their communities to encourage young women and women, in general, to take the lead to be politically active, and to consider participating in politics,” Qyira said.
The team is in the midst of applying for funding and reaching out to MPs to get them onboard.
The roadshow will be followed up with a fellowship programme, where 20 women will be chosen for the pilot initiative.
Named the “111 Fellowship”, it aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed for a career in politics - be it party politics or public office.
Qyira hopes to get female MPs to personally mentor these women, and urged women of all ethnic, socioeconomic and physical abilities to come forward and participate in the programme.
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