Women in politics: Why are they still under-represented in Malaysia?

KUALA LUMPUR: With women making up half of the country’s population, more needs to be done to ensure gender equality within Malaysian politics.

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto noted that there was a serious lack of female candidates in the previous general elections.

“I think this reflects the need for more women to step forward and say: ‘I am interested in politics and the next step would be to put myself out there and run for candidacy’,” she said.

She added that the responsibility also lies on the government and political parties, especially in terms of ensuring there was a safe space for women who wish to be politically active.

“The outer ring of women's participation or women’s empowerment in the political field comes with also ensuring that we move away or rather criminalise toxic politics.

“We know that for decades, the political system has been very patriarchal in the country. It has been, to a great extent, very misogynistic as well–outside and inside the House, not just in language but also treatment.”

Malaysia ranked 103 out of 146 countries on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index 2022, an improvement from 112 last year.

However, it falls behind its neighbours Singapore (49), Thailand (79) and Indonesia (92).

The report benchmarks the progress of gender-based gaps in four areas, namely economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, health and survival as well as political empowerment.

While the report showed that Malaysian women attained high scores in access to health and education, their presence in the political arena remained low at number 123.

It highlighted that only 15% of the country’s parliamentarians were women, while just 16.1% of ministerial positions were held by females.

“Moving up a notch is a small success but after 60 years of independence and with so much talent out there, why are we still looking at such low figures?” questioned Kasthuri.

She called for Putrajaya to prioritise the topic of women’s participation in politics and decision-making on its agenda.

“We have to open the conversation up, reach out to elected representatives from both sides of the divide and talk to civil societies and women non-governmental organisations (NGO) on what we can do to work together because it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.”

On top of this, Kasthuri stressed the need to normalise conversations on “shared responsibility” in order to lift women’s domestic burdens and enable them to focus more on their career.

“Usually, the responsibility of making sure the entire household runs like clockwork is often shouldered by women,” she said. “This sort of archaic thinking has to be out the window.”

Better support systems for working women and mothers, such as affordable childcare, must also be looked into.

“The subject of women in politics cannot be dissected by looking at it from a political angle alone.

“You have to look at the social angle as well. The gender pay gap, equal opportunities, maternity and paternity leave all must be taken into consideration when you speak about pulling more women into politics.”