RECENTLY, Red FM conducted a video interview for FHM ‘s Girls Next Door competition. The video was, in my opinion, sexist and explicitly derogatory towards women. I have tried contacting both the radio station and the magazine but to no avail. I left comments on their YouTube and Facebook accounts, and even tried emailing the […]
women's rights
More than Sri Lankan Tamil
By Ding Jo-AnnWOMEN’S rights activist Meera Samanther left legal practice in 1995, thinking she would have a short break after a difficult pregnancy. “I thought I would volunteer for a while, do some charity work,” she tells The Nut Graph. She started helping at the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)’s shelter and ended up becoming its president, actively advocating for […]
Violence against Penan: How the government ignores indigenous rights
By Ding Jo-AnnTHE phenomenon of indigenous women like the Penan being violated is not peculiar to Malaysia. Indeed, there are parallels in other countries, including a developed nation like the US. In their 2007 report, Maze of Injustice: The failure to protect indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA, Amnesty International (AI) reported that indigenous women […]
Winning over women
By Deborah LohWomen’s rights logo (Public domain) ACCORDING to the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), women in Malaysia have made little progress over the past 25 years. In a briefing for parliamentarians last week on 24 March, JAG listed out the good, the bad and the ugly that affect women. JAG’s research into the issues […]
Women can’t become menteri besar?
By Vizla Kumaresan(Scroll by ba1969 / sxc.hu) ON 29 Jan 2010, Perak’s Barisan Nasional state executive councillor Datuk Hamidah Osman said female politicians cannot become menteri besar. Her reason: a menteri besar “has to meet the [monarch], where protocol is involved, and one has to meet religious officers … in such situations it is not possible for […]
The madness of 2009
By Deborah LohTHE year 2009 has been a breathless one of political upheaval. But as we sift through the year’s events, we ask, which were the ones that really mattered? Which events indicate if democracy and political maturity are improving? Which tell us things are becoming worse? The Nut Graph offers its take on 10 highlights of […]
Mencapai kuota 30% wanita
Oleh Suraya YaacobWanita Umno di pilihanraya Umno SAYA melalui pemilihan Umno yang lepas dengan baik. Alhamdulilah saya mendapat sokongan dari perwakilan Wanita bahagian-bahagian seluruh Malaysia. Tercedera? Pastinya. Ini baru pemilihan di dalam Wanita Umno. Di peringkat yang lebih tinggi, Majlis Tertinggi Umno, hanya seorang wanita yang berjaya. Kalau begini, macam mana negara hendak mencapai sasaran kuota 30% […]
What would Toni say?
By Jacqueline Ann SurinToni Kasim in Turkey, November 2007 (© Julian Lee) “WHAT would Toni say?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself quite frequently in recent times, especially with the constant and new challenges one faces in running an office and being an online journalist. “What would Toni say”, I guess, is my version of Christians who use […]
PAS should accept diversity
By Ivy JosiahIS PAS ready for non-threatening, open dialogue with dissenting voices within civil society? The recent resolution by PAS to investigate and possibly ban the women’s rights group Sisters in Islam (SIS) suggests that PAS needs a reminder to react democratically to opposing views. This is not an unfamiliar call that civil society and political parties […]
The lone woman candidate
By Shanon ShahSarala (right) with her bicycle INDEPENDENT candidate L Sarala’s election campaign in Bukit Selambau has been a hoot. After being assigned the symbol of a bicycle by the Election Commission (EC), the 33-year-old marketing manager got herself a bike and started riding it to canvass for votes house-to-house. It would be easy to dismiss her […]