Malaysian women work toward equality by taking on healthcare

Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA – Skin-tight spandex. A flowing cape. Of course, who can forget the thigh-high boots?

For female victims of domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and marginalization in Malaysia, however, heroism comes in far more unassuming garb.

Members of women’s rights organizations in the burgeoning Southeast Asian country may not dress like superheroes, but they wield telephone hotlines, conferences, and keynote speeches as weapons against patriarchal norms. In so doing, they are making strides in gaining greater legal and social support for women in need.

According to statistics from the World Bank, women’s representation in Malaysia is still lacking, with women making up a relatively low percentage of business owners (31%) in 2020. While women make up nearly half the population, they occupied only 13.6% of seats in the Malaysian Parliament.

But positive strides have been made. Malaysia’s maternal mortality ratio decreased by almost half between 2000 and 2020, while the gender gap in the labor force has narrowed.

Winnie Yee, a consultant and founding member of the Sabah Women’s Action-Resource Group, personally witnessed much progress in women’s rights.

“I was working in an office where I was the only female officer surrounded by a few hundred men,” said Yee. “Your colleagues [could] do anything to you, and it’s taken as, ‘Oh, it’s a joke. Don’t be so sensitive.’ Young women nowadays know their rights in the office.”

Women in Malaysia have also become more comfortable exercising their reproductive rights, said Yunishaa Loga, a project officer at the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia. The coalition of organizations, which has been campaigning for almost 20 years for increased contraceptive and abortion access, runs a hotline providing information about safe options in the face of unwanted pregnancies.

“Over the years, our clients on the hotline have definitely increased, which in turn tells you that people are more aware that safe abortion is permissible in Malaysia and the stigma towards abortion is being broken down day by day,” she said.

Misconceptions still abound, especially when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. “When it comes to safe abortion,” said Loga, “there’s definitely stigma and there is definitely [a sense of a] taboo.”

Loga added that some people think that “if you get an abortion, you won’t be able to have babies in the future. The same for contraception. A lot of people think that it affects their fertility.”

This problem is aggravated by unreliable sources of information, according to Head of Programme and Projects Jeremy Selvarajah of the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations.

“Most of the time [youth] get their advice from their peers, and it’s not always accurate,” Selvarajah said. “We feel that they don’t have an avenue to reach out and find out more about issues” in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The greatest challenge for women’s rights organizations? Reaching out to minority communities.

A major roadblock is geography, said Selvarajah.

“For the displaced communities, sometimes they find it difficult to get services from government hospitals. Not because they’re not welcome, but maybe [because of] the location,” Selvarajah said.

Unawareness about issues relating to women’s health is also not uncommon. Selvarajah said they found that within displaced communities, there was little knowledge about reproductive health.

For women in minority communities, legal recognition can be an obstacle.

“In the east coast [of Sabah], many groups are marginalized,” said Yee, adding, “Many of them are not recognized as Malaysian.”

Their parents are considered undocumented, Yee said, so the children are, too, leaving no access to basic human needs like education.

Traditional criminal justice systems may be unhelpful for women seeking help, according to Yee.

”Unfortunately the native court[s are] still working with the old notion [that] they are there to keep the peace,” said Yee.

She said it is “high time” they caught up with the 21st century view of human rights.

Outreach to women in marginalized communities may be difficult, but can be done, said Selvarajah.

“The initial stages were very difficult because they view it with caution, with anxiety. Towards the later part of it, when they realized there were benefits, then we started seeing more and more people coming in to get tested, to attend the talks on sexual reproductive health, to understand how to take care of themselves,” said Selvarajah.

Moving forward, these organizations are working to increase awareness and legal consideration for women’s issues and health.

“The dream is to have free, legal, safe, women-friendly services,” said Loga.

Kayla Chan is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.