 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(December 2016) |
The All Women's Action Society (AWAM) is a feminist non-profit organization based in Malaysia. The organization was established in 1985 following a workshop held by the Joint Action Group. The group works on a local and national level to empower women and bring about social policy change.
AWAM aims to create a society where all persons, particularly women, are treated equally. This includes advocating for policy changes to ensure women's rights and gender equality. Empowering women, facilitating social transformations, and supporting women facing crisis situations are other objectives of the organization. [1]
The All Women's Action Society was founded after the Joint Action Group held a two-day exhibition. This was a historic event that publicized the struggles women faced that were not talked about in the mainstream media. The members of AWAM have prided themselves on calling attention to, and providing a voice for victims of gender-based violence. One of the more groundbreaking achievements the organization has reached was the Domestic Violence Act of 1994. The act of 1994 made it illegal and punishable by law to commit violence against a victim regardless of relation or age. [2] The All Women's Action Society also does outreach work to provide training courses in areas of gender inequality and violence. In addition, they help provide counseling services to victims of gender-based abuse. The organization founded a crisis line in 1997 under the name of Telenita. [1] Since the founding of the organization, the mission took a more holistic approach. AWAM now also advocates for women to not only be free from gendered violence, but to be aware and awarded their rights. The society felt it was important to address all concerns and challenges women face in order to operate as a feminist organization. This shift prompted the organization to revisit its values as an institution. In 2009, members of the group created a set of core values that they would uphold in daily operations and the long term mission. Justice, equality, compassion and respect, collectivism, courage, and integrity were deemed all key values for the organization. [1]
AWAM works on the local and national level. The organization has a small staff that coordinates projects along with volunteers and associates. There is a focus on collectivism and open participation. Within the organization there is a Working Collective which holds monthly meetings to assess the direction AWAM is heading. [1] The executive committee for All Women's Action Society is chosen through an election process that takes place every other year. The elected members have a two-year period of service before they are reelected. The organization also contains five different functioning portfolios: Advocacy and Networking, Information and Communications, Organisational Development, Public Education and Training, and Services. These are run by the staff and function to provide support and carry out operational goals and tasks. [1]
A couple years after the organization was founded the organization participated in demonstrations and worked to raise awareness of rape after a nine-year-old girl, Ang May Hong, was assaulted. An action initiative titled Citizens Against Rape (CAR) was launched in response. [1] In 1989, the organization fought for political action against violence on women. [3] The organization prepared a campaign kits for gendered violence and supported candidates such as Toni Kasim in their campaigns. The advocacy proved by AWAM benefited candidates in gaining momentum on gendered topics. [3] [4] Later that year a workshop was held to work on drafting a Domestic Violence Act which was eventually passed in 1994. [2] [3] AWAM revived the spirit of CAR in 2003 in response to the rape and murder of Canny Ong. The goal was to bring about a local and collective movement by Malaysians to reduce the incidence of rape. [1]
In June 2013, AWAM launched another ongoing nationwide campaign against domestic violence. In this launch of the campaign the organization brought important service providers into the movement. They included hospitals, police, and the welfare department. This measure was done to ensure during the education of the campaign they would be able to provide resources to those affected. [1] In December 2013, on Human Rights Day, AWAM released a video titled Domestic Violence Hurts Families. The video shows the harm family violence can bring, and how the community is and can be involved. [1] Since AWAM shifted their focus to a more holistic approach they often advocated for community involvement and also for rights unrelated to gendered violence. They continuously call the government to address larger issues such as foreign workers rights such as maids. [1] [5]
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020, the Malaysian government published posters on Facebook and Instagram with recommendations on how to cope with the pandemic. The posters, which had the hashtag #WomenPreventCovid19, advised women to not nag their husbands during lockdown and to dress up at home. [6] [7] Nisha Sabanayagam, spokesperson for AWAM, told Reuters, "(It) is extremely condescending both to women and men. These posters promote the concept of gender inequality and perpetuate the concept of patriarchy." [6] [7] After online ridicule, the Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development removed the posters. [6]
In June 2021, AWAM called on the Malaysia government to convene parliament and said the country's state of emergency should not continue past August 2021. [8] The organization, working with other Malaysian NGOs, published recommendations for the government regarding COVID-19 recovery and called attention to various societal issues the pandemic exacerbated, such as children's education. [9] [10]
The AWAM facilitates training sessions for gender sensitization, sexual harassment, rape awareness, leadership, and political participation. They train a variety of workers in various institutions such as banks, colleges, hospitals, and churches. The training sessions can be requested by any organization and they offer customized sessions. [1]
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender.
Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Through a combination of regional partnerships, community mobilization and legal advocacy the organization works to encourage governments to adopt, improve and enforce laws that protect and promote women and girls' rights around the world.
Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) is a Malaysian non-governmental organisation that fights for women's rights and specifically against violence against women. It was founded in 1982 and continues to play a leading role in the Malaysian women's rights movement working within the fields of advocacy, public education as well as law and policy reforms.
The roles of women in Lebanon have evolved throughout history. The legal status of women improved over the 20th century, but patriarchal norms and conservative versions of Islamic law still limit women's rights in Lebanon.
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Women in Malaysia receive support from the Malaysian government concerning their rights to advance, to make decisions, to health, education and social welfare, and to the removal of legal obstacles. The Malaysian government has ensured these factors through the establishment of Ministry of National Unity and Social Development in 1997. This was followed by the formation of the Women's Affairs Ministry in 2001 to recognise the roles and contributions of Malaysian women.
Women in Cambodia, due to the influence of the dominant Khmer culture, are traditionally expected to be modest and soft-spoken. They are to be well-mannered, industrious, and hold a sense of belonging to the household. It is expected that they act as the family's caregivers and caretakers, financial administrators, and serve as the "preserver of the home". As financial administrators, women can be identified as having household authority at the familial level. Khmer women are expected to maintain virginity until marriage, become faithful wives, and act as advisors to their husbands. Women in Cambodia have also be known as “light” walkers-- "light" walking and refinement of the Khmer women is further described as being "quiet in […] movements that one cannot hear the sound of their silk skirt rustling".
Domestic violence is prominent in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa. There is a deep cultural belief in Nigeria that it is socially acceptable to hit a woman as a disciplinary measure. Cases of Domestic violence are on the high and show no signs of reduction in Nigeria, regardless of the age, tribe, religion or even social status. The CLEEN Foundation reports 1 in every 3 respondents admitting to being a victim of domestic violence. The survey also found a nationwide increase in domestic violence in the past 3 years from 21% in 2011 to 30% in 2013. A CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrated that 31% of the national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence.
The feminist movement in Malaysia is a multicultural coalition of women's organisations committed to the end of gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence against women. Having first emerged as women's shelters in the mid 1980s, feminist women's organisations in Malaysia later developed alliances with other social justice movements. Today, the feminist movement in Malaysia is one of the most active actors in the country's civil society.
Nepal, a Himalayan country situated in South Asia, is one of the poor country because of undeveloped resources. It has suffered from political instability and has had undemocratic rule for much of its history. There is a lack of access to basic facilities, people have superstitious beliefs, and there are high levels of gender discrimination. Although the Constitution provides for protection of women, including equal pay for equal work, the Government has not taken significant action to implement its provisions.
As of 2018, the African country Rwanda ranks in the top five countries for gender equality according to the Global Gender Gap Report. The idea of fairness that dominates this country arose after the genocide against the Tutsi that occurred in 1994. The government is committed to ensuring equal rights for women and men without prejudice to the principles of gender equality and complementarity in national development. These ideas are exhibited through the roles of Rwanda women in government, the respect for women's education and the role of women in Rwanda healthcare. The country also took an active stance against rape in genocide, created a national action plan after United Nations Resolution 1325, and is pushing towards ending gender-based violence.
Feminism in South Africa concerns the organised efforts to improve the rights of the girls and women of South Africa. These efforts are largely linked to issues of feminism and gender equality on one hand, and racial equality and the political freedoms of African and other non-White South African ethnic groups on the other. Early feminist efforts concerned the suffrage of White women, allowing them to vote in elections beginning from 1930s, and significant activism in the 1950s to demand equal pay of men and women. The 1980s were a major turning point in the advancement of South African women, and in 1994, following the end of the apartheid regime, the status of women was bolstered by changes to the country's constitution. Since the end of apartheid, South African feminism is a contribution associated with the liberation and democratization of the country, however, the movement still struggles with the embedded conservative and patriarchal views within some segments of South African society.
Domestic violence in Turkey is an ongoing and increasing problem in the country. In 2013 a Hurriyet Daily News poll found that 34% of Turkish men think violence against women is occasionally necessary, and 28% say that violence can be used against women. According to data collected by We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP) in Turkey, the number of femicides had increased from 80 to 280 between the years of 2008 and 2021. In the same report it is stated that 195 of the femicides that took place in 2021 were committed by the woman's spouse, ex-spouse, partner or ex-partner, and 46 of the femicides were committed by a family member or relative.
Rina binti Mohd Harun is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Women, Family and Community Development for the second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022 and the first term in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin from March 2020 to August 2021, Minister of Rural Development in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from May 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020. She also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Titiwangsa from May 2018 to November 2022. She has also served as 1st Women Chief of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the PN coalition, since April 2017. Prior to joining BERSATU at its inception in 2016, she was a United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) member. She lost the Sepang seat in GE15 and currently no longer an MP
Violence against women is a serious problem in Malaysia. Reports of physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse of women has been on the rise since the early 1980's, with the most common form of violence being domestic violence.
Domestic violence in South Korea is the mental, physical, verbal or sexual abuses or crimes of violence committed towards a victim in a domestic setting of marital relations and cohabitation. Domestic violence describes violence towards a domestic partner, towards children and between siblings. According to the Domestic Violence Survey of South Korea in 2010, elder abuse was estimated to be 10%, physical abuse accounted for 2.2%, emotional abuse 9%, economic abuse 1.2%, and neglect 2.5%. Marital violence has been the most prevalent form of family violence in South Korea. One out of six couples in South Korea had more than one episode of physical violence from their spouse.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic many countries have reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, noting the "horrifying global surge", has called for a domestic violence "ceasefire". UN Women stated that COVID-19 created "conditions for abuse that are ideal for abusers because it forced people into lockdown" thus causing a "shadow pandemic" that exacerbated preexisting issues with domestic violence globally.
In Malaysia, sexual harassment, as defined by the Employment Act 1955Archived 11 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, is “any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, directed at a person which is offensive, humiliating or a threat to their well-being”. The Act does not distinguish between male and female or employer and employee. As such, sexual harassment can be committed by a female against a male, or an employee against an employer.
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Yikono is a grassroots women's rights group based in Tigray Region in Ethiopia that is opposed to gender-based violence.
