DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN STILL EXISTS IN MALAYSIA

PETALING JAYA (Malaysia), May 27 (Bernama) -- Although Malaysia ratified the
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(Cedaw) in 1995, discrimination against women still exists in the country,
especially in terms of promotion and recognition in the public and private
sectors.

This was revealed by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam)
Commissioner Dr Asiah Abu Samah Wednesday.

She said Malaysia had also amended several laws to ensure no discrimination
against women, but the objective to have 30 per cent women participation at the
policy-making level had yet to be accomplished.

"In the Cabinet, only two out of the 28 ministers are women, and that is
less than 10 per cent.

"The number of women at the decision-making level in the public sector is
less than 20 per cent and in the private sector, the situation gets worse.

"Some employers were even found to have discriminated against the female
employees in terms of salary payment," she said when opening the Cedaw workshop
forunion leaders here.


Asiah said that to increase public awareness on women's rights, Suhakam had
organised various programmes in collalboration with the Women, Family and
Community Development Ministry, local universities, international agencies, and
the non-governmental organisations.

Suhakam had also inculcated gender sensitisation in the joint-programmes
organised by the police, prison and immigration personnel.

Hence, she hoped that the two-day workshop would not only increase the
awareness and sensitivity of the union leaders to the rights of women employees
but would also enable the participants to raise issues pertaining to women's
rights.

-- BERNAMA