Inaugural Malaysia Women And Girls Forum Kicks Off Thursday

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its drastic impact on the lives and wellbeing of women and girls, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Malaysia on behalf of the United Nations in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, kicked off the inaugural Malaysia Women and Girls Forum (MWGF) Thursday. UNFPA Malaysia in a statement said the forum themed 'Malaysia’s Women and Girls at the Heart of the COVID-19 Recovery', which was live-streamed on Facebook, includes the participation of academics, advocates, activists, media, civil society organisations, government representatives and the public.  Senator Ras Adiba Radzi who is representing people with disabilities (PwD) in the Senate and chairman of Bernama, while launching the event said this can be Malaysia’s time to shine by centring Malaysian women and girls at the heart of COVID-19 recovery. Acknowledging some of the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of the Malaysian women and girls,  Ras Adiba commended the United Nations and UNFPA Malaysia for developing a timely and much- needed platform that helps to air and consolidate the necessary measures and considerations needed to advance their welfare and rights. “Within every challenge, calamity or disaster the light of rebuilding anew shines through. And this, I believe is the exact moment and time for us as Malaysians, to come together and shape a better, more robust and equitable Malaysia. “It’s important in the midst of all this, to ensure that our women and girls don’t get left behind socially, economically and educationally,” she said. The senator added that the solutions for combating gender inequality and outdated norms were clear -   more robust outreach and awareness programmes, through which Malaysian men and boys become more gender sensitised and practise healthy masculinity. Meanwhile, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Stefan Priesner in his welcome address highlighted the importance of ensuring that Malaysia’s women and girls do not get left behind, as it would halt the progress of the country’s efforts to attain the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).  “SDG 5 – gender equality is a critical cross-cutting issue for SDG attainment in every part of the world. Especially so as we move and work together to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic” he said. He also highlighted core issues that need to be addressed in the wake of the pandemic which include embedding sexual and reproductive rights, comprehensive sexual education, better protection and support mechanisms for survivors of domestic abuse, amending labour laws and discriminatory legislation and proactively addressing the gender pay gap. Spread across three plenary sessions and two keynotes, the forum addresses vital topics such as expanding women’s economic opportunities via legislation and reform, online gender-based violence, exploring the role of Malaysian men, boys and media in gender equality and more. -- BERNAMA