Written by betakappa on 6/05/2006 09:56:00 PM
Ah Hwa: How la, like this, with the debates in parliament disintegrating to "gatal divorcees", "soft men", "urut batin", we're never going to get anywhere!
Eyenie: Well, fear not, pessimistic one -- there's still hope! The Cedaw review for Malaysia is today, May 24, in New York. International mechanisms are at work to advance women's rights and the MPs' sexist remarks will definitely be noticed.
Ah Hwa: What's Cedaw?
Eyenie: Cedaw is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It's an international UN human rights treaty that guarantees women substantive equality and non-discrimination. It obligates all states that have ratified it to take action to ensure that this happens. What's great about it is that it contains standards for women's rights that can be used as a guide to improve and strengthen constitutional and legal provisions for women in Malaysia. In fact, it's lauded as the most authoritative bill of rights for women, and with 182 countries that have ratified it, I think this is a sure sign that Cedaw is accepted by governments worldwide.
Ah Hwa: Why do you say "substantive equality"?
Eyenie: Substantive equality means real equality; equality that goes beyond providing women with the same opportunities as men, to include equality of access to these opportunities, and equality of results. It goes beyond amending a few laws and signing a few treaties to look good on paper but on the ground, the attitudes and systems in society at large remain discriminatory against women. Very Nato, No Action, Talk Only.
Ah Hwa: Ya, typical isn't it? The general impression is, now that women graduates are out-numbering men, women should shut up because equality is achieved. Most of the women I know who are now home-makers used to lead successful careers before children came along. It's as if it is a natural women must stay at home to fulfill the nurturing role. As much as I respect a woman's choice to be a home-maker, I really do wonder what influences are at play when decisions of who stays at home are made. If this continues, I think, we won't reach the 30% target for women's representation in decision-making that the government has specified in the Ninth Malaysia Plan. And don't get me started on the pressures to have children! Gosh, it's as if we owe it to the world to produce babies or we'll be lesser women!
Eyenie: Breathe in, breathe out ... well, gender roles affecting women's rights in terms of reproductive health is recognised as an issue affecting women's lives in Cedaw's Article 12. Under Cedaw, it is recognised that if a woman can't bear children due to reproductive health issues, or won't due to personal choice, and yet she is forced to, it is a violation of women's human rights. This kind of thinking has even been put into practice in Colombia. There, to eliminate discrimination in all areas of public health, the Health Ministry worked with women's groups to implement a national health policy for women. It's fantastic because now, through this, Colombian women have the right to access information and counseling to exercise their right to a free, gratifying and responsible sexuality that isn't solely based on them being mere baby-making factories!
Ah Hwa: Wow, so Cedaw does get implemented at the local level! How about countries that haven't ratified Cedaw?
Eyenie: Well, fortunately only a handful of countries remain as 'renegades'. But even then, Cedaw can still be used as a tool to advance women's rights at the local level, subject to the political context la. Interestingly. For example, although the US hasn't ratified Cedaw, and I shall refrain from making snide remarks ...
Ah Hwa: How very big of you,
Eyenie: Yes, um ya, although USA hasn't ratified Cedaw, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to implement the principles of Cedaw within the city. This was the result of 18 months of political campaigning by women's groups and their allies at the local level. On the other hand, not all governments that have ratified Cedaw become beacons of human rights overnight. It's another journey to ensure that they live up to their obligations under Cedaw.
Ah Hwa: Always an uphill battle...
Eyenie: Um, I think it boils down to us citizens ensuring that CEDAW is alive! We have a big role to play by claiming our rights. We have to take responsibility in ensuring social justice is achieved in the society we are in at all levels, if we don't do it, we can't expect others to do it for us. See, like in India, CEDAW is very much alive and they managed to successfully set a precedent to protect women from sexual harassment by using CEDAW to interpret national law, because at that time there was no explicit law against sexual harassment.
Ah Hwa: OK, OK, apathy, bad. Activism, good. But what can we do? It's all the high-powered politicians, civil servants, and NGOs who know about Cedaw. I'm just little me.
Eyenie: Well for start, we can talk to our friends and family about the existence of Cedaw and how it can affect our lives. Going deeper into it, have a read of both the Malaysian government's report, and the NGO shadow report to this, and write a letter to the editor or to your MP to express your views about what's been said. The more prominence Cedaw gets here in Malaysia, the more citizens can hold the government accountable to its promises at the international level. Must make sure that we walk the talk!
The writer hopes that these sites will soon receive hits:
Malaysia's Cedaw Shadow Report at http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/pdf/Malaysia_SR.pdf and the Malaysian government's report, at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/35sess.htm
Ng Tze Yeng
