Feminism in Malaysia

Part of a series on
Feminism
History Feminist history History of feminism Women's history American British Canadian German Waves First Second Third Fourth Timelines Women's suffrage Muslim countries US Other women's rights Women's suffrage by country Austria Australia Canada Colombia India Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein New Zealand Spain Second Republic Francoist Switzerland United Kingdom Cayman Islands Wales United States states
Intersectional variants Fat Lesbian Lesbian of color Radical lesbianism Separatist Sex-positive Transfeminism Postgenderism Vegetarian ecofeminism Socialist Anarchist Queer Jineology Marxist Critical theory Standpoint Materialist Ecofeminist Postcolonial Global Transnational Xenofeminism Multicultural Africana womanism Black Hip hop Lesbian Ratchet Chicana Lesbian Indigenous Native American Multiracial Romani Womanism
Other variants Anti-abortion Equity Femonationalism Maternal Postfeminism Neofeminism Reactionary State Carceral Imperial Embedded Gender-critical Victim White
Religious variants Atheist Buddhist Christian Mormon New Womanist Asian Neopagan Dianic Wicca Reclaiming Ecofeminist Hindu Islamic Jewish Orthodox Sikh
Movements and ideologies Analytical Anti-fascist Anti-pornography Cyberfeminism HCI Networked Ecofeminism Eugenic Individualist Lipstick Stiletto Liberal Difference Equality Social Labor Libertarian Post-structural Postmodern Radical Cultural Political lesbianism Separatist Technofeminism Women's liberation
Concepts Literature Children's literature Discrimination against transgender women Diversity (politics) Diversity, equity, and inclusion Effects on society Equality Female education Female genital mutilation Femicide Feminationalism Feminism in culture Feminist movement African-American women's suffrage movement Art movement In hip hop Feminist stripper Gender equality Girl power Honor killing Ideal womanhood Internalized sexism International Girl's Day and Women's Day Language reform Likeability trap Male privilege Matriarchal religion Media Men in feminism Misogyny Oedipus complex Opposition to feminism Pro-feminism Protofeminism Purple capitalism Purplewashing Reproductive justice Sex workers' rights Sexual harassment Sexual objectification Toxic masculinity Transmisogyny Triple oppression Violence against women War on women Women's empowerment Women-only space Women's health Women's rights Women in the workforce
Outlooks Bicycling and feminism Criticism of marriage Views on BDSM Views on pornography Views on prostitution Views on sexual orientation Views on sexuality Views on transgender topics
Theory Feminist method Gender studies Gender mainstreaming Gynocentrism Kyriarchy Male gaze Matriarchy Women's studies Men's studies Patriarchy Écriture féminine Areas of study Anthropology Archaeology Architecture Art Art criticism Literary criticism Film theory Science fiction Biology Composition studies Criminology Pathways perspective Economics FDPA Geography International relations Constructivism Legal theory Pedagogy Philosophy Aesthetics Empiricism Epistemology Ethics Justice ethics Existentialism Metaphysics science Political ecology Political theory Pornography Psychology Therapy Revisionist mythology Sex wars Sexology Sociology Technoscience Theology womanist theology
By continent/country Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Ghana Mali Nigeria Senegal South Africa Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latin America Argentina Brazil Chile Haiti Honduras Mexico Paraguay Trinidad and Tobago Lebanon Malaysia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Northern Cyprus Norway Pakistan Philippines Poland Russia Saudi Arabia South Korea Sweden Syria Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Ukraine United Kingdom United States History of women
Lists and categories Lists Articles Feminists by nationality Literature American feminist literature Feminist comic books Feminist songs Conservative feminisms Ecofeminist authors Feminist art critics Feminist economists Feminist philosophers Feminist poets Feminist rhetoricians Jewish feminists Muslim feminists Feminist parties Suffragists and suffragettes Women's rights activists Women's studies journals Women's suffrage organizations Categories Women's rights by country Feminists by nationality
Feminism portal
v t e

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Malaysia
Head of State Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim Iskandar Conference of Rulers
Legislature Parliament of Malaysia 15th Parliament Senate (Dewan Negara) President Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) Speaker Johari Abdul Leader of the Government Anwar Ibrahim Leader of the Opposition Hamzah Zainudin
Executive Cabinet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Civil service (agencies) Mohd. Zuki Ali
Judiciary Federal Court Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat Court of Appeal President Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim High Court in Malaya ∙ High Court in Sabah and Sarawak Chief Judge of Malaya Mohamad Zabidin Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli
Elections Election Commission of Malaysia General elections: 2022 Electoral districts
Political parties BN PH PN GPS GRS List of political parties in Malaysia
Federalism State governments Chief ministers of the states members ) Local governments (list)
Ideologies and concepts Anarchism Communism Conservatism Feminism Rukun Negara Malay nationalism Reformasi Islam Hadhari Asian values Race and politics Dayaks in politics Ketuanan Melayuma Bumiputera Malaysian Malaysia Social contract
Malaysia portal  Politics portal Other countries
v t e

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,^[1] 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.

History

The history of feminist movement in Malaysia, its birth and the usage of the very term 'feminist' are contested. Unlike the history of the feminist movement in Britain and the United States for instance, the struggle for women's rights in Malaysia were not founded on women's right to vote. Like many other postcolonial countries during the fall of the British empire, all Malaysian citizens, both male and female, were granted the right to vote during the country's political independence in 1957.^[2]

Women's emancipation in colonial Malaya

To avoid the anachronism of the term feminist, it may be advisable to chart the history of feminism in Malaysia with the recorded usage and political championing of '

The first women's NGO in Malaysia, the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), was founded in the mid 1980s as a shelter for women and children who needed legal consultation and protection from domestic violence. Soon, other NGOs, such as All Women's Action Society (AWAM) emerged to campaign against the rising number of reported incidences of violence against women. Most women's NGOs which were founded since are located in the urban centres of Peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysia outlawed marital rape in 2007.^[6][7]

Child brides and forced marriages

Cases of child marriages gained nationwide attention in recent years as a human rights and gender issue. In nearly all cases, under-aged girls were married off to men much older than themselves. As most child marriages occur in Malaysia's Malay-Muslim community and thereby sanctioned by Sharia courts, Islamic reasons are often cited as a moral and legal justification for marrying off under-aged girls.^[8] Young female rape survivors are sometimes pressured into marrying their abusers as a way of mitigating gross sexual abuses.^[9]

Criticism and backlash

In 2012, Malaysia's previous

Feminism in Malaysia is championed primarily by activists within women's NGOs. There are setbacks to the apparent NGO-isnation of feminism in Malaysia, defined as the donor-led and institutionalisation of activism or 'Activism Inc.'[14] The funder-led agenda of women's NGOs in Malaysia resulted in the constraining of feminist activism to fulfill the requirement and targets set by donors. Other problems arise from the NGO-isation of feminism that appear at odds with the spirit of feminism, namely the inter- and intra-organisational income inequalities amongst women workers of NGOs resulting from unequal distribution of funding.

Prominent Malaysian feminists

• Cecilia Ng – Academic and activist
• Irene Fernandez – Feminist and human rights activist who championed migrant worker's rights
• Ivy Josiah – Feminist activist
• Bersih 2.0
• Marina Mahathir – Human rights activist and writer, daughter of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad
• Norani Othman – Academic and editor of Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism, co-founder of Sisters in Islam
• Toni Kasim – Feminist activist and political campaigner
• Zainah Anwar – Islamic feminist activist and co-founder of Sisters in Islam
• Rohana Ariffin – Academic and activist, co-founder of Women Crisis Centre and former president of PRM (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).
• Khatijah Sidek – Leader of Kaum Ibu UMNO 1954–1956 and early Malaysian Feminist.^[15] Kicked out by UMNO leadership for breaking party discipline, "providing the first challenge to male dominance in the party".^[16]

See also

• Aurat (Malay language)
• Human rights in Malaysia
• Islamic feminism
• Musawah
• Sisters in Islam
• Women in Malaysia
• Women's rights

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feminism in Malaysia.

• All Women's Action Society (AWAM)