The formidable force of women

Sofianni Subki, Sarah Sabaratnam and Anthea de Lima, New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

Women, wake up! With 52 percent of the vote, you can be the country's most formidable force. Political parties are aware of this power, and while some steps are being taken to harness it, much remains tentative.

Feminists attribute this to patriarchy and its attendant barriers.

They say the woman's vote should be viewed in the broader context of where women traditionally fit in society.

As long as they play a supporting (read subordinate) role to men, women's issues and concerns will always take second place. Intriguingly, women politicians do not consider this a critical issue.

On both sides of the political divide, parties claim that their general agendas reach out to women.

For instance, all parties interviewed said they were proud of the painstaking door-to-door work done by their women party members to pull in the vote.

The efforts may not be rewarded by equal recognition within the party, or a bigger number of seats, but there appear to be no complaints -- at least not openly.

The fact that women and youth wings are placed on a level below the main component in some parties does not seem to cause disgruntlement either.

Says Wanita UMNO chief Rafidah Aziz: "We've always had strategies to promote women's votes. Wanita Barisan Nasional makes up half of the BN membership.

"Our work has always been to target firstly, women voters, then the others, but we don't segregate. You get the wife and she'll surely influence the husband." Wanita MCA head Ng Yen Yen says her movement began educating women on the importance of their votes four years ago.

"We go door-to-door to remind women that their responsibility goes beyond looking after the house and family. They have a duty to look after national interests because what happens at the national level affects women." Ng adds that the women's vote goes beyond gender issues and encompasses the political stability of the country as a whole. "It is limiting to assume that women are interested only in gender issues. We treat women as equal to men.

This means touching issues that affect everybody such as economic progress and an efficient, capable government. Gender is just one of many issues." Siti Mariah Mahmud of the Pas women's wing, on the other hand, believes that women are uninterested in hard issues like economics and corruption.

"They are more concerned about education and the future of their children. Pas also takes into account that some women are not sensitive to these matters as they are not highly educated." Despite this confining view of women, Pas is fielding as many as 15 women in this election. Many read this as a purely pragmatic move, which runs contrary to an earlier edict by Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat that women should not contest or work in the frontlines in election campaigns.

The lack of coherence in approaches to the women's vote isn't restricted to political parties.

Sharifah Habsah Said Shahabudin, of the National Council of Women's Organizations, concedes that "it's difficult to say" if enough importance is being attached to women in senior government positions.

"We don't know what happens on the ground. Government leaders do talk about having women at decision-making levels but how this is carried to the grassroots is important. On the ground, women's issues deal more with income-generating opportunities than having women at decision-making levels." This, some say, may be an effective way to reach out to women.

Based on a recent poll conducted by Merdeka Center, a social research organization, women nationwide share the same concerns as men -- the rising costs of consumables, healthcare and education; crime; juvenile and social delinquency; and, not least, political stability.

The poll indicates that a woman's place is not just in the home. And as more women assume responsibilities in the workplace, there is hope that gender stereotypes will begin to disintegrate.

Interestingly enough, women's concerns emerged alongside other national issues in the last elections when the women's movement fielded a candidate. However, the dent made was too insignificant to make a difference.

This is not to say that women are indifferent to those who support them.

As Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia political scientist Rashila Ramli points out, rural women are not oblivious to the importance of the vote.

"The voting percentage of women in rural areas is very high, possibly because of the community spirit where they all go out together to vote. Political parties would be wise to pay attention to their needs." And she adds another important point: Rural women's demands are easy to meet.

"Their needs revolve around income and their children's education. If political parties pay attention to these two areas, they will get the votes." The urban woman may be a more complex creature but if political parties take time to listen, to not offer mere lip service to their needs and concerns, and to develop the gender vote into a separate and crucial component of their overall agenda, they will gain magnificently in elections and beyond.