International Women’s Day Convention March 9
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Women Small and Medium Industries Association (IKSnita) will be organising the State’s first ever International Women’s Day Convention in line with its vision for more female participation in all sectors.
Its president Datuk Dg Khatijah Datu Bachtiyal said the event would be held at Dewan Auditorium, Yayasan Sabah on March 9.
“The International Women’s Day is held annually on March 8. So we are answering the call of the international women by organising this event.
“The theme for the event is Balance For Better, in line with the call by the women of the world to demand their 30 per cent participation on all sectors,” she told a press conference yesterday.
About 1, 300 women from all over Sabah, including rural areas such Kinabatangan, Beluran, Tenom, Silam as well as other places such as Brunei, Indonesia, Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur are expected to attend.
“In Sabah, the participation of women in all sectors is still under 20 per cent. We are only demanding 30 per cent,” she said.
She revealed that women make up 48 per cent of the country’s population (31.6 million).
“When we ask for 30 per cent, we should be heard. For Sabah it’s still below 20 per cent. We really need to move forward for us to be seen.
“It’s not only for me or for you, it’s for all the women in Sabah. We are making this step so that we can be heard by the new government.
“We have been breaking the ceiling and walls and we are still not there,” said Khatijah.
In politics for instance, there are only four women who were elected as among the 30 cabinet ministers.
She said the convention would delve into such issues; to figure out the cause of the problem.
The event will feature 10 prominent speakers such as Norazlinah Arif, Jannie Lasimbang, Ibu Cindy Maryati, Ann ‘Athena’ Osman, Masturah Jamrah, Dr Ananglangka Madkassim, Jo Luping and many more. The event will also feature a forum entitled ‘Dismissing Obstacles and Challenges’.
“All the suggestions and opinions from that forum will be documented. So at the end of the day, we will come up with a resolution, to be agreed upon by the 1,300 women.
“The resolution will then be submitted to Norazlinah Arif who is the minister in-charge of women’s affairs in the State. “After that we will move forward and present it to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad,” said Khatijah.
The event will also display products made by local female entrepreneurs of the State.