It’s time for a Madam Prime Minister

Achieving this vision for the future will require persistent action and a change in mindset now.

WOMEN globally celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 with a strike known as #DayWithoutWomen, protests, and calltoaction referendums on women’s rights. Locally, a Women’s March was held in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday March 11, attracting a small but passionate number of women.

Of the many marchers, one young woman stood out. Her placard read, “I wish to be the next Prime Minister (for Malaysia), but I can’t ... do you know why? (answer) mana tudung (where’s my hijab)?”

A photo of her holding up the placard attracted mainly sexist comments on Twitter. To counter this online harassment of a 15yearold young woman, a number of Malaysian social media users flooded Twitter on Sunday evening with encouragement for her and provided aspirational stories for the many girls seeking highflying careers and highranking positions, especially to become the first woman prime minister for Malaysia.

Coincidentally, a couple of days prior to this incident and on IWD itself, Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin stated his sup port for this idea of a woman Prime Minister as part of the vision for Malaysia’s Transformation Plan 2050, better known as #TN50.

In his statement, he clearly mentioned that he envisioned a Malaysia that “is no longer a patriarchal and misogynistic society that objectifies women and focuses more on how she should look and what she should wear than the content of her character”.

What irony. On the one hand, we have a minister with a vision for gender equality (albeit the need to wait 33 years to achieve progressive nation status); on the other hand, we blatantly saw how many Malaysians react to the idea, especially when the woman in question does not fit what the majority of the society accepts as an “ideal Malaysian woman”.

While a Twitter poll conducted by a radio station resulted with 73% respondents being in favour of a woman prime minister for Malaysia, the poll is skewed in terms of demographics (urban, middle class) and only has 162 respondents in total. The question remains: with a majority voterbase that is inherently misogynistic and embedded in patriarchy, often using religion as a political tool, can Malaysia have a woman Prime Minister?

My biggest concern with Khairy’s statement is it seems to be merely lip service. While I am realistic that no country can change overnight, the reality today is society’s mindset and in turn, unwritten policies, seem to become increasingly regressive.

We have yet to repeal child marriage completely. It is well documented that child marriage inadvertently causes more girls to drop out of school, thus limiting their chances to further their education and have improved career choices.

We only now see the push for child sexual abuse and antigrooming laws to be tabled this parliamentary sitting, when a number of young adult women (and men) had to endure years of trauma from these incidences.

We also still struggle with getting more women into active politics with a measly 0.116 score for women in parliament according to a 2016 report by the World Economic Forum, and limited number of women in highlevel corporate positions necessitating the 30% club launched last year.

We added sexism to the Tall Poppy Syndrome with a recent example being the online attack on the best student for SPM from my alma mater, Tunku Kurshiah College.

The young woman in question was berated from her hijab style to her choice to wear makeup; while news of a male politician gaining a spot in Oxford was not subjected to such objectification but rather on whether his enrolment would impact his involvement in the next general election.

The reality is the world is unapologetically misogynistic, whether or not we have a woman as prime minister.

Perhaps Khairy’s vision provides us with a timeline to follow, but it will not materialise without persistent action, more men and women becoming feminists, and change beginning now.

We must encourage young girls to have high visions and strong aspirations, and teach them that their achievements and character are more important than pandering to societal beauty standards.

We must mentor and nurture young boys to see beyond gender and treat girls as equals.

We also must be inclusive of transgender persons and those who identify as nonbinary genders. Most importantly, we must repeal patriarchy.

For the young women aspiring to be the first woman prime minister of Malaysia, I urge you to gain inspiration from current woman leaders such as Dr Angela Merkel and Dr Ameenah GuribFakim. The former has a PhD in physical chemistry, is currently the Chancellor of Germany and is known as the second most powerful person (and most powerful woman) in the world, while the latter is Mauritius’ first woman president, is a Muslim elected by a multireligious voting base, has a PhD in chemistry, was dean at the University of Mauritius and has published over 20 books.

I hope to one day fulfil my duty as a citizen for you, Madam/Miss/Dr Prime Minister.

Lyana Khairuddin is a virologist and a runner, and hopes to #bringbackthekebaya. The views expressed here are entirely her own.