SIBU: The Unity Government is committed to safeguarding and promoting the status and rights of women.
Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Alice Lau Kiong Yieng said the government’s promotion of various policies beneficial to women’s rights and interests are testaments that it attaches great importance to maintaining equality between men and women in the country.
“Women are one of the most important pillars of national development, be it in economic, political and social fields,” she said at a dinner reception hosted by Sibu Chinese Women’s Welfare Association (SCWWA) , in conjunction with the International Women Day.
Alice, who is Lanang MP, was represented by her special assistant Stanley Chiew at the event.
She said women’s contribution to social development should be particularly valued and recognised.
“Nowadays, people often say that ‘women are not inferior to men’ and ‘women hold up half the sky’. This shows that in this era, women’s status and role are being increasingly valued, and women’s contributions to society are increasingly recognised.
“From a probability perspective, the proportion of women in the population should be about the same as that of men. In the past, due to the constraints of tradition, most women adhered to the feudal ideology of “men take charge of the outside world and women take charge of the house.”
“Today, due to the development of society, the progress of the times, the improvement of civil society movements and the protection of human rights, the status of women today has been greatly improved
“Most of the families in today’s society are dual-income families. Under this phenomenon, women’s contribution to the country is even more remarkable,” she stated.
Alice also called on the SCWWA to organise activities that reflect current situations.
“When necessary, break out of the old framework and use professional knowledge and legal perspective to fight for the rights and interests of women in our country and move towards gender equality,” she said.
Among those present were Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng Jin Ek, Sibu MP Oscar Ling Chai Yew, Datuk Teo Boon Siew who represented Minister of Tourism, Arts and Tourism Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, SCWWA honorary advisor Datuk Seri Law Ying Nee and SCWWA president Mary Lau Mui Kin.
