Women Empowerment is needed to Boost Gender Equality in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Shadiya Mohamed S. Baqutayan

While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including equal access to primary education between girls and boys, the women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world. The SDGs aim to build on these achievements to ensure that there is an end to discrimination against women and girls everywhere. Although many governments and organizations claim to be tackling the issue of inequality, there are still approximately 1.4 billion women and girls who are still victims of discrimination, violence, and sexism. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to address the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Malaysia context in order to close the gap existed in gender inequality. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews; the participants interviewed included nine women leaders in the public and private sector. The finding of this research indicated that women need personal, relational, and environmental empowerment that boost gender equality in Malaysia. As a conclusion, this finding will open the eyes of civil society, local grassroots advocacy initiatives, men & women, national governments, religious groups, tribal structures, international community, academia & research, as well as media in solving women related issues. This research carries values to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in enhancing the policy on gender equality; this would be the most appropriate tool in addressing and empowering Malaysian women in particular and ensuring inclusiveness and equality for them, as well as calling on the international community to reduce inequality within and among countries.

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Mee Kim

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) began in 2016 with great hopes that they will promote social development, economic development, and environmentally sustainable development with the motto, “Leave No One Behind” (UN 2016). In particular, SDGs’ goal 5, “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls” (UN 2016). However, persistently high gender gap was found in many countries around the world whether they are developed or developing. The 2016 Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), which examines gender inequality across four key areas of health, education, economy and politics, showed that the gender gap widened in many countries, and the gap in “economic participation and opportunity” showed the largest gender gap compared to health, education and political participation (World Economic Forum 2016). Interestingly, the GGGI do not match the global ranking of countries based on their GDP size, GDP per capita, or even the level of poverty. Thus, in order to deal with the underlying causes of deep-rooted and persistent gender inequality we must develop more culturally nuanced and contextualized approaches in the SDGs to tackle gender inequality (Song & Kim 2013). Gender inequality is simply not acceptable in the world where half of the world’s citizens are not provided with the same rights as the other half. It is also economically less productive to rely on only half of the world’s labor force to help eradicate poverty. Education, employment, and full empowerment of women and girls must be a priority for the SDGs.


Author(s):  
Anuoluwapo A. Durokifa ◽  

Achieving gender equality has been an utmost priority in the world. Particularly, in Africa, a continent drowned in patriarchy. To facilitate a quick result, the continent adopted and implemented international policies like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, questions have been raised towards the achievement of the sustainable development goal 5 ‘’achieving gender equality; and empower women and girls” come 2030. Thus, in answering this question, the study utilised a qualitative research method to gather information through secondary sources. The study highlighted that COVID-19 has deepened the existence of inequalities amongst gender, as well as reversing some of the gains of SDG5 before the arrival of COVID-19. The study emphasised the clear visibility of unjust fairness meted towards women, as well as the struggle faced by them in Africa. Going forward, the study recommended that African governments must reset their priorities and partner with grassroots NGOs to enhance appreciable progress towards SDG 5 in 2030.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Fredman ◽  
Jaakko Kuosmanen ◽  
Meghan Campbell

It is generally agreed by most observers that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have fallen short of achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Today, women continue to be more likely than men to live in poverty, and more than 18 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school. One of the crucial reasons for the failure of the MDGs in relation to women was their inability to address the deeply entrenched and interlocking factors that perpetuate women's disadvantage. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as articulated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, constitute an improvement over the MDGs. Goal 5, which enshrines the stand-alone goal on gender equality, is comprised of nine specific targets, including the elimination of gender-based violence and access to reproductive health. In addition, gender equality is mainstreamed into numerous others goals. Given that the global community is now poised to implement the SDGs, the challenge is how best to integrate a transformative approach into the planning, implementation, and delivery of the specific targets so that the SDGs contribute to achieving gender equality and women's empowerment.


Author(s):  
Chris G. Pope ◽  
Meng Ji ◽  
Xuemei Bai

The chapter argues that whether or not the world is successful in attaining sustainability, political systems are in a process of epoch-defining change as a result of the unsustainable demands of our social systems. This chapter theorizes a framework for analyzing the political “translation” of sustainability norms within national polities. Translation, in this sense, denotes the political reinterpretation of sustainable development as well as the national capacities and contexts which impact how sustainability agendas can be instrumentalized. This requires an examination into the political architecture of a national polity, the norms that inform a political process, socioecological contexts, the main communicative channels involved in the dissemination of political discourse and other key structures and agencies, and the kinds of approaches toward sustainability that inform the political process. This framework aims to draw attention to the ways in which global economic, political, and social systems are adapting and transforming as a result of unsustainability and to further understanding of the effectiveness of globally diffused sustainability norms in directing that change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1112-1120
Author(s):  
Yulfira Riza ◽  
Titin Nurhayati Mamun ◽  
I Syarief Hidayat ◽  
Ikhwan

Purpose: This study aims to describe gender harmonization in al Mu'āsharah's manuscript by Sheikh Abdul Laṭīf Syakūr. This concept is considered as Syakūr's understanding of gender equality, as one of the 17 goals in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), from an Islamic perspective. Methodology: The analysis of this manuscript uses a descriptive-analytic method to bring up the facts in the manuscript which are then analyzed according to the targets and indicators contained in SDGs 5 formulation on gender equality. Main Findings: This research presents the concept of gender relations in al Mu’āsharah leading to Islamic gender equality as an elaboration of rights and obligations between husband and wife. The existence of women in career and the sustainability of education is fairness according to Shakūr. Likewise, in sexual relations, Syakūr stressed the importance of women getting the same thing as men. Through this research, it is found that there is gender harmonization presented by Shakūr in al mu’āsharah with the concept of fastabiqulkhairat as a form of gender relations in an Islamic family towards real gender equality. Implications/Applications: This research provides an overview of the role of gender harmonization in SDG. Novelty/Originality of this study: Gender equality, which is the goal of the SDGs 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, has relevance to ancient manuscripts of the archipelago. This study highlights that gender equality can be enjoyed by the people of the archipelago following the evolving culture and customs. Just like the actual gender equality goals of the SDGs, women should be honored and respected, to create a gender equality discourse.


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