Women's empowerment key to national development, says Nancy Shukri

The Star

Speaking at the International Women's Day Celebration on Saturday (March 8), Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said women’s empowerment must be prioritised as a key agenda in the national development to build an inclusive and progressive Malaysia.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/xe6b52rp  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00This year, we raise the theme of women aspiring to build a legacy.

00:07This theme is chosen to emphasize that women not only have big dreams,

00:14but are able to realize their dreams in various fields,

00:19such as economy, politics, education, technology and society.

00:24Medani, Malaysia will not be complete without women's participation and contribution

00:30in various aspects of the development of the country.

00:34However, we are still faced with several major challenges that need to be addressed immediately.

00:40Among them is the low participation rate of women's labor, only 56.2%

00:47compared to men, who recorded 82.3%.

00:52In addition, many women are forced to quit their jobs after marriage

00:58or give birth to children and do not return to work.

01:02In terms of safety, the rape cases against women are still high,

01:08with 5,249 cases reported throughout 2024.

01:16In addition, the involvement of women in decision-making in the public and private sectors is still low,

01:24showing the need for greater efforts to strengthen women's leadership.

01:31To overcome this challenge, the government, through the Medani economy,

01:36has set a target to increase the participation rate of women's labor to 60%.

01:44This step is part of the continued efforts to ensure that women have access

01:52to fair and equitable economic opportunities.

01:58Employers need to be more flexible in providing family support

02:03to support women who want to return to work.

02:07People need to eliminate the stigma against women who choose to pursue success,

02:14while individuals must continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities.

02:20Quitting is a strategic step to train and guide women as leaders in the future.

02:27In 2024, the Women's Leadership Quitting Programme,

02:32has received 354 applications,

02:36and 25 programmes have been completed,

02:40giving benefits to 1,247 participants.

02:46Looking at the effectiveness of this programme,

02:49the government has allocated RM5 million in the 2020-2025 budget

02:54to expand its implementation.

02:58The aim of this year is to train 100 female leaders

03:03who will lead various initiatives

03:07and give benefits to 5,000 female participants across the country.

03:12Success in empowering women requires collaboration from all parties.

03:17The private sector needs to provide a more flexible base of work

03:22and a broader opportunity for leadership.

03:25NGOs need to continue to be a voice in fighting for women's rights

03:30and every individual must play a role in eliminating stereotypes

03:36that limit women's potential.

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