KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Girls and women should be encouraged to take on leadership roles in an environment that fully supports them, said Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

"In enabling women to fully realise their potential, we will be improving and empowering society as a whole,” it said in a statement in conjunction with International Women’s Day.

Providing more formal and informal opportunities for women to be mentored and upskilled, was also important in elevating their capabilities to take up leadership roles both in the professional and political fields, it stated.

Apart from that, Suhakam believed that society must also recognise the women’s particular role in uplifting the effects of poverty in economically depressed areas which affect and are affected by education.

On the other hand, Suhakam also stated that raising the marriage age to 18 without exception will allow girls to focus on their education and enable them to be financially independent, upwardly mobile and fully empowered. — Bernama