KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin expressed today his wish for a female prime minister by the year 2050, which is the Najib adminisration’s target date for Malaysia to achieve developed nationhood.
He also wished that Malaysian society would move on from being “patriarchal” and “misogynistic” in objectifying women.
“For women to be hungry for success and excellence, to not hold back and try to please, to go after what they want, including becoming Prime Minister!” he wrote on his official Facebook page to mark International Women’s Day today.
Currently, only 23 out of 222 Malaysian MPs are women, or just 10 per cent, a far cry from the 20 per cent world average.
The highest proportion of female MPs come from Selangor at 27 per cent, while Terengganu has not one female legislator, even at the state level.
In a scathing attack against a misogynic society that blames women for sexual harassments and crimes, Khairy said women should be judged on their character.
“By 2050, no one should think that it’s fine to make crude, suggestive remarks about women completely violating their dignity. No one should be stupid enough to suggest that sexual harassment or crimes are the fault of the woman for what they wear.
“By 2050, I want a Malaysia where women feel confident and secure enough to pursue their dreams and be ambitious. And that ambition is something that is not used against them,” he wrote.
Khairy said he wanted to see these aspirations come true through the National Transformation 2050 plan, or TN50, including calling for prison sentence against men who refuse to pay child support.
The Umno Youth chief called on the society and legislation to oppose domestic and sexual violence against women, regardless whether they are physical or psychological.
“This value would be reflected in everything from public attitudes to authorities’ emergency response procedures to sentencing,” he wrote.
He said the government acknowledged that the role of women was complex, pointing that some who had careers had to double up as mothers, wives, but also homemakers.
“By 2050 for there to be no more need for discussions on the challenges women are having today — at school, at work, in society.
“So what if you are a woman — you can just do whatever you feel passionate about and whatever you believe in. No need for quotas. Gender is irrelevant,” he wrote.
