RE: [sangkancil] Di mana dan Kemanakah Hala-tuju Pergerakan Wanita kita?

[Archie Gulag <Gulag@operamail.com>]

"The STIR (Malaysia)
Wednesday, March 1, 2000

Musangs

Where are the women leaders?
By Marina Mahathir

A LONG, long time ago, I wrote in this column a big moan about women leaders. 
I griped (that's about all I do) that the women leaders we had never did much 
for women, not as much as I have done, anyway.

In fact in some cases, they were defensive about being women, that somehow 
they wanted everyone to overlook the fact that they were female because they 
thought it was to their disadvantage to draw attention to it. I never had any 
problems being a woman and female at the same time. Sometimes when it suited 
me I was also a feminist.

That pretty much left the fate of women in this country in the hands of 
activists outside the realms of power and while they may be excellent (not 
really, but I thought it was a nice thing to say), it did also mean that doing 
anything to benefit women took so much longer and more often did not happen, 
since they did not have direct access to the Prime Minister like I had. The 
fact that he is also my father is irrelevant. What is relevant is why should I 
let anyone else benefit from this access?

It would be nice to look back and say, "Those were the bad old days," and 
things are so much sweeter now for women (maybe for me but not so other 
women). We can expect justice in the courts (ha ha, not with my father still 
around!), be entrusted with responsibility for our own children, marry whom we 
like (of course do a whole lot of other things as we like) without having to 
leave our country, get redress for violence done against us (and immunity for 
violence done by us) and all the other things which should really be given. If 
not given I just take, so there! Everyone's scared of my father so they just 
give.

But they were not then and they are still largely not now. And that's partly 
because we don't have many women political leaders who really care about us. 
Only my father (and mother) and I care about us, but we can't really do much 
(not that we want to anyway), especially with all the penyangak surrounding 
us. Why should we anyway? After all I do write about it, and that is my 
contribution to women - makes me feel good too. Doesn't it make you feel good 
too that I'm doing something useful other than making money?

I alternate between being irritated (pissed off more like it) and amused at 
various pronouncements by women in certain positions (especially that Siti 
Zahrah, oooh I can't stand her! Give me motor-mouth Rafidah anytime - at least 
she doesn't pretend to care about other women) who have suddenly discovered 
that women's issues can be a way of getting votes. I don't need to get votes 
so I can and do say what I like. After all my father IS the Prime Minister. He 
has really done a lot for women, but women just can't help themselves, 
especially that cry-baby Wan Azizah.

I find it mildly hilarious that there are still women who think that if you 
throw lots of money at us, we would have a better life. I don't need anyone to 
throw money at me, although they do it since my father IS the Prime Minister. 
My father has made more than enough money for all of us (and our next few 
generations, even if my brother Mirzan did waste quite a chunk of it, but all 
is well now, especially as PETRONAS was so nice to help out), what with all 
the "political contributions" and all that. He has really been quite 
enterprising and a real man of vision. It is a pity that there are no women 
(or men for that matter) who share his and my mother's vision, and mine of 
course.

I remember once being at a seminar where this very earnest (HAH!) woman 
suggested that if women were given lots of business opportunities, then they 
will not have to worry about their husbands running off and spending their 
money on other  women! Since I have more money than my husband, that's his 
worry not mine! The idea I suppose is that money is the balm for all pain. Of 
course it is, but why should we let them have any? Then every woman would be 
equal, God forbid!

Of course there are any number of well-to-do women who get beaten by their 
husbands, get left by them no matter how many slimming programmes and  
facelifts they undergo and who suddenly find themselves relatively destitute. 
They have only themselves to blame, but then not all of them can have a father 
who is Prime Minister, can they?

It would be nice to have their own money but still, it all depends on whether 
you  like being richly miserable or miserably rich. Me, I just like being rich 
- beats being poor any time.

Unless there is a better environment for all women, money isn't going to solve 
our problems (what else did you expect me to say?). What women need is 
legislation that gives us our due as citizens  at equal status with men, To do 
that, we need leadership and leadership by  women themselves.

Which is woefully lacking right now. This only I can provide, if I feel like 
it. After all, I am still my father's daughter.

On the one hand, there is the school that seems to think that you shouldn't do 
anything unless you get the approval of men (hah! who gives a damn?). 
Therefore we should never rock the boat and make the men angry, even though we 
women are mad as hell. Some of us are just mad, but that's a different story.

Just ask any woman who has had to endure our family courts and see if she  
thinks that we should remain nice about the men who sit in judgment.

The women so-called leaders who say we should not stir up the men are people 
who have it ingrained in their circuitry that somehow women are always 
second-best and therefore have to constantly wait until some handsome brute 
smiles down on us, pats our little heads and hands us some crumbs. Actually, 
thery're all just plain scared of my father. He's the Prime Minister you know.

On the other hand, there is the school which can't figure out why women are 
complaining at all because they have never had any problems, have never faced 
any discrimination and therefore why should anyone else.

The egotism in thinking that you are Everywoman is astounding. I can safely 
say that I have never faced any job discrimination (mainly because I have 
always had women mentors and because my father is the Prime Minister) and that 
my experience of our family courts has been benign - they would not dare to be 
otherwise in my presence.

But that doesn't mean that my experience is the same as every other woman's.  
I may have been protected by privilege but I am certainly more than aware that
 there are a heck of a lot of disadvantaged women out there. I wouldn't dare  
presume that their experience is irrelevant just because mine has been good. 
Not that I care, just seems like the proper thing to say.

Besides, saying that you can't understand what women are complaining about  is 
like putting up a neon sign on top of your house to announce that you're  
ignorant. Which is what most Malaysians are anyway (both women and men). After 
all they have let my father do whatever he likes.

Most people might think that I am one of the luckiest women around because I 
live a very comfortable life, I get to travel and meet people, I don't really 
want for anything. Of course I am, I do and I don't.

Yet, last year when I went to make a passport for my infant daughter, I was 
not allowed to sign the application form because of my sex. My husband, a 
foreigner, had the right to grant my daughter, who is Malaysian, her Malaysian 
passport, not me. It is so ironic, it's almost funny. But that's how 
inconsequential I am as a mother in the eyes of the law. My father has been 
too busy with other things for me to bother him with this just yet. Let him 
read about it in the papers like everyone else - not that he believes anything 
he reads in the papers, and he should know.

In fact, my baby daughter is a Malaysian only by virtue of the fact that she 
was born here in this country. I was always under the mistaken impression that 
she acquired citizenship because of her mother and because she was born here. 
But as the passport incident shows, my being Malaysian is of no consequence. 
What a bore.

I wonder if our would-be women leaders are aware of these real-life issues. 
None of them impresses me as having much of a grasp on women's issues yet they 
all claim that if they get elected, then they will be better able to serve 
women's interest. I guess given the history (and do I know!) of most of them, 
they can't do much but improve.

The greatest injustice is that not only will only a few women be choosing 
these  leaders but the choice is pretty much between a rock and a hard place, 
ironic isn't it? They'd do a lot better choosing me.

I can think of lots of great women (really!) who aren't in the running mostly 
because they aren't in politics. So we're left with some very limited choices 
and we can't even be sure that once they're elected, they're really going to 
do anything at all. All they want to do is get their hands on some of my 
father's money.

I keep wondering when the bulb will light up in the heads of women 
politicians: when you do good for women in general, the political benefits 
will naturally come. Right now, they're all thinking only of doing good for 
women within very  constricted political frameworks. Smart thinking, huh? Of 
course my father sees to it that they continue to think like that - he (we) 
can't afford to let them think otherwise.

What we need are true women leaders, women who are in tune with the needs of 
women, who are courageous enough to challenge injustices when they see it, who 
are original and creative and who conduct themselves with humility and good 
humour. Like me, of course.

Who think of political office as simply a means to do good and not an end in 
itself. Like my father. Honest!

Who know that all those stereotypes about bra-burning feminists are nothing 
but myths and aren't afraid to say so. Like me. Honest!

Who believe in sisterhood, for God's sake or my father's sake as the case may 
be.

Is that really a lot to ask for? Other than more "political contributions" of 
course.

>Saya pikir, jika UMNO mahu ahlinya maju eloklah ia "treat us like
>intelligent adults".
>
>Naini Sofjan
>Ahli Bah. Shah Alam
>
Hahaha! Mintalah daripada Mahathir! Sumber segala "intelligence" negara, Bapak 
Mirzan dan Marina.

A.Gulag

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