Speaking during a forum in recognition of International Women’s Day 2021, Suhakam commissioner Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh cited a variety of statistics that show Malaysia’s failure to adequately incorporate women into the political sphere.

She pointed to the mere 14.9% of parliamentary seats and 13.6% of senatorships held by women, which puts us 145th in the world in terms of female representation in government. This puts Malaysia second last in Southeast Asia, ahead of Brunei.

She added that this extended to other positions of power, with women under-represented even at the state level and within the judiciary too, particularly in decision-making roles and positions of power.

To fix this, Bandana Rana, the vice-chairperson of the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, recommended temporary quotas be introduced to improve equality in government as there was a “huge” representation gap.

“It’s very important for governments to increase women’s participation in Parliament and thus adopt temporary measures and enforce their implementation.

“Things like positive discrimination or special provisions. For years women have faced historical discrimination, so women cannot compete with men at this stage.

“Therefore, for a certain amount of time there must be a reservation, a quota, affirmative action, to ensure their participation,” she said.

Rana added that this would allow women to get on equal footing with their male counterparts in the short term and this could lead to more inclusive laws and policy.