KOTA KINABALU: A coalition of political leaders and activists in Sabah has launched an initiative to promote gender equality by increasing women's representation in the state assembly.
Called the Women-Only Additional Seats for Sabah (WOAS4Sabah), the initiative is spearheaded by the women's wings of political parties in Sabah, including Sabah STAR, Muda, MCA and DAP.
The movement is based on the belief that governance is stronger when diverse voices are represented, WOAS4Sabah said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 17).
“Countries like New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa have implemented gender parity laws and quotas to address similar disparities.
“WOAS4Sabah aims to follow suit, proposing that Sabah’s six nominated legislative seats, initially created for minority communities, be allocated to women,” it said.
The coalition believes that designated women-only seats are crucial for a more inclusive political landscape.
Despite global strides in women's representation, with an average of 26.9% of parliamentary seats, Malaysia lags with only 12.61%.
Sabah is ninth among state assemblies in women's representation, with just seven out of 79 seats.
The coalition also said it is focused on empowering local women for the sake of Sabah's political future and is not associated with any foreign interests.
"This movement is about elevating the role of women in decision-making processes within Sabah," it said, calling for constructive dialogue to achieve its objective with the support of both political leaders and the people.
It also seeks endorsement from the public for its Kinabalu Declaration on Women-Only Additional Seats manifesto online.
