KUALA LUMPUR: It has been a decade of a long list of historic and significant achievements for the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM).
The ministry started as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs on Jan 17, 2001. It widened its scope barely weeks after its debut and took a new name – Ministry of Women and Family Development in the same year. In 2004, during the helm of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the ministry was further expanded and was renamed Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
“It is a ministerial voice that creates sustainable change, which would affect the lives of millions. And the establishment of the ministry was just the beginning,” said senator Datuk Seri Sharizat Abdul Jalil at the official 10th anniversary celebration of KPWKM at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
The event was graced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the company of foreign dignitaries, cheerful women and underprivileged individuals.
With the latest re-organisation, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development now oversees five agencies under its direct jurisdiction. They are Department for Women Development (JPW), Social Welfare Department of Malaysia (JKMM), National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN), Social Institute of Malaysia (ISM) and NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW).
“The Ministry is doing all it can to ensure that a proper road map is laid out in the first place to meet socio-economic goals. From policy making to law enforcement, the government has been working hard on delivering all the needed tools through its agencies, departments and offices to the targeted groups,” said Sharizat.
“Today, having scored a decade of respectable milestones, we have certainly raised the awareness of the importance of women, for example, in national development. More and more women have joined the bandwagon of socio-economic development. The next phase from now on will be women and development, two inseparable elements that remind the world that women are indeed a key force in socio-economic development,” she highlighted at her opening speech.
The minister stated that the most significant starting point should be on the Amendment to Article 8.2 of the Malaysian Constitution which the parliament approved in 2001 to include the word ‘gender’ to enforce ‘Prohibition of Gender Discrimination’, regardless of origin, birthplace, religion and cultures. The amendment affects all governing laws and rules where the presence of any gender discrimination element shall be removed subsequently.