KUCHING: Sarawak Women and Family Department will be releasing ‘an book ‘Sarawak Women in Sports’ this year as a continuation of the book series that honour Sarawakian women.
The book, the eighth in a series since 2010, will be officially launched on Aug 26 by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg during the state-level Women’s Day celebration at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).
According to Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, the book would feature women who have been active or still active in sports from the1950s until the present time.
“We have identified 46 personalities, and could be more later, to be included in the book.
“The criteria comprises women involved in various sports or games and whose performance must be at least the national-level. It will include those who have taken part in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asia Games, Southeast Asia and Peninsular (SEAP) Games, Sukma, Paralympics, Sports for the Deaf (Sopma) and other national or world championships,” she told a press conference here yesterday, after chairing a meeting on the production of the book.
“So far, we have 12 veteran sportswomen in the list and eight Paralympians. The rest are names most people are familiar with today,” she said.
Fatimah noted that in the early days, Sarawakian women had excelled in sports despite lacking opportunities for education.
“Women in Sarawak have contributed to various fields, and it is our wish to document their contributions and achievements.
“We are very proud of our women. We hope the books will inspire women of today, especially the young ones, to excel in whatever field they are in,” she said.
The first Sarawak Women book was published in 2010, titled ‘Sarawak Women Treading the Path of Post-Independence Years’. It was followed by ‘Sarawak Women in Politics’ (2012), ‘Sarawak Women in Business’ (2013), ‘Sarawak Women in Volunteerism’ (2014), ‘The Pioneers: Sarawak Women in Politics’ (2015), ‘Sarawak Women in the Arts’ (2015) and ‘Sarawak Women in Education’ (2016).